Celebrating 80 Years: Travel to Venezuela in 1969

The summer of 1969 was a special one for many (and we're not talking about the fans of the Bryan Adams song). The U.S. beat the Soviets in the space race by putting Neil Armstrong on the moon. Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Crosby Stills & Nash and so many more performed at the original Woodstock. An 8-year-old little brother to the Yankees shocked the sports world when the New York Mets won the inaugural National Leage Championship Series before winning the World Series. Needless to say, much was happening (or was it happenin'?).

We flipped through a couple issues of Travel Agent from July of 1969, hoping to find a story that could tie in to one of the historical moments cited above. But what we found was even cooler: a story about Venezuela's plan to attract tourism from the United States (read the article yourself here). It's an interesting read, as the current relationship between two countries is chilly at best. But 41 years ago, Venezuela was so into the U.S. that, in a media plan by Dr. Enrique Ramos-Cordero, the national director of tourism for Venezuela, then Venezuela President Rafael Caldera prepared a greeting for U.S. television and radio, making him the first Latin American Chief of State to record such a greeting in English as well as Spanish. Dare we ask what current Venezuela President Hugo Chavez would say if such a commercial ran today?

As we celebrate our 80th anniversary, we're taking a look at what was happening in the industry in the past and asking agents to share their thoughts on what has changed in the industry up until the present. So please share your thoughts by posting a comment below, writing us at our Facebook page, sending a tweet to our Twitter page or by engaging in a discussion in real time at AgentNation (the only social community online for all kinds of travel agents, which certainly wasn't around 80 years ago). We want to hear from you.

And while you're here, learn more about how we're celebrating eight decades of covering the travel industry for travel professionals.