The Informed Traveler
The Informed Traveler
Slow Travel & The Gift Of Travel
Have you heard of the term "slow travel"? Maybe you've been doing it all along and didn't realize it. Either way, on this week's show travel expert Onanta Forbes will join me to discuss what slow travel is and the benefits to a slower paced holiday. And is it too soon to be thinking about Christmas? The folks from Flightcentre Canada don't think so as they recently came out with their Top 10 hotlist vacations to gift this Christmas. So later in the podcast we'll rundown that list to give you some ideas.
So,
SPEAKER_00:Well, hello and welcome to the Informed Traveller podcast, a weekly travel podcast where our goal is to help you become a more informed traveller. I'm your host, Randy Sharman. So have you heard the term slow travel? Well, maybe you've been doing it all along, but didn't even realize it. But either way, in a few seconds, travel expert on Antiforbes will join me to discuss what slow travel is and the benefits to a slower paced holiday. And is it too soon to be thinking about Christmas? Well, the folks from Flight Centre Canada don't think so. as they recently came out with their top 10 hot list vacations to gift this Christmas. And what's better than the gift of travel, right? So later in the podcast, we'll run down that list to give you some ideas. But first, let's kick things off chatting with travel expert, Onanta Forbes, who joins us each week to discuss some of the travel news and travel trends. You can follow her adventures on Instagram, Facebook, and X at Onanta Forbes. Onantaforbes.com is her website. Hello, Onanta. Hi,
SPEAKER_03:Pindy. How are you?
SPEAKER_00:I'm very well, thank you. We are going to talk about slow travel. Sorry, I couldn't resist. Let's define what slow travel is and then we'll get into some of the examples and things.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, it all sounds very zen. It's a very mindful approach to experiencing a destination more deeply, focusing on connecting with local culture, customs and rhythms rather than ticking off tourist sites, which is good because I think sometimes we can fall into that little trap of, okay, we've got to see this, we've got to see this. But it does involve staying at a location for an extended period of time, being intentional with time, and adopting a more leisurely and immersive mindset to fostering meaningful connections with people and places. Again, it sounds very zen. It focuses on personal awareness and sustainability, moving away from mass tourism to more authentic and personal Travel experiences, and we've kind of touched on this in the past with regards to maybe don't go to that destination super popular, but maybe going to a destination close by instead.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly. And like you say, you get on some excursions or tours or even itineraries where it's go, go, go, go, go. You're seeing this and seeing that, and you don't really absorb the culture or even stop to just take it all in, right?
SPEAKER_03:Yes, absolutely. And I think there's even a commercial out right now about how travel's not an adventure anymore. It's just ticking off your checklist. So you're going to explore less or no attractions, lingering in cafes and discovering hidden neighborhoods. Because I think one of my favorite memories was in Paris. Yes, it's a huge destination and very popular. But we were just walking It's a great walking city. And we just sat at a cafe in one of the outer communities and just had macaroons. And that was really fun for us. People watch. I think people watching is quite fun.
SPEAKER_02:I think so too.
SPEAKER_03:You can actually kind of build a connection with the locals. Maybe it's just the merchant of the place that you are staying or that you are the cafe or residence. And you kind of have a understand the kind of like what goes on in that community right yeah they're you know their everyday life not not just um running around
SPEAKER_00:well it kind of reminds me of the scene from national lampoon's vacation where they stopped the grand canyon and you know five seconds okay we've seen it and then go on to the next thing right so yeah yeah
SPEAKER_03:that's
SPEAKER_00:it so is this a generational thing too like is is it seemed to me that the older you get the more you want to observe or absorb cultures rather than go go go
SPEAKER_03:It can be that because definitely maybe you've already been there, done that kind of thing. And now you have the time because perhaps you are retired or you could work remotely and spend more days and weeks and even months in one location to get a true feel of it. And I know that's, you know, how kind of like VRBOs or homestay rentals kind of have come into popularity just to be able to do that.
