The Introduction

The world is changing. It’s time for conscious evolution in travel and tourism. The TTC is using this moment as a launchpad to something completely different, a transformation economy, and encouraging a mindset, approach, and model that measures success based on more holistic, virtuous, and enduring outcomes.

No, travel is not transformational. Just by relocating yourself from one point to another doesn’t transform you. You’ll have experiences, you may or may not learn something new, but until you’ve applied meaning and taken action, you have not changed.

Transformation requires that we explore ourselves even as we explore the world—and that is where we’ve fallen short. Travel today too often reinforces existing boundaries, worldviews, and practices rather than stretching and illuminating them.

When we recognize that our perspective defines our experience, our participation matters, by setting intention, being mindful, reflecting, meaning-making, and embodying desired growth back home travel becomes transformational.

With this understanding, travel can join other catalysts for personal transformation and impact new lifestyle choices, from family and relationships to life events, personal health, etc. To be further explored, travel can be catalytic in a handful of areas: relationships, ecological footprint, consumer and travel choices, social purpose and philanthropic commitments, lifestyle and time management choices, and mindful, contemplative practice.

Tourism, one of the world’s most powerful economic drivers, generating $1 out of every $10 worldwide, is experiencing an existential crisis and needs to evolve. By embracing a transformative experience strategy with regenerative thinking, we’d collectively be co-creating the fertile conditions to build healthier, more compassionate, and eco-conscious tourism.

This requires a fundamental transition from producing transactional activities to facilitating transformative experiences. To achieve this, the tourism industry must become an interconnected, self-organizing, regenerative system that positively impacts visitors, hosts, communities, and the organizations that serve it.  

We suffer from a crisis of good travel. We are increasingly disassociated from the things that matter most—each other, our experiences, our communities, and our impact. Tourism is ripe for an enlightened disruption that advances its ability to be a force for positive change, personally and societally.

Table of Contents

“​​Significant change is incredibly hard to accomplish on our own. Enterprises should recognize the economic opportunity offered by the transformation business, in which they partner with consumers to improve some fundamental aspect of their lives—to achieve a ‘new you’.”
— Harvard Business Review, Joe Pine, Author, ”The Experience Economy” and TTC Advisor

1. INTRODUCTION

2. WHAT IS TRANSFORMATIONAL TRAVEL?

2.1. What is Transformation?

2.2. The Process of Transformation

2.3. What is Transformational Travel?

3. MARKET OVERVIEW

3.1. The Transformational Consumer

3.2. The Transformational Traveler

3.3. Market Drivers and Key Trends

3.4. Consumer Goals

4. TRADE AND BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES

5. INNOVATION IN TRAVEL DESIGN AND FACILITATION

6. INTEGRATION INTO TOURISM AND SOCIETY

6.1. Foundational Framework

6.2. Integration with Regenerative Development of Communities

7. CONCLUSIÓN

8. THE AUTHORS

Jake Haupert, Co-Founder and CEO of The Transformational Travel Council

Dr. Marco Antonio Robledo (PhD, MBA, BA), Professor in the Department of Business Economics at the University of the Balearics (UIB)

Dr. Suzy Ross, Associate Professor at San Jose State University

Kurt Kutay, Ecotourism pioneer and retired President and CEO of Wildland Adventures

9. REFERENCES

This report was created in partnership with the Transformational Travel Institute for Wellbeing, Peace, and Eco-Consciousness. In support of our commitment to advancing transformational travel as a tourism category and goal-oriented practice we’ve made this report available for free. If you’d like to support this uniquely impactful initiative please make a tax-deductible donation to the TTI, a 501(c)(3) Tax ID 26-4490451

 

Gratitude for our Contributors