74:, NY, at first alone, then with staff made necessary by the increased workload. Competing services soon sprang up, and they began to use the Internet, reaching a larger audience at a lower cost. Jurgen, however, resisted transferring TCE to the Web due to his concern over the privacy and safety of his members, citing the difficulty of verifying the identity of online applicants. He did, however, put up home pages which directed visitors to the mailing address and phone numbers of the Amityville office.
59:, which generated a flood of inquiries. As a result, the business grew quickly, and within a year it had 2,500 active members in 48 states, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Japan. By 1997 it had served over 70,000 members. No figures are available for the total number of members it had in the full 20 years it was in operation.
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The monthly mailings were accompanied by a newsletter in which Jurgen shared tips drawn from his wealth of experience in the travel sector, and from the contributions of members and other travel professionals. This newsletter was rated by
Newsday as "one of the three best general travel newsletters."
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established by Jens Jurgen in 1982. As the first general interest travel companion matching service in existence, it became the forerunner of many similar services and helped pioneer and legitimize the field of singles matching services in general. It was the largest and most successful of its type
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He developed a profile questionnaire that identified key personal habits and preferences that would impact on compatibility while traveling. After completing the questionnaire and mailing it to the TCE office, members were mailed a monthly summary of the profiles of all members with current travel
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Initially, his goal was to provide a service that would help travelers save money by sharing expenses, particularly to avoid the single supplement levied by cruise ship operators. He did not at first think that the service would serve as a matchmaker. However, he found that more than 70 percent of
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While traveling alone through Europe Jurgen developed the idea for a companion matching service for travelers. He already was operating a similar program for members who shared a common interest in the arts, and he had written several short books on travel subjects. Using the
127:(1997 and 2000 editions) which became recognized as the best consumer guide available and Jurgen was frequently quoted in articles on the subject. The titles were all well received by the public, and in total, he sold approximately 120,000 copies of the books.
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In 1997, he married Eul Lee, whom he had met through TCE. She became his partner in the business as well – in fact, the demands of the work were such that they could only drive to
Philadelphia for a few days for their honeymoon.
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While there, he started the employees' travel program, chartering flights to Europe, and began researching and writing on travel subjects. In 1976, after a divorce, he quit his job and toured Europe in an RV for three years.
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of those who had contacted him with inquiries about the books, he sent a questionnaire to gauge their interest in finding a travel companion. Met with an overwhelming positive response, he commenced on the larger service.
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The profile was so successful in indicating potentially compatible partners that the service suffered an unusually high turn-over due to members finding a permanent partner and dropping their memberships.
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105:(1973) The latter book led to his being called as an expert witness on air travel matters before a US Senate Committee which ultimately led to the airline deregulation hearings.
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After his retirement, Jurgen retained ownership of the domain names he had used for TCE as well as several other travel related domains. In 2011 he sold the
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These books also brought such a quantity of inquiries by mail that he organized his own charter travel club and operated it until 1973.
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his clients either requested companions of the opposite sex or were willing to accept them; fewer than 15 percent wanted private rooms.
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plans or desires. They could then request the full profiles and contact information for those they were interested in.
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domain to Brian Eugene, a former member of TCE, who revived it as an
Internet-only travel companion matching service.
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Hulse, Jerry (November 13, 1983). "Club for Lonely Single
Travelers Produces Joy in Amityville Today".
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Hulse, Jerry (Nov. 13, 1983). "Club for Lonely Single
Travelers Produces Joy in Amityville Today"
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The novelty and utility of the service soon resulted in write-ups in major publications like the
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123:(1978) Accumulated tips from the TCE newsletter were compiled into a 24-page booklet called
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218:"Traveling Smart / Tips And Strategies – Help for Singles Seeking Bargains, Companions"
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1001 sources for Free Travel
Information – Valuable Freebies You Should Know About
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Jurgen wrote and self-published several books during his career, including:
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Originally from
Germany, Jurgen was a mechanical engineer who worked for
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sidebar, unattributed (July 1983). "Finding a Travel
Companion".
334:"For the Widowed, Travel, Like Time, Helps Heal All Wounds"
187:"Travelers Who Want To Solo Face High Prices For Solitude"
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Jurgen closed the business in 2003 for personal reasons.
572:"Travel and Singles / Dating Business Domains for Sale"
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He continued to write and publish other travel titles:
441:"Pickpockets, Bag Snatchers and Other Travel Delights"
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Ketcham, Diane (March 23, 1997) "Romance in the Air"
594:"Seniors on the Go: How singles can avoid the gouge"
546:"Savvy Travelers: Don't Be Outwitted By Pickpockets"
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Guide to Air
Charter Groups and Air Travel Bargains
125:Foiling Pickpockets and Other Travel-related Scams
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70:Jurgen operated the business out of his home in
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389:"Exchange helps singles find travel partners"
360:"Seniority: Matching Up, for Travel and More"
275:"Seniority; Matching Up, for Travel and More"
161:"Seniority: Matching Up, for Travel and More"
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103:Air Travel & Charter Flight Handbook
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185:Reynolds, Christopher (March 2, 1997).
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544:Gardner, Marilyn (October 22, 1997).
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393:The Bend Bulletin (LA Times Service)
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670:American social networking websites
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513:Yenkel, James T. (June 22, 1997).
439:Simmonds, Robert B. (April 1998).
387:Hulse, Jerry (November 13, 1983).
216:Shea, Barbara (November 7, 1995).
119:(1976,1977 and 1978 editions) and
14:
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487:Ketcham, Diane (March 23, 1997).
413:Ketcham, Diane (March 23, 1997).
332:Spano, Susan (February 6, 2000).
242:Allen, Jean (November 24, 1996).
515:"Don't be Robbed of a Good Time"
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592:Perkins, Ed (October 3, 2012).
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141:www.travelcompanionexchange.com
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550:The Christian Science Monitor
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19:(TCE) was a travel companion
244:"The Lone Traveler's Lament"
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358:Brock, Fred (May 2, 1999).
273:Brock, Fred (May 2, 1999).
159:Brock, Fred (May 2, 1999).
99:European Car Ferry Services
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445:The Mexico File Newsletter
248:South Florida Sun Sentinel
191:South Florida Sun Sentinel
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113:Charter Flight Directory,
17:Travel Companion Exchange
665:American travel websites
468:. Travel Companions Inc
117:"How To Fly for Less"
87:Long Island Light Co.
618:admin (2018-05-23).
525:on November 18, 2018
489:"Romance in the Air"
415:"Romance in the Air"
570:Wegscheider, Jens.
519:The Washington Post
57:Prevention magazine
649:The New York Times
493:The New York Times
419:The New York Times
364:The New York Times
279:The New York Times
165:The New York Times
643:Los Angeles Times
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35:mailing list
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466:"About TCE"
101:(1971) and
659:Categories
629:2023-08-06
319:Prevention
147:References
115:subtitled
72:Amityville
603:21 April
577:23 April
555:24 April
529:24 April
498:24 April
472:23 April
450:25 April
424:25 April
398:20 April
369:22 April
343:25 April
284:22 April
258:25 April
227:21 April
201:25 April
170:23 April
135:Revival
97:(1967)
81:Founder
28:History
605:2013
579:2013
557:2013
531:2013
500:2013
474:2013
452:2013
426:2013
400:2013
371:2013
345:2013
286:2013
260:2013
229:2013
203:2013
172:2013
55:and
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