SPEAKER_02:Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:And then, you know, how you do it is like you rent rooms in a house or platforms just like we talk about to connect with the local and become part of the everyday rhythm in life. So, you know, a good comment from somebody that does that is that we aren't visitors. We are actually, we live here now, you know, for that time frame that you've designated for that. And then also, it's a good opportunity to use local transportation. So you can opt for trains and buses or walking. What a great way to get your steps in, right? Just a better experience, see the journey and the surrounding landscape. And also kind of let go of the fear of missing out and just appreciate you being in that moment, being present and the small details that you discover. Now, I'm definitely a shopper and one of my things is I just love to roam. I just like to see what this store is. I'm not an A to B person. I like to go down this. If you see a road that might look interesting, let's go down it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, exactly. Are tour companies aware of this now and adjusting their escorted tours as such? Because it seems to me this is more of a do-it-yourself kind of thing.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, they are. There are some companies such as one of my bucket lists is to go on the the the oriental express and there is one that's similar to it that's just getting released it's called uh la dolce vita and it focuses in italy um so this is like a sleeper train that you can you can go on it go it's a remodeled luxury train that goes from sicily to rome it immerses the passengers and the country's culture as well as just enjoying the the scenery as you go by you know um it's always nice to, I think it is, it's nice when you read a book and then you kind of go to that destination. So it's kind of like in the spirit of Agatha Christie, the famous character, Piero, and what he does, like when he kind of rolls along and kind of does his thing in all these fabulous destinations. And Italy is one of the most, still the most popular destinations of my clients and just people in general like it's such a wonderful place to experience whether it's the wine country because these itineraries are between one and three nights aboard and perhaps you could double that if you wish but just keep in mind it is not a knock off but it's similar to the oriented express so it does come with a beautiful price tag as well
SPEAKER_00:good Good for you to say that. But yeah, they kind of copied the Orient Express. And it runs from Rome to Palermo. And I think it would be a great way to explore Italy. It seems to me that rail travel is kind of the original slow travel anyways. I mean, apart from bullet trains, which they're just designed to get you from point A to point B anyway. But it seems any kind of rail travel is sort of the original slow travel to me.
SPEAKER_03:Oh, yeah. Like, I think, you know, it just brings to mind just gazing out at the scenery or just even reading a book or just, you know, having a conversation with your travel companion, whether it's your partner or your friend. I think sometimes that gets lost. It's just having a conversation.
SPEAKER_00:Well, you meet all kinds of people, too, on a train. Like if you go into the dining car or the bar car or the scenic car, whatever kind of train you're on, and you just strike up conversations with people and meet all kinds of different people.
SPEAKER_03:Right, yeah. And it's, you know, when I say it does come with a price tag, it does, but it could be a bucket list opportunity too.
SPEAKER_00:Well, if it's something you want to see, you can save for it and budget for it and those types of things and, you know, do it. Why not, right?
SPEAKER_03:Right, yeah. And it's amazing how far in advance you can book things, like whether it's one or two years. So, yeah, definitely think about it. Yeah, it is a nice way to explore And just see something different and just even have the opportunity to experience, you know, what it felt like. Because back into the day, this was the mode of travel.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, right. And it wasn't considered slow travel back then.
SPEAKER_03:Not
SPEAKER_02:at all.
SPEAKER_00:How times have changed. Yes. Good stuff. Olanta Forbes is a travel expert. You can follow her on Facebook, Instagram and X at Olanta Forbes. Forbes, onentaforbes.com is her website. Good chatting with you, Onenta. Thank you.
SPEAKER_03:Thank you.
