ABA's Women in Buses: 50 Stories from 50 States | Page 34

• Fleet size : 18 motorcoaches and 1 mini coach
Panorama Tours is a charter bus company located in Wallington , NJ which is less than 20 miles outside of Manhattan . Michelle is a second-generation owner of Panorama Tours which was founded by her father , Joseph Zak , in 1995 . Panorama does not specialize in any specific type of travel , per say , as diversity has always been a big part of its success . The company caters to all groups , inclusive of seniors , universities , military , as well as all events , such as weddings , family reunions , athletic events , with an emphasis on safety and customer care , that has earned and continues to maintain Panorama ’ s impeccable reputation with employees , customers , and industry peers .
Michelle graduated from Rutgers University and joined her father at Panorama Tours in 2002 to help with reservations and office work . It didn ’ t take long for her to fall in love with the bus business . She quickly started taking on more responsibilities including regulatory paperwork , organizing , selling and guiding tours , solving various dispatch and logistical challenges , and more . Michelle ’ s love for the business took an extra step forward when in 2003 , while being a guide on a Panorama bus , she met her now husband , Michael while he was a guest on the trip . They were engaged later that year . In 2007 , their son , Jonathan was born and in 2008 , their daughter , Viktoria . The kids have been present at many UMA Expo ’ s throughout the years .
In August of 2008 Michelle became majority owner and President of Panorama Tours . In 2010 , she graduated from the Bus and Motorcoach Academy with an “ Accredited Passenger Transportation Operator ” certificate . Michelle is the visionary and the driving force of the company . She is well known and respected in the Motorcoach industry , from coast to coast . Panorama is a member of UMA , ABA and GNJMA , Spader 20 group , BISC , Women in Buses , and Motorcoach Professional Alliance not to mention
Michelle Petelicki Panorama Tours Owner and CEO michelle @ ptibus . com
many community organizations and various chambers . Michelle , also , sits on the executive board of Greater New Jersey Motor Coach Association as secretary .
By being involved , Michelle keeps herself informed of all the rules and regulations pertaining to the industry and due to this hunger for knowledge and information she is able to continuously push Panorama to be better . Furthermore , she also enjoys sharing that information with others . Michelle always has an open door and encourages her neighboring small bus companies to come to her with questions on changing regulations or just advice . Michelle believes in the importance of elevating the standards for all bus companies . This will , in turn , also advance the positive perspective of the traveling public when it comes to motorcoach travel .
Over the last 25 + years , Panorama has seen much growth and change but with every new chapter that has been written in its history , success has been found in the same thing - company culture and Panorama Professionals . COVID -19 has presented the largest challenge yet , however , Michelle and her team are ready to tackle this challenge head on . “ We don ’ t know what our company or even our industry will look like once we get past this pandemic , but we are ready to drive forward ; safely and with the same quality care that Panorama is known for .”

NEW JERSEY

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