Experiential travel - Have you done it yet?

“TRAVEL IS MORE THAN THE SEEING OF SIGHTS. IT IS A CHANGE THAT GOES ON DEEP AND PERMANENT, IN THE IDEAS OF LIVING” – MIRIAM BEARD

The traveller today is seeking real experiences. Comforts, amenities, attractions, packaged tours, must-sees and photos are things of the past and slowly fading away having failed to quench the thirst of the experiential traveller.

It is the real-life, first-hand experiences that the travellers are seeking.

We thought about experiential travel and what it means. It could be defined in numerous ways:

• When you feel the place instead of just looking at it; when you have absorbed the sights, sound, smell and taste of a place, that is experiential travel
• It’s about engaging with the local people and truly experiencing their lifestyle and culture from the front line
• They are encounters that bring a smile to our faces, affect us profoundly and enrich our lives.
• As a traveller, if you are willing to immerse yourself in a place, experience it by exploring and engaging with the local people, that is experiential travel
• It is about going beyond the beaten tourist tracks and getting into the spirit of a local culture. It is not about guidebooks, travel books, expensive chain hotels or resorts. It is about visiting a site not found in guidebooks, staying at a camp or a local stay, eating at a place recommended by the locals.
• If you can give something back to the place that you have visited and take back beautiful and life enriching memories, that is experiential travel.

We think it’s more about doing, getting under the skin of a place than just seeing.

 We are working on providing many such meaningful local experiences to the global community of experiential travellers. Do you just see a place? Have you started experiencing yet?