LA RELÈVE: «Out of your comfort zone while traveling»... the new reality par Meighan Ratto, Collège Lasalle

Reflect on the last time you went on vacation, did you want to sit in your hotel all day or go out and explore the incredible local culture of the country you were in? Travellers nowadays want more out of their trips; they want to eat dinner in a local’s home, shop in family-run businesses and meet the skilled-artisans behind the products they purchase. The stories of these locals help travellers understand the history and context of a place in a way that they would never be able to on their own. It allows them to look beyond the perfect facade that the tourism industry and the corporate brands project and learn the truth about a destination. They also get the chance to find out what daily life looks like for the locals and recognize that we humans are all totally different and exactly alike at the same time.  

There is a rising demand for more authentic and engaging travel experiences. This is for both the activities travellers participate in on their trips but also the elements of design they look for in their hotels. Some visitors want to appreciate the local culture from the comfort of their hotel lobby while others prefer to fully immerse themselves into it. These are the travellers that choose to stay in hostels, home-stays or Airbnb’s, forego the popular see-it-all bus tours to pedal along residential paths and skip the dinner cruise to eat at a local restaurant. Either way, this is a new trend and travel brands need to adapt their services to meet this demand.  

Travellers want more out of their trips and they no longer want to be isolated from the places they visit. They want to come back feeling inspired and the best way to do so is to connect with the local citizens who call that city their home. They want to break the barriers of what is typically found in tourist guides and go beyond these activities. This allows for a more emotional and personal level of travel, lets the traveler feel the true character of a city and enriches their understanding of the local culture.

A study done on adult internet users from the U.S and the U.K on their travel habits shows that a huge majority of people want to book local the next time they travel. Only 6.4% of U.S travellers and 16% of U.K travellers want to travel in group tours from large firms (Skift). Travel brands, to suit the needs of these travellers, are offering a more connected and social way of travel and are choosing to work with small, individual operators. Brands like Trufflepig and Vayable are using this new trend to their advantage and are connecting travellers with local citizens from around the world to create customized travel experiences for them. This allows the traveller to experience a destination as much as possible like a local with the added benefit of meeting someone with similar interests as them. 

More and more tourists are also choosing hotels with local products and art because visitors love a special experience. They want their trip to be memorable and a basic hotel room is no longer going to cut it as they want more than just a place to sleep. The same design from coast to coast is out and the new shift focuses on local art on the walls and local aspects in the new designs to mimic the vibe of the city they are in. Hotels, in order to deal with this new demand, are starting to incorporate local artists into the design and aesthetic of their hotels. They are adding local flavours and ingredients to their menus and offering authentic local experiences to their guests in order to differentiate their hotel and distance themselves from the generic ones.

Travellers want a taste of the countries they visit so these changes allow for a more authentic, integrated and memorable travel experience. It also means people can travel and be reminded of where they are even if they choose to stay in their hotel all day. They can absorb the essence of a country’s culture from the design and atmosphere of their hotel alone. Visitors can also choose to leave the confines of their hotel, thanks to new partnerships between hotels and local tour companies. These partnerships allow them to go out into the city to connect with the locals with the safety net and comfort of knowing that there is a nice room for them to sleep in at the end of the day. Some examples of hotels who are embracing these new trends are the Hyatt, Marriott International and Fairmont. The Hyatt Chain requires all of its restaurants to feature a minimum of 5 local ingredients in their menu and Marriott International now works with PlacePass to allow their guests access to local tours. Guests can even use their reward points to redeem these activities. Tourists staying at the Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal can visit the Marché Artisans, just steps from their room, for local artisanal Quebec products such as chocolates, sauces and spices.

All in all, over time, this interest in local travel will continue to thrive. Tourists want more out of their trips and they are not afraid to go out of their comfort zone to get it. People are no longer as satisfied by these large travel companies and the products they offer. I think this quote by Henry Miller perfectly summarizes this article, “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” Travelling locally lets you see the world from a different perspective and opens your eyes beyond what is being marketed to tourists. It makes your travel experiences more memorable and valuable. You create connections, harbour a new understanding of the country you are visiting and leave with more than just souvenirs, photographs and memories in your back pocket.

So the next time you start to plan your vacation, think about all the incredible experiences you miss out on if you stay in a chain hotel, take part in the same activities and eat in the same restaurants as thousands of other people. Do you want to experience the actual “place” or just see the inside of your hotel? Be open to experience and let the world surprise you!

Meighan Ratto, College Lasalle

Bibliography

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Moyer, L. (2017). Hotels, Feeling the Pinch of Airbnb, Promote Local Experiences. [online] Nytimes.com. Available at: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/29/travel/hotels-feeling-the-pinch-of-airbnb-promote-local-experiences.html [Accessed 30 Sep. 2019].

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