Jacques Gilbert is just a few days away from retirement, and he attended his last travel conference – The Travel Agent Next Door’s, where we met up with him at the Transat hosted party at Secrets Costa Mujeres to ask him how he feels about saying goodbye to the industry.

“My last meeting was very, very emotional, and I was honoured to have people crying; it was really quite something. I kept saying really everyone, I’m not dying, I’m just retiring,” he says with a smile.

Gilbert says he’s going to miss the industry he’s worked in since he had his first job in the airline business. 48 years later, he’s retiring from Manulife Insurance and says the people in the industry make it hard to leave.

“Our business is based on people, we’re in the business of selling dreams, and selling happiness. And in order to survive in this industry, in my perspective, you have to be able to convey to your client that they’re going to have the best time because I can pick the best for you to do. You sell with a smile, and you are close to the supplier and that is the relationship. And then as a supplier you meet your top producers at these conferences.

“The people is what keeps you in the industry for so long, but after 48 years, I still could keep going but I had to make a decision.”

With four grandchildren and another on the way, there will be lots to keep Jacques and wife Marguerite busy. The couple has a lot of travel plans already planned and he says the tricky part will be having to coordinate with friends who are still in the industry.

“This industry is amazing, but it’s also really busy. Conference after conference. And when you’re younger you like doing weekend shows, nobody complains about it. But when you look back, the reality is we are away from home a lot. That’s why suppliers are a big family.”

“We felt horrible not being able to see friends or family, because I was always working and that’s the sad part. Thinking about it now; is it going to happen? Are they going to have time? I'm hoping it will.”

He’ll likely see a bunch of his colleages and friends at the TravelPulse Canada Readers’ Choice Awards happening in Toronto May 18, where he will be inducted into the Canadian Travel Hall of Fame.

As he told our Bruce Parkinson, “More than anything else, I’ll miss the people, and the travel agents who are more important than anything else in this industry.”