What if I told you that the secret to the most transformative travel experiences has nothing to do with the destination and everything to do with who you're traveling with. Welcome to the getaway navigator. I'm your host, Chris Walker, and this is episode one of a new podcast dedicated to exploring group travel, not just as a way to split costs, but as a catalyst for life changing experiences. We're talking about corporate teams that come back from retreats as unstoppable collaborators, families who held decades of distance through shared adventures.
and friend groups who turn bucket list dreams into reality through the power of traveling together. From 10 person culinary tours through Morocco to 100 person family reunions on Mediterranean cruises, group travel is creating connections and memories that solo travelers simply can't access. this podcast is the intro to why the future of meaningful travel just might be, well, plural. But first you're probably asking yourself, this is a podcast for you and that's a fair question.
I don't want to waste your time. So let me tell you who this podcast is for and the topics that we'll be covering. This podcast is for people who want to plan or manage their own DIY group travel experience, or for those who may want to participate in group travel, but really aren't quite sure exactly how.
So the three pillars of the Gateway Navigator are group travel, planning, managing, and participating. each week we'll be diving a little bit deeper into one of the topics or sub-topics.
Moving into group travel planning, destinations. we all know the basic destinations out there. have all inclusive resorts, cruise lines, small group tours, but what about the sub destinations to these? Okay, so with cruise lines, you have the ocean cruises, you have expedition cruises, you have river cruises. Each one has a different pro and con. They may or may not be right for your group. And we'll dive deeper as we continue into each of these along with the all inclusive resorts.
Small group tours, we have the basics, we have the safety and numbers. You don't have to worry about hotel accommodations, meals are usually taken care of. Oftentimes these are more culturally immersive experiences. However, you're on a schedule. Free time isn't always available when you want. Then there's the group types. So in the group types, you have multi-generational family vacations. You have to think about keeping toddlers and grandparents entertained. You have sibling trips or friends trips. Think bachelor or bachelor.
spending a few days either hiking the Inca Trail or a cullinary through Italy, destination reunions. Then we move into the group travel management. with managing, you have the basics in managing. have the budgets, communication, expectations, generations, and activity levels. But we're not talking about just you as the planner. We're talking about for everyone. Not everyone has the same income. Not everyone communicates the same way. Some people may prefer to communicate in a Facebook group. Other people may communicate.
better with group me and some people, may just want an actual phone call or email expectations. Some people, when they think vacations, they think relaxing, relaxation on the beach and they're watching the waves crest up upon the shore. Other people, when they think vacation, they think adventure travel, they think the Inca trail, they think Machu Picchu. Then you have multiple generations with physical capability.
Not everyone's always able to achieve the same different activity levels as other people. You have accessibility options and concerns to pay attention to.
With group travel participation, we have different things to consider as well, such as group inclusion. We want to make sure that everyone feels confident and prepared for the adventure. So we're going to pay attention to wellness travel, cancer travel, oncology-trained...
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