SPEAKER_00:This is the Informed Traveller podcast. I'm Randy Sharman. Just want to remind you of our website, theinformedtraveller.org. That's where you can find our contact page if you have any questions or comments about the podcast. You could also email me too with any questions you might have or show segment ideas. My email address is randy at theinformedtraveller.org. And if you want to get up-to-date travel info through the week or just see a few amusing travel stories and links, you can like us on Facebook at facebook.com slash informedtraveller on Instagram at informedtraveller or on X at informedtraveller. Plus, you can now sign up for our monthly newsletter. It's released at the beginning of every month. Our September issue will be soon available. Just go to our website, theinformedtraveller.org, click on the newsletter button, and it'll take you right there. Or you can subscribe to it and have it arrive in your inbox each month. Well, whether you think it's too soon to be talking about Christmas or not, the folks from from Flight Centre Canada recently came out with their top 10 hot list vacations to gift this Christmas. And what is better than getting the gift of travel, right? So joining us now to share that list and give you some ideas is Amra Durakovic. She is the head of communications at Flight Centre Canada. Flightcentre.ca is the website. Hi, Amra.
SPEAKER_01:Hi, Randy. Thank you for having me.
SPEAKER_00:Always good to chat. Flight Centre's come out with their holiday gift guide, 10 hottest vacations Vacations to gift this Christmas. It seems to me there's this trend away from when it comes to gifts and Christmas gifts and all that kind of thing. It's away from things to more experiences. Is that what you found?
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. We found that more than half of Canadians say they'd rather put money toward travel than things like clothes, gadgets, and even dining out. So really, when you think about it, travel is the ultimate gift. It's a chance to create Create memories and not more clutter because I know I have a lot of clutter, Randy.
SPEAKER_00:I think it's a universal issue as you get older, as you get more clutter. So how did you come up with the list anyways?
SPEAKER_01:Well, what we did is we decided to look at some key travel personas. And we're looking at sort of what's trending this year and what we've noticed through our bookings as well. So one of the key trends we're seeing is wellness is really booming. And this is globally. I'm sure you see it everywhere. You're hearing about it. So we found that three in five Canadians, they want slow, restful experiences. So think yoga retreats, spa circuits, and even meditations on a cruise. So that's sort of how we came about this one persona. A second persona is the adventure seeker. In fact, almost 60% of Canadians, they're chasing adrenaline. And globally, globally across flight center in all of our key markets. So that would include Canada, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and even South Africa. For the first time ever, our bookings for adventure travel has hit 55%. That's more than half. Yes. So now I would also like to clarify that adventure means anything from, yes, adrenaline chasing. So we're talking about rafting in Costa Rica. or even skydiving in New Zealand. But also for some people, an adventure might be on a tour in Morocco. So there's different varying degrees and levels of what adventure is. I think the key here is we're seeing more travelers step away from the all-inclusive sun into something that's more immersive and gets you moving. I
SPEAKER_00:would agree. I would think so. And it's to your own personal taste. and abilities too, right? Some people may not have the physical ability to go mountain biking, but for maybe a leisure hike or walk somewhere is something they would more than likely do.
SPEAKER_01:Absolutely. And even cycling, we're seeing cycling tours. There's all kinds of fun little tours that you can do. And what we're sensing, this is anecdotally what I'm Mm-hmm. movement from the all-inclusive resort to tours becoming very popular as well as cruises. And that brings me to my third travel persona is the cruisader. We found that 42% of Canadians said they intend to take a cruise in the next two years. That's nearly half of the population. And anecdotally, again, what we're seeing is Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. on a cruise yourself?
SPEAKER_00:You were talking to a former cruise member. I was a crew member for about three years. So yes, and I absolutely love it because for cruising, you can add in if you're a wellness person, they have awesome spas on cruise ships and those types of things. You can take shore excursions if you're looking for adventure and there's lots of food and those things. So you can add in all those dynamics that you were talking to on a cruise.
SPEAKER_01:100%. This is what makes cruising so exciting. I believe it was the cruise, oh gosh, Cruise Lines International Association is sort of predicting that cruise will be one of the fastest growing travel segments in the next five years.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, I would agree. I would think so. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:It's the variety that it offers. And further to what you were saying, like for any of our travel personas, you could really add cruise. Even in wellness, we have this Panama to Chile. This is a bit more luxurious. It's a yacht retreat. So it's a 10-day luxury sailing with yoga, spot treatments, and even cooking classes. I
SPEAKER_00:would take that.
SPEAKER_01:Right?
