Travelers' Century Club

The Travelers ' Century Club (TCC ) is an American professional association whose members have traveled at least 100 countries. It was founded in 1954 by Bert Hemphill in Los Angeles. With his company Hemphill Hemphill Travel Service was a pioneer in the implementation of exclusive world travel by plane.

In the 1950s a small group of wealthy people, this was not possible. The regulars of Hemphill Travel Service and its guide met the first criterion.

In 1960 the club had 43 members. By 1980, the number grew to 300. Today, approximately 2,000 people are members of the Travelers ' Century Club. About ten percent of whom come from the travel industry.

Valid for admission criterion countries and regions are defined in an official, adopted by the TCC Board list based on the DXCC list of countries of the American Radio Relay League. This list is constantly updated and now contains 321 areas. These include not only countries, but also remote islands (eg Diego Garcia ), remote areas (eg Siberia ) and the Territories.

The club honors the visit of 100, 150, 200, 250, and 300 countries and regions. The proof of the visit of the first 100 countries / regions is usually done based on trust, with confirmations must be submitted upon request. To visit all other areas, proof is necessary. Minimum stay is not required.

John Clouse was the first person who has traveled to all 315 countries and regions. He was listed in the 1995 Guinness World Records as the most far -traveled man. Early 2007 have visited all 315 regions 9 people. The youngest was 37 years old when he achieved this goal. The youngest person who has traveled to 100 countries / territories, was two years and eight months old.

How difficult this goal is to reach out to show the efforts of the members to attain it. To visit the different areas in Antarctica, often several trips on Russian icebreakers or similar exotic transport are necessary because of bad weather. Some areas (Diego Garcia, Wake Iceland, etc.) are not accessible by commercial transportation, so that the club members specifically to charter ships for passage.

The admission fee to the Travelers ' Century Club is 100 U.S. dollars, the annual fee in addition 65-85 U.S. dollars. The new member receives a pin and quarterly members magazine, The Centurian. Anyone who has visited 75 countries / regions may participate as a provisional member in the meetings and events of the Travelers ' Century Club, however, is not entitled to vote.

There are the following membership levels:

  • Visited from 75 countries / regions: Provisional Members
  • From 100 countries visited / regions: Member
  • Visited from 150 countries / regions: Silver Member
  • From 200 countries visited / regions: Goldmember
  • From 250 countries visited / regions: Platinum Member
  • From 300 countries visited / regions: Diamond Member
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