SnoworSand local Morocco expert, Simo, speaks to guests last March about the necessity of travel in breaking false stereotypes about the Muslim world.
Bridging the gap between independent and organized group travel
An age-old conflict exists between travelers who prefer to strike out on their own – independents – and those who prefer to join organized tours – groupies.
Independents refuse to part with their sense of self-driven freedom and adventure. The spontaneity of flying solo with a backpack and guidebook defines their experience. Groupies, on the other hand, value the convenience, comfort, structure and personalized expertise offered by guided itineraries.
With the rise of do-it-yourself online travel resources and social networks (think Couchsurfer), there has been a decline in traditional mom-and-pop, brick and mortar travel agencies with their lavish cruises and 5-star tours. The local travel movement, with its focus on sustainability, responsibility, and supporting local economies, has become a dominant trend in the past decade and has cast a shadow on the tourism industry fat cats.
This trend gives rise to some important questions: will independent, locally-focused travel eventually push traditional agencies and tour operators out of the industry? Will organized group travel become a thing of the past? Probably not, but the question still has implications for the future of the industry.
As the director of research and development for a US-based travel company called SnoworSand, the task of harmonizing these seemingly irreconcilable ideologies – independent versus group travel – has become the focus of my career.
Continue reading this article on the SnoworSand blog, where the author asks three important questions:
(1) Is it possible to bridge the gap between independent and organized group travel or are these ideologies inherently and essentially at odds?
(2) Where should travel companies focus in order to create packaged travel experiences from which every kind of traveler (independent, groupie or somewhere in between) can derive benefit?
(3) What’s your opinion about the progress SnoworSand has made in “bridging the gap?”
Interesting…initial busy afternoon and in need of a sundowner thoughts…
question 1: yes i think it can be achieved. But i think in order to truly bridge the gap the ‘tours’ have to be highly personalised to the group or individual. we have known clients that dont even want to be known as ‘guests’ as this places them in a category they do not want to be in. they also didnt like things like feedback forms etc…hard one and time consuming and costly trying to achieve the perfect non- organized itinerary that is actually highly structured for the TO as it has to appear unstructured! It can work but we have found to do it well is not budget backpacker travel prices!
question 2: I think to look beyond the surface- what more can your destination offer- spread yourself over many different areas and themes, not just use one market seller to link with but choose three or four, choose a few different examples of communities to work with (speaking from African perspective here!). We have found this leads to a fairer distribution of benefits from tourism and you don’t have the saturation issue that tourism brings which often spoils the experience for the more independent traveller.
question 3: it sounds great from what i have read on your blog- i cant seem to connect to your main site at the moment but will try again in the morning- African connection not great here.
Kate, Malawi.
Posted by Kate Ward | May 4, 2010, 5:06 pmHi, the essential elements to be successful seem to me to be;
1. Groups must be small ….very small
2. The “tour” or package must offer an experience which the independent traveller would find very hard to do on their own, or which would be a hollow experience without the interpretive value of the local guide.
Posted by Len Cordiner | May 5, 2010, 9:27 amSince I started traveling I have never traveled in a group tour – I always avoided them because I preferred finding my own path. I can’t answer your questions from my own experience.
It feels like quite a challenging mission. But also a very good one – your tours may help people who normally wouldn’t travel like a local to experience the feeling. Good luck on your mission!
Posted by Bart van Poll | May 5, 2010, 10:25 amI agree there will always be people who enjoy the group interaction, and people who want to solely explore on their own… thats fine… but there is a lot in between.
So as well as keeping the size of the group small, I think things like social media will enable not just more oporuntiy for individual, customised travel….traveller direct to local suopplier, but also allow like minded groups of individuals to connect and travel together.
Perhaps a more blended option will come to the fray…. an organised tour (with a good local guide exploring things they couldnt do on their own as Len mentions) with plenty of time for indvidual exploraiton and discovery… personally thats more the experience I would like.
Posted by Shaun | May 6, 2010, 2:15 amThanks for all your comments. Great stuff.
I think Shaun’s comment gets to the heart of what would make up an ideal organized trip. That is, it should be something that provides value to all interests and travel styles, whether the traveler is independent or group-oriented.
Even the most experienced and independent-minded travelers find value in the local expert, simply because they’re such passionate cultural resources. Of course, those who are determined to meet local people can do so on there own, however finding the right person is never guaranteed and many travelers aren’t as socially outgoing as others. Perhaps we are best fit for a certain niche of independent traveler – those who want to meet locals but don’t feel comfortable striking up conversation with strangers. Our local experts are tasked with gauranteeing meaningful interaction. But then other important questions must be addressed. For example, will this this kind of packaged cultural interaction become cookie-cutter and superficial as our locals continue leading trips? SnoworSand is still a young company so the outcome isn’t certain, however I’ve definitely noticed our locals become exhausted befriending so many guests, especially when several trips run consecutively. This effects their ability to deliver a the same quality of cultural experience.
On a final note, the greatest difficulty we experience in bridging the gap between the two travel ideologies deals less with actually delivering a product people like, but rather accurately depicting the product during the advertising and sales processes. With so many travel companies out there offering “off-the-beaten-path” local experiences, how can small businesses who actually fulfill that promise stand out and differentiate themselves?
This issue is reminiscent of “green-washing,” in which an organization exaggerates its sustainable practices in order to appear more environmentally oriented than it actually is. In both cases, false advertising makes it difficult for the trully green and locally-oriented businesses to hold onto their competitive niche.
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Mark01
Posted by Super Travel Insurance | June 29, 2010, 11:54 am