Welcome to Scopia LLC - Specializing in You and the Mediterranean.
Tours and travel services in Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, Turkey, Greece, Italy and Malta.
About
A bit about me and my professional experience, if I may:
As I wrote on the home page, I am a former Israeli now living and running my business from our little home in Bayside, Wisconsin, USA. "Former Israeli" is only a physical attribute, because like every immigrant, the heart, the soul, the mind and the dreams always take me back to my home in Israel.
Vivid images, smells, sounds and memories. A whispering breeze making its way through the fields of barley; an old Bedouin man walking along a winding mountain road, lifting his hand to ask for a ride; gigantic sunflowers slowly lifting their golden crowns to face the warmth of the Mediterranean sun; a distant tractor roaring up a hill; millions of flowers in endless colors showing off all their glory on the first days of spring; shrieking children jumping into the cold waters of the River Jordan on a sizzling summer afternoon.
Those memories of home are the basis for the experience I offer you. Of course, visiting every country's iconic tourism sites is a "must", but it's what happens between those sites that I believe makes the difference. It is what allows you to "experience a country" rather than "tour a country". And that is what Scopia LLC is all about.
My Professional Experience:
I started out in 1987, right after my mandatory Israeli military service, working for my father's travel company, Heavenly International Tours here in Milwaukee. At Heavenly Tours I became a specialist in private tours of Israel, Egypt and Jordan, arranging for dozens of tours for families and individuals. Yet since the company had mostly Christian groups as clients, I was also very involved in that aspect of the operations and gained a lot of experience in airline ticketing, land accommodations, design of specialty itineraries and much more.
In 1997, my family and I moved back to Israel where I worked for the country's largest tourism conglomerate, Ophir Tours which is an affiliate member of the global Carlson-Wagonlit chain (pronounced Vahgonlee). I started out there as manager for the company's branch in the coastal town of Nahariya, at the very north-western edge of the country. Until today, I consider the amazing team members in that branch - Lizi, Sarit, Mahmoud, Naaman, Dana, Olga and Rita - to be my second family. In late 2002 I was promoted to the position of VP for corporate travel, in charge of working with the company's corporate clients at headquarters in the city of Tel Aviv.
In 2004, my family and I moved back to Milwaukee and settled in Bayside. That's when Scopia LLC was started as well as the initial idea which would eventually turn into my other company, Scopia Technologies, LLC, which owns the trip-planning website GoScopia.com. Since both of these projects - Scopia and Scopia Technologies - were on a part time basis, I started in 2005 to work for a tiny and amazing travel technology/software company called eGlobalfares. My position was operations manager for North America, in charge of all pricing and ticketing operations for our travel agencies clients. Ian, Dave and Michelle - the rest of the team - are very good friends until today. People I trust. eGlobalfares is today a supplier for Scopia LLC, providing the tools I need to sell airline tickets for my clients.
In 2008 I left eGlobalfares in search for opportunities with Fox World Travel based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. My title there was director of international travel (in charge of FIT - Fox International Team). At Fox Travel I built a system which allows them until now to save clients lots and lots of money on airline tickets.
Today, I use the same knowledge and expertise which I gave to others for your benefit. To help you make the right decisions, choose the right services for you and get the best possible experience for your time and money. Your trust is the biggest gift I can get from anyone and I will work very, very hard to make myself worthy of not only your hard-earned money, but also of your confidence in my professional capabilities. That's why I stop at nothing to make sure you get at least what you paid for.
As I wrote on the home page, I am a former Israeli now living and running my business from our little home in Bayside, Wisconsin, USA. "Former Israeli" is only a physical attribute, because like every immigrant, the heart, the soul, the mind and the dreams always take me back to my home in Israel.
Vivid images, smells, sounds and memories. A whispering breeze making its way through the fields of barley; an old Bedouin man walking along a winding mountain road, lifting his hand to ask for a ride; gigantic sunflowers slowly lifting their golden crowns to face the warmth of the Mediterranean sun; a distant tractor roaring up a hill; millions of flowers in endless colors showing off all their glory on the first days of spring; shrieking children jumping into the cold waters of the River Jordan on a sizzling summer afternoon.
Those memories of home are the basis for the experience I offer you. Of course, visiting every country's iconic tourism sites is a "must", but it's what happens between those sites that I believe makes the difference. It is what allows you to "experience a country" rather than "tour a country". And that is what Scopia LLC is all about.
My Professional Experience:
I started out in 1987, right after my mandatory Israeli military service, working for my father's travel company, Heavenly International Tours here in Milwaukee. At Heavenly Tours I became a specialist in private tours of Israel, Egypt and Jordan, arranging for dozens of tours for families and individuals. Yet since the company had mostly Christian groups as clients, I was also very involved in that aspect of the operations and gained a lot of experience in airline ticketing, land accommodations, design of specialty itineraries and much more.
In 1997, my family and I moved back to Israel where I worked for the country's largest tourism conglomerate, Ophir Tours which is an affiliate member of the global Carlson-Wagonlit chain (pronounced Vahgonlee). I started out there as manager for the company's branch in the coastal town of Nahariya, at the very north-western edge of the country. Until today, I consider the amazing team members in that branch - Lizi, Sarit, Mahmoud, Naaman, Dana, Olga and Rita - to be my second family. In late 2002 I was promoted to the position of VP for corporate travel, in charge of working with the company's corporate clients at headquarters in the city of Tel Aviv.
In 2004, my family and I moved back to Milwaukee and settled in Bayside. That's when Scopia LLC was started as well as the initial idea which would eventually turn into my other company, Scopia Technologies, LLC, which owns the trip-planning website GoScopia.com. Since both of these projects - Scopia and Scopia Technologies - were on a part time basis, I started in 2005 to work for a tiny and amazing travel technology/software company called eGlobalfares. My position was operations manager for North America, in charge of all pricing and ticketing operations for our travel agencies clients. Ian, Dave and Michelle - the rest of the team - are very good friends until today. People I trust. eGlobalfares is today a supplier for Scopia LLC, providing the tools I need to sell airline tickets for my clients.
In 2008 I left eGlobalfares in search for opportunities with Fox World Travel based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. My title there was director of international travel (in charge of FIT - Fox International Team). At Fox Travel I built a system which allows them until now to save clients lots and lots of money on airline tickets.
Today, I use the same knowledge and expertise which I gave to others for your benefit. To help you make the right decisions, choose the right services for you and get the best possible experience for your time and money. Your trust is the biggest gift I can get from anyone and I will work very, very hard to make myself worthy of not only your hard-earned money, but also of your confidence in my professional capabilities. That's why I stop at nothing to make sure you get at least what you paid for.
