Do you ever have that problem where you’ve just read about this amazing travel experience (hopefully here on this blog, right?) or have found out about that really special, secret place that you want to go to, but you can’t find a good tour operator to get you there or offer you the service you want?
That’s all changed.
Totally fabulous is all I can say about the new travel directory available from Tourdust. They are sharing authentic travel experiences, but the difference is their directory of small, niche providers offering great and affordable tours. How about an olive oil tour in Sierra de Grazalema? Check. Sailing the Scottish islands? No problem.
I was so impressed with the concept that I spoke with Anna Colclough, one of the founders of Tourdust, to get a bit more information.
Has tourdust reviewed the vendors being displayed or otherwise vetted them?
We review and approve all new providers individually. We try to speak to them, spend a lot of time looking online to see what is being said about them. The about us page on their websites tends to be a huge indicator of the authenticity and character of the experience, it really gives us a strong sense of their personality. It’s also really important we get our users to write reviews and report any abuse. Ultimately though we are a marketplace not a travel agent – as a customer you are contacting a provider directly. This is great for independent travellers who generally would prefer to talk to the person locally and make their own judgements, rather than trust those of an agent. Having said all that, we would really love to be visit them all and check them out – that would be awesome.
Have you and Ben used any of the vendors on the site? Which one is your favourite, and why?
Ben’s crazy about all of the wilderness & mountaineering experiences, but he’s on his own there. Since we’ve got two little kids it’s been harder to do some of the more intrepid stuff (which isn’t to say we don’t have the urge to). Our favourite has to be Teniqua Treetops – which is a bunch of eco treehouses in South Africa. We were there last December with the kids. Our cabin was perched overlooking the most beautiful pristine forested valley. There were huge spiders and birds everywhere. The bath was next to a massive window overlooking the valley. We spent a couple of days hiking around the forest. It was out of this world. Having said that there are so many experiences on the site we would love to do – it can be quite galling actually, we spend all day talking to people running these amazing passion businesses who are out every day kayaking or skiing, whilst we’re here in the rain!
You have an authentic experiences forum on your site. What are you doing with the chat that results here?
Every time we travel we always stumble across a couple of great local experiences which are really characterful and authentic to the locality. Usually, we’ve got on really well with our host or guide and are keen to help out by telling others about them. This is what it’s all about really, travellers supporting the local business by spreading the word to other like-minded travellers. When we have a good recommendation we will try and contact the provider and invite them into the community to promote themselves with a full listing (which by the way doesn’t cost them anything, only a small transaction fee for any bookings they get through the site). We’re really keen to welcome the businesses themselves into the community on an equal status as the travellers – which I think only works because they are small authentic personality driven businesses not some faceless corporate hotel.
Clearly there are a lot of great travel networks already collecting traveller’s stories, but we feel that so many of them focus just on the quality inspirational travel writing side, with few doing a good job at collecting and sharing quality tips on actual places to stay or things to do. A typical example would be reading a fantastic article on Worldreviewer or Matadornetwork about a rafting trip. You get all inspired and start researching options and typically all you’ll then find online is the more commercial stuff like a big GAP Adventures rafting package or some large local commercial rafting outfit. Hopefully, by offering a combination of both user contributed suggestions and our own, we should be able to provide some good authentic options instead.
Like I said, absolutely fabulous. Brilliant. I love it. Check it out, you will too. You’ll likely see more of Anna and Ben’s great stuff here on Sharing Experiences as obviously we have a similar ethos – real, authentic travel that inspires.
Do you think there is a need in the market for a home for small, authentic niche providers like what Tourdust is providing? Weight in down in the comments section.
Image Credit
Travel photos by Gunna
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