My day

HENRI ASSEN:I CALLED my travel business Nuevo Mundo because the Americas are, of course, the New World but also because South America is the last great destination, other than Antarctica, that the travelling public hasn't been to yet.

It’s a continent I adore. If find it endlessly fascinating. I’m lucky that, because of my job, I get to go there so much; my all-time favourite place on Earth has to be southern Patagonia; the vast emptiness of it is a wonder.

I set up the firm in 2006, but I’ve been in the travel business for 17 years. I’m Dutch originally and came here as a result of my better half, who is Irish.

I start at around 9.30am, which people might think is late, but that’s because I very often don’t finish until 9pm, because of the time difference with South America.

I have an office in Dundrum, but I’m set up to work at home, too. First up every day is a check of the e-mails to see what has come in or how things are going.

Most of the inquiries we get are online, but we don’t sell online, because each package has to be individually tailored. I need to spend a lot of time talking to people on the phone. Most of my clients are four- and five-star hotel travellers, and it’s important to talk everything through to ensure their needs are met.

I think we’ve hit the bottom of the downturn. Our bookings were down this year, but inquiries and bookings are moving back up, and group bookings are starting to come out of the woodwork.

The business takes up my whole life, but I like to spend time off walking, usually the cliff walk from Greystones to Bray, in Co Wicklow. I also have a pond of koi fish; they are my other passion. I’ve grown them from babies, and I love them. You’d be surprised, but they all have their own personalities.

Henri Assen is founder of Nuevo Mundo