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Susan Chwae
VP/Creative Director/Tour Operator, Travel Smart Group
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About me

I am a leader in the culinary and cultural travel sector, with nearly three decades of experience shaping immersive, food‑focused travel experiences worldwide. My career began at Ginkgo Press—publisher of the award‑winning Eat Smart Culinary Travel Guides—where I helped expand the company into a recognized provider of culturally rich culinary travel programs. Through this work, I established Eat Smart as a respected brand within specialty travel, blending publishing, program development, and global partnerships.

Today, I serve as a luxury travel advisor within the Global Travel Collection, creating bespoke itineraries that integrate culinary exploration, cultural insight, and exceptional service. As a longstanding member of ASTA and an affiliated Virtuoso advisor, I am committed to professional excellence and to advancing the culinary travel category within the broader travel industry.

Why did you join the community?

I’m interested in marketing and networking with other travel professionals.

What is your favorite travel destination?

Turkey

Where do you dream of traveling to?

Antarctica

What was your first travel job?

Travel publisher

What do you want to learn more about?

Marketing

Three words that describe why we should travel?

Culture, cuisine, people

Comments

  • Thanks, Ian. We stopped publishing new guidebooks in 2017. Too much information can just be found online, so our market is really those wanting to deep dive into a country's culinary history in a book format. Our culinary tours continue to be very popul... show more

  • Eat Smart Culinary Travel has been on the forefront of culinary tourism since 1993. I have been so fortunate to be Joan Peterson's business partner and daughter! My mom was ahead of the game in culinary travel when she published her first travel guideb... show more