Meet Nicholas Christopher: An Artful Agent
by Judy Jacobs |
Being a travel agent wasn’t Nicholas Christopher’s first career choice when he was ready to enter the job market more than 35 years ago.
But Christopher, an artist and photographer with a newly-earned master’s degree in psychology, couldn’t find suitable work. His father offered him a bit of money to start a business – as long as it didn’t involve art or photography.
Christopher looked around to see what Soho, his neighborhood at the time, was lacking and discovered it didn’t have a travel agency.
So relying on the knowledge gained by taking a course at the New School along with having a sister-in-law who worked for a wholesaler, Christopher set up shop.
His idea: to provide travel arrangements for the artists, architects and other creative people who lived and worked in Soho.
An artful niche
Today, Long Island City, N.Y.-based Turon Travel specializes in international art fairs, art and antique fairs, and special arts events.
Christopher himself is an artist and a member of the Federation of Modern Painters and Sculptors. (His work focuses on sculpture-like pieces made from photographs.)
Turon employs five agents plus a staffer who handles accounting. Christopher’s daughter, son, sister-in-law, and wife all work at the agency.
Dramatic change
Christopher said his business has changed dramatically over the years.
“Initially we did a lot of retail, airline tickets, weekend packages and tons of Caribbean. As the neighborhood grew, the needs grew, and we did more and more corporate,” he said.
“We started becoming a training institute,” he added. “People would come in from the reservation system. After a year or so they learned to be real travel agents and they got gobbled up.
“The airlines cut our commissions in 1995. I was tired of it.”
Good timing
At about the same time, the art fair phenomenon began to grow.
Christopher attended the fairs and began to be approached by fair organizers to manage their hotel blocks and travel.
Turon now works with about 40 events around the world from New York and Hong Kong to Paris and Mexico City.
Among the fairs it handles are Art Basel, the Spring Masters New York, Expo Chicago, and Frieze London.
Previously art collectors would go to a destination and be wined and dined by the local galleries, said Christopher.
Now they can attend a four-day event and still be wined and dined—but also experience a multi-day celebration of art.
Negotiating rates
Part of Turon’s business involves arranging room blocks to house attendees.
“We have to show the properties it’s valid to work with us every year,” Christopher said. “They give us a rate, and our rates are always the lowest.
“We have a very large client base now that appreciates the service and the rates.”
Turon’s clients include art collectors, dealers, gallery staff, and people who just love art.
To reach them Christopher creates an annual virtual magazine that serves as a reference guide to the events. It goes out to more than 25,000 people.
Clients come from about 100 countries, but 60% of them are from the U.S.
When negotiating room blocks, Christopher tries to find properties in a range of prices, so even people with lower budgets can attend.
“Art fairs should be for anyone,” he said.
Private viewings
Turon also handles groups connected to the fairs. That business tends to be focused on museums and universities.
Many of the groups want private viewings, which Christopher can arrange.
“If you’re going into Miami there’s a lot of people who have private art collection in the warehouse district,” he said. ‘If you’re talking about Asia, most artwork is in private collections.”
