| What is contrarian travel?
Just as a 'contrarian investor' is one who profits by avoiding
what the masses are doing, a 'contrarian traveler' can save a
fortune by going a different direction than the mainstream majority
of tourists.
It is simply the idea of avoiding the peak crowds, the peak seasons,
the peak destinations and reaping the economic advantage that
brings. The great by-product is that this usually leads to a more
enriching experience as well.
Why did you write this book?
As a travel writer, I get loads of questions about how to save
money on travel, both from friends and relatives and from complete
strangers who have read a book or article I wrote. Most of them
seem overwhelmed by the sheer volume of travel information out
there and seem to have this nagging feeling that they could always
be getting a better deal than they are.
So I set out to list a group of strategies that kind of cut through
the clutter and are easy to remember. Anyone who follows these
will do better than 95% of the other travelers out there, just
because they're not doing what that other 95% is. I kind of wanted
to clear the brush and show people this lesser-known path, away
from the Caribbean package tours and Europe-in-the-summer throngs.
Do package tours ever offer good value?
Package tours serve a purpose in terms of taking care of all
the logistics and providing a guaranteed communal experience.
Some people are more comfortable letting others make decisions
for them and they like the idea of having a built-in set of companions.
Travelers trade control and choices for less effort and less planning
time.
The key is to find a tour company that's not running a cattle
bus operation. There are some tour companies that are known for
running small, low-impact tours that experience the local culture
rather than shunning it and isolating travelers from what makes
a place unique. They even take local transportation. Others contribute
little to the local economy and are little more than a way to
get from one photo op to another.
Have you seen package tour operators open up their itineraries
to accommodate the diversity of traveler interests?
It is interesting that the lowest-price overland tours are often
the ones that have the most flexibility built in. Ones run by
G.A.P. Adventures and Intrepid, for instance, often offer basic
lodging in a pedestrian-friendly location and there's plenty of
free time for wandering. Companies like these are trying to appeal
to travelers who don't want to be carted around on a tour bus
all day, travelers who want to discover things on their own --
but still have a general framework and support system in place.
Do you have any recommended websites for the contrarian
traveler?
This is a moving target, but the goal is to find locally run ones
that have a good sense of the area. Look for sites like AndeanTravelWeb,
BrazilMax,
BelizeFirst,
TravelFish.org,
and GotoNicaragua.com.
If there's a site like this for the place you're going, it's a
good spot to look for interesting places to stay.
Ironically, the best place to find these localized web sites is
in a good guidebook. Younger travelers have this feeling that
you can find everything you need on the Web, but it's a mistake
to try to do all the travel planning from a computer chair. Get
a guidebook while you are making all your plans, not two days
before you leave. Someone has put a good six months or more of
research into that book, so it's far more reliable and credible
than most of what you'll find on the web, and much less time-consuming
than wading through all the useless noise out there.
There is also a feedback mechanism with guidebooks. If there is
a major screw-up, angry letters come in and that offending place
will be removed. Guidebooks are a starting point though -- not
a blueprint for your trip. Don't blindly follow "the Lonely
Planet Trail." Plus there is a lot of grumbling lately that
the guidebooks have collectively lost a lot of personality and
are all trying to appeal to the widest possible audience. So start
with a book, then chart your own path.
How can local operators use the Web to contact contrarian
travelers? If you are a small hotel, how do you get noticed?
Unfortunately, a lot of hotels, especially in developing countries,
are stuck in the year 1996 or earlier. To get noticed now, the
first priority is a current, regularly updated web site. You need
plenty of descriptive text, ample photos, and an email address
that actually gets answered, in English. The web site doesn't
have to be beautiful and in fact, using Flash instead of HTML
can really hurt the rankings in a search engine. But it has to
have the right keywords to match a typical Google search, it needs
to give a good sense of what the hotel is like, and all rates
and packages should be listed. Too much information is better
than not enough. Then make sure your hotel is listed on every
local tourism-related site that has lodging info.
Also, it sounds trite, but be nice to everyone who passes through.
Offer good service and good value. It's important to make a good
impression with guidebook authors and travel writers, of course,
but these days every guest is a potential mouthpiece. With hotel
review sites such as TripAdvisor, VirtualTourist, Hostelz, and
IgoUgo posting reviews from anyone, your past guests can potentially
make or break your business.
Can you tell us more about Perceptive Travel?
PerceptiveTravel.com
features quality travel narratives, travel book reviews, and world
music reviews, with everything written by published book authors.
I launched it this past January because I was frustrated with
the limited number of opportunities for travel authors to get
their interesting and offbeat work out in front of people. A lot
of magazines geared to independent travelers went under at the
beginning of this decade and nothing has replaced them. So I took
it upon myself to do something about the problem and provide a
home for some homeless articles. The reaction has been quite good
and a story from Rolf Potts is published in the Best American
Travel Writing 2006 anthology. Not a bad start!
And finally ... what's on your agenda for 2007?
I'm getting ready to start on a new book with Rob Sangster. It
will be Traveler's Tool Kit Mexico and Central America, out in
late 2007. A planning guide for travelers who are just starting
to stretch their legs and are headed to that region. I'm doing
some research for that and am also taking my family to Guatemala
and Belize for summer vacation. That's enough planning for now!
MAKING CONTACT
For more information about Tim's work, check out his blog.
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