We were serving a rapidly growing Russian-speaking market, taking people to the most spectacular places in the world. I even won the “Best Guide of Russia” award in ecotourism.

But then, the war in Ukraine has started. So I shut down my business and moved away from this nightmare, starting literally a new life. You can read the full story here.

But I don’t want to start just another tour operator.
First, I don’t really have a home destination anymore.
Second, I think that the travel business needs to be reimagined.

It is a long journey, but the first step is building the community.

Travel professionals all over the world do the same thing – organize experiences for our guests.

But we are not competitors to each other, because we work in different destinations.

Moreover, from my experience, even those businesses that do exactly the same, and work in the same destination, gain more from collaboration. Because it’s better to increase your collective market share rather than fight for small pieces of a big pie (which is broken anyway).

As I said before,

Before the war, I had a long depression.
I felt that something was wrong.

Here’s an example.
We had an amazing tour to Argentina and Brazil in our portfolio.
People loved it.

You go to Buenos Aires, then to Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia, then to the magnificent glaciers of Patagonia, then to Iguazu Falls, and finish in Rio de Janeiro.

Great time spent, life-long memories.

However, it’s 4 domestic + 2 international flights (usually across the Atlantic).

7+ tons of carbon emissions only for flights, within 2 weeks.

In times when we worry about the climate crisis and doing business sustainably, things like this can’t exist. And when you spend just a couple of days in each place, that’s not a mindful way to travel. There’s simply not enough time to connect with each place.

With this question, I went on the task of studying the experience of international travel companies. Those who say they are sustainable, pro-nature, bla-bla-bla.

And I discovered that this is mostly bla-bla-bla.

If you look into the tour portfolio of most international tour operators who claim to be “sustainable”, you see the same problems –

• too many domestic flights,
• too shallow dive into the place,
• generic experiences (central squares, big churches, international hotels),
• and many other problems.

Things that made me depressed in my business 10 years ago are regular business practices for big tour operators.

They say “That’s what our customers want, so if we stop, we go out of