SPEAKER_00:I would as well. If that to me, I would take it.
SPEAKER_01:Well, this is the beauty of gifting is that you could also, or rather at Flight Center, you can give a gift certificate.
SPEAKER_02:In
SPEAKER_01:fact, my friend, her two kids bought gifts. They all got together, all the grandkids and got their grandparents gift certificates for travel. And I think it's a great way as well, especially if you know the person you are gifting, if they are traveling. Travelers, what a beautiful gift to give them. The gift of travel. It's all about these shared moments, these shared experiences. Because when you purchase something, whether it's socks or shoes or a TV, whatever it may be, it's just another thing that I'm sure they're going to forget. Whereas travel, this is an experience that you get to enjoy together. It's another shared moment. And that's what makes travel really the ultimate gift.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and like you pointed out, the Panama to Chile Yacht Retreat, that is one of the top 10 or top hottest vacations to gift. But these aren't necessarily Christmas themed, are they? I mean, we talk about Christmas gift ideas, but they're not Christmas themed and they're not necessarily that you'd have to take over the holidays. You can take them anytime.
SPEAKER_01:You got it. They are definitely not Christmas themed. This is more travel persona themed. So we have a wellness ward The adventure seeker, the foodie, the sports fan. In fact, I would say it's not just sports, but any live event. I'm sure we've all read the headlines recently where Bad Bunny, he's in the middle of his three-month residency in Puerto Rico. They are estimating that his residency will attract over 200 million tourism dollars. Wow. That's
SPEAKER_00:incredible. And we all know what the Taylor Swift Right.
SPEAKER_01:So from sporting live sporting events to even concerts, people want to be experiencing these live immersive events, they want to be in the thrill of it. So again, we're seeing people slowly move away from the all inclusives and really enjoying these experiences where they can connect with others, but also experience something that would be sort of a Well,
SPEAKER_00:you mentioned the retreat. What are some of the others?
SPEAKER_01:We also have, believe it or not, if I look at some of our top sales growth for this year, 2025, New Zealand talks it. So we have a New Zealand active concert, pardon me, excursion where you're looking at sea kayaking, helicopter rides, hiking, and skydiving over 15 days on a yacht. on the South Island. Now, why is New Zealand, which is such a faraway destination, one of our top sales growth destinations this year? We think there's a number of reasons. One is we have more air connectivity between Canada and New Zealand, so it's easier for us to get there. And secondly, it's because our dollar holds up strong in destinations like New Zealand. So we're seeing growth to regions where where our loonie holds stronger, places like Japan, let's say, even Costa Rica. So where your dollar holds stronger, Bali, we even have a Bali spiritual awakening retreat from Ubud to Suneer, where you have nine days of rice field treks and healing rituals and anti-gravity yoga. So really destinations where at the front of it, you might pay more, a higher premium for your flight, but once you're there with with our currency exchange, it really narrows that price gap in comparison to, say, traveling somewhere in the U.S. where our dollar doesn't hold very strong right now. And let's face it, traveling to anywhere in the U.S., specifically the top destinations like New York or L.A., is just more expensive.
SPEAKER_00:Well, yeah, that's for sure. And I think people are very aware of how far their dollar can take them. Let's talk about some of the, for the sports fan, I'm a big sports fan, and so I think that's sort of a subjective thing. There are certain sports that I would love to attend and some that, okay, I can leave those for now.
SPEAKER_01:Definitely. I think that's up to whatever your liking is. However, outside of that, we do have these fun tours that sort of take you to destinations where global sporting events are. So if you want to attend the Formula One Grand Prix in Australia, you could take our Australia Great Sights Tour. So it would be 12 days of these must-see sights down under and then attending the Grand Prix as well or the World Cup, both of which will be in Australia in 2026. And for those who are golfers, we have the Scotland Highland Fling Tour. That's 10 days in the Scottish Highlands to discover. Also, beer, handcrafted ale, which is very important, different, more battlegrounds, pardon me, and the birthplace of golf. So there's some really fun and exciting sports tours, not specifically for any one event, but more overall what you can see while you're there.
SPEAKER_00:Well, and that's a good point too. I was just going to say, you know, you can go to a specific event, but you can also immerse yourself in all the other things that that destination has, right?
SPEAKER_01:Well, why not? If you're already there, even if you want to head to Mexico for next year's World Cup, right? I know it'll be all across Canada, the US and Mexico, but why not make it an entire trip where you're there also exploring? There's so much to see in Mexico. And the same with foodies. So for many people, food is a motivator. We found that more than half Canadians plan trips around food. So think of that tapas tour in Madrid where you have this beautiful culinary experience and you have access to award-winning restaurants. So we do have one tour that is seven nights in Spain. Then we also have a Portugal river cruise where you have seven nights from Porto with wine-focused excursions and plenty of vino verde along the way. So again, these are all motivators for a lot of people, whether it's on a tour, on a cruise, or it's a customized itinerary that has been made fully personalized by one of our flight center travel experts for you. And as we mentioned, cruises are back in a big way. And two really popular ones we're seeing and we're recommending for Christmas gift giving would be a Mediterranean cruise. This is one of our hottest cruises right now. What we're seeing is a lot of cruisers are stepping away from the typical Caribbean cruise and they're heading to the Mediterranean. So we have a nine-night journey through Italy and the Greek Isles with onboard activities like bumper cars and even yoga. So really it is for the whole family there. That would be a great one if it's a multi-generational family vacation.
SPEAKER_02:Then
SPEAKER_01:we also have the Galapagos nature exploration. This one is really cool. We are seeing younger families going on this tour because this is more educational. This is 11 Nights in Ecuador featuring the Charles Darwin Research Station. It's this one-of-a-kind snorkeling and wildlife exploration in the Galapagos.
SPEAKER_00:Very nice. I would take those if anybody wants to send a gift this way. I wouldn't say no to any of those.
SPEAKER_01:Well, you never know because I have another survey that's upcoming and I'll reach out to you about this, but this is sort of, we're finding who's really paying for these vacations this year. Which
SPEAKER_00:generation do you think? I think I know the answer.
SPEAKER_01:And again, it goes back to this idea that really people are focused on experience. Mm-hmm. your experiences that you're after and really understanding your loved one when you are gifting them travel. Now, what I would say about gift giving for a trip is that it really is the gift that keeps on giving. So first you have the anticipation when you book, then you have the excitement of going and having those shared experiences and then sharing those stories afterwards when you relive them.
SPEAKER_00:Well, yeah, absolutely. And then you also have the travel bug that's bit you and you
SPEAKER_01:want to do it again. So now would be the key if you are looking to book for Christmas holidays. Or you choose shoulder season. In the industry, we all know that if you travel outside of the peak travel seasons, your prices will be more competitive. Also, keep an eye out on sales and consider destinations where the Canadian dollar is stronger. This will really help you. And what we recommend is reach out to a travel agent. Tell them what type of experience you want. Reach out to them maybe nine months in advance of what you're thinking of so they can start researching for you and really be mindful and help you with finding the sales that you would like to sort of, you know, within your budget. And it just helps you really find the packages that bundle the flights, meals and accommodations to also keep your costs more predictable and lower, so to speak. So really, if you If you are looking for that deal, book in advance, plan early, choose shoulder season, be flexible, and keep an eye out for sales.
SPEAKER_00:Lots of good advice. You can find more information on the Flight Centre website, flightcentre.ca. It's Flight Centre's holiday gift guide. Some great ideas and great choices there. Amra Durakovic is the Head of Communications for Flight Centre. Again, the website, flightcentre.ca. Lots of good tips, lots of good advice, Amra. Thank you.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you, Andy.
SPEAKER_00:And that is our show for this week. If you have comments or questions, we'd love to hear from you. If you have a show idea, send that along as well. My email is randy at theinformedtraveller.org. And if you like what you heard, tell a friend. You can check out our website too at theinformedtraveller.org. In the meantime, thanks for listening. Travel safe and be an informed traveller.