January Update from Our Founders

Firstly – happy new year to all of our customers and friends around the world! We hope 2017 is the year you realise your travel dream – for us that would be Argentina (Huw) and Tanzania (Tom). Other wishlist destinations mentioned in the office have been Botswana, Ethiopia and Uzbekistan – we’re an intrepid lot, and especially so when the temperature drops and the British rain descends.

We read closely all the feedback you send us – a recent favourite review from Ruth (Monmouthshire, UK) said:

“Between them Travel Local and the local experts organised a tailor made tour for a lower cost than we saw advertised for a tour by a UK operator which was 2 days shorter and not as comprehensive.”

….which brings us neatly to this month’s theme – value – what it means in travel, how to find it and who can deliver it.

When we first had the idea for TravelLocal back in 2008 we knew that discerning travellers wanted a deeper connection to the places they were travelling to – a special local insight that only an expert in the destination could deliver. That isn’t the only benefit though – by “buying local” you achieve two things that are usually impossible to combine in travel – a better trip and better value. By going direct to experts around the world a large layer of cost is cut out of the process – and we ensure the same crucial financial security that you get by booking anywhere else (click here for more information on how we protect all payments).

There are other ways to get great value while you’re travelling. Take a look through our tips for doing so in this newsletter – and get in touch to tell us how you’ve made your money go further. Your advice might be a great help to other customers.

Elsewhere in our bulletin you can read about South Africa – one of our most popular destinations – and a great interview with our Chilean local partners. It will make you want to go (or return) and gaze at those wild Patagonian landscapes…maybe with a bottle of Chilean merlot to help you take it all in.

Talking of wine, some of you used our exclusive Naked Wines voucher just before Christmas (and so did we in the office!). We don’t make a habit of sending these kinds of offers, but we thought this one in particular would have wide appeal. We hope you enjoyed it.

We are continuing to expand our team in Bristol – this month we welcome Rikki and Tim (web developer and writer respectively). If any of you are passing through Bristol, UK, do come and see us. We will get lunch, and you can swap notes with us on which countries we should add next.

On that note, in the pipeline are Panama, Uruguay and Nepal.

To finish – a quick personal thank you from all the team to Lindsay and Monica – staunch loyal customers of TravelLocal for years. Monica gives us lots of feedback about the website, and Lindsay invited us to give a talk to her local arts society on “The Silk Route”. If any of you are members of a group that might be interested in a talk about one of our destinations please do get in touch.

All the best,

Huw and Tom

*****

See us at Destinations – 2-5 February, London Olympia. Click here for tickets.