Dan Christian, chief marketing officer at Spirited Stories parent Dharma, explains why he thinks agents should turn their attention to passion-led experiences in 2023
We’re accustomed to talking about passion in the holiday industry; it’s a sector that people are attracted to work in because of their love of travel, exploring different countries and cultures, as well as the wonderful sense of community. It’s a similar love of travel that motivates our customers to tick off their personal bucket-list of destinations, and why hard-earned breaks are considered such a necessity in the modern world.
That said, events of the last few years have been a catalyst for widespread behavioural changes. Most of us have re-evaluated our lives to some degree, and are prioritising the things that matter to us most. Our loved ones, our interests and our passion points have been brought to the fore, where they rightly should be.
More: Spirited Stories introduces three new wine and spirits tours
In keeping with this, motivations to travel have evolved at pace and so must the products that we offer to our clients. Yes, we will all continue wanting to explore new parts of the world but, more than ever, we want to spend our precious leisure time doing the things that excite and inspire us the most. For that reason, passion economy-based travel is a key industry trend that agents should be aware of, and harnessing as part of their business strategy for the next 12 months.
Understanding customers’ passion points and curating travel experiences that speak to those interests will unlock huge commercial potential. Experiences are now as – if not more – important than the actual destination when it comes to choosing a holiday. If agents can tap into their customers’ loves and interests, and offer a holiday that is filled with their favourite things, the sale will be theirs.
At Dharma, we so strongly believe that this trend will shape the future of travel that we have launched a brand-new passion economy-based travel company called Spirited Stories, which will deliver unparalleled and trade-friendly enotourism experiences from January onwards. This collection of itineraries has been made for travellers who are passionate about wines and spirits, and will give guests unparalleled access to the world’s best loved and most exciting drinks, their makers and the destinations that inspired them.
Launching with 11 itineraries – including explorations into Absolut Vodka in Sweden, Ricard Pastis in Marseilles, and Bourbon in Kentucky – and regularly adding more exciting destinations and brands, demonstrates the potential that we think passion-based travel has next year. The Enotourism Global Market Report 2022 predicts that enotourism will increase by 14 per cent, reaching $12.99bn in 2026. Clearly tapping into the passion economy makes good business sense for agents and operators alike.
Passion-led experiences also create a highly convivial environment, where shared interests can be enjoyed in the company of other similarly motivated, like minded people. Mutual passions can create the most meaningful connections, enhancing and enriching our travel experiences. The power of the connections that passion economy travel brands can create has been a key factor in the success of one of Dharma’s more established brands, Looking FC, which offers trips for football lovers in partnership with Eric Cantona. Bringing people together over their shared passion for the beautiful game creates rich connections with the destination and fellow travellers, forging friendships for life.
Ultimately, it is when we help our customers to do what they are truly passionate about and facilitate camaraderie with people that ‘get’ them, that we are realising the full potential of our industry. Passion economy-based travel is definitely something for us all to get passionate about next year.
More: Spirited Stories introduces three new wine and spirits tours