whl.travel
This entry has been selected as a finalist in the
Globetrotting for Good: The Condé Nast Traveler Challenge competition.
About You
Location
Project Street Address
93-103 Wing Lok Street, Central
Project City
Hong Kong
Project Province/State
Hong Kong
Project Postal/Zip Code
Project Country
China
Innovation
Are you a traveler or a travel company?
Tell us your idea. What makes your idea innovative?
whl.travel is a unique global network of local grassroots tour operators. The network of local people on the ground in every destination we service (we are currently live in 160 destinations in 75 countries) allows whl.travel to reach deep into local communities and provide online booking facility for small local travel service providers such as accommodation providers who till now have not had any possibility to sell to the global market via the Internet. This has enormous benefits to local communities.
The local partners in the whl.travel network own and operate the booking business ensuring the vast bulk of income stays in the destination to support the local community. whl.travel also encourages all its local partners to list accommodation and tour product and NGO projects which support improved social, cultural and environmental outcomes.
Impact
What is the likely impact of your idea?
After only three years of operation whl.travel is already live in 160 destinations in 75 countries directly supporting around 5,000 SME accommodation providers and thousands of small local tour guides, NGOs, activity providers and transport providers. We have a further 150+ destination sites under construction (as of end March 2009), and are adding them at the rate of 20+ per month currently so we expect to be live in around 300 destinations and over 100 countries by end 2009. This will equate to some 10,000 accommodation providers and many thousands of other tour products, NGO projects etc. Direct beneficiaries are estimated at some 250,000 people by end 2009.
What would it take to launch or spread your idea?
We have spent the last 3 years building this unique global network of local travel partners and all the local product they have collected. We have proven the value of this innovative approach to connecting travelers to local communities and all we really need now to provide real impact is to drive more awareness with travelers. This is happening organically via the web (our web traffic will triple this year), however some money to get stories out in mainstream travel media like Conde Nast is what is needed now. Amount needed....maybe US$100,000.... or winning this competition.
This Entry is about (Issues)
Sustainability
Describe yourself as a social innovator.
whl.travel has pushed into regions where travel is one of the few options left to effect social change (e.g Aceh Indonesia, Bosnia, Albania, Timor Leste, Solomon Islands, Nepal), and where other models for market access for local communities do not work. Connecting the last mile is tough in these places due to poverty, poor infrastructure, poor local skills, etc. and whl.travel has persisted to come up with a model which provides access for all. It will take many years in many of these markets for travel to play the positive role it could and whl.travel has been willing to stick with the local communities. We have small village accommodation providers in the Solomon Islands for example who are on the outer islands and are only contactable by HF radio. In such cases what looks like an instant booking for a traveler is in fact very complex on the back-end (our digital to bicycle interface)
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Comments
I wish WHL a rapid growth since it connects travelers to local tour operators and small accommodation owners in great need for bookings and support.
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www.lebanon.travel
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whl.travel seems to be a unique concept in the world of travel where sustainable tourism, green travel, etc are now in vogue. There are 100s of new sites popping up claiming to have local knowledge, or to support local projects, but whl.travel is the only one that seems to be truly local and global at the same time with real people on the ground in every destination. Many of these new travel sites are rehashing the same old booking engines (like Travelocity or Bookings.com), but with a different greener face. Kudoes to whl.travel for something new and lets hope they get the exposure they are looking for.
It's not often you see a travel company (or any company in fact!) that is truly committed to the destinations in which they operate. Well done to whl.travel and all the people that are making travel fair around the world.
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Luke H. Ford
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Luke H. Ford
I am very pleased to see that an organisation is involved in promoting tourism destination areas in such a way that it will benefit both the local community, the culture and the natural environment. All countries united in one organistation can help making a difference and help preserving nature, culture and history of each destination for future generations.
I was wonder what is hidden behind WHL. After i got in touch with them and read a bit i can tell you what i find it behind WHL.
A magnificent passion for helping local community and breathtaking story's when they are explaining what they are doing for sustainable tourism and theirs involving in a country's where they got local connection.
So i am inviting all to open a door of WHL.travel and step inside and see some part of it what i saw it there when they are involved in local community. Commitment,stubbornness,empathy,courage,wish to help..etc
And i think they can carry with a pride that logo part they have
... your local connection
Alen Bilal
Other than the regular travel booking websites, whl.travel offers local presence. In every place they have a partner who takes care of the traveller, providing tips and detailed information. They really care about their destinations, connect the tourism trade and provide market access. It’s really interesting. For instance, in Brazil they have portals for Serro, which is a colonial small town in the country side of Minas Gerais that had no opening to be featured on the internet due the lack of technology knowledge and access. Even though they were interested in tourism and wish the visitors to came, the community didn’t know how to start. With whl.travel they had the opportunity to be online and findable everywhere. I really believe that whl.travel is bringing a new concept and can make a remarkable change on the travel market.
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Andre Franchini Campos de Pinho
The slogan of "...your local connection" is simple, yet encapsulates so well what whl.travel is about. The concept behind it, of local partners in every destination around the world, seems so logical that I'm surprised it hasn't been done before. Regardless, whl.travel have built what appears to be a very widespread, powerful network that I'm sure will continue to grow in leaps and bounds. The variety of destinations in the developing world is truly awe-inspiring, and I look forward to watching whl.travel expand into ever more interesting and off-the-beaten track destinations.
What makes WHL different from many other web based hotel/tour booking sites is their unique model which allows local partners to retain the ownership and operation of the booking business. Operating through a network of local partners called “Marketplace Operators” (MPOs), WHL provide a local human link from the internet booking site to the area where the hotel/guesthouses/tour guides operate.
WHL initiative like caring for destination (CFD) prove their commitment to contribute in development of the local communities where WHL is operating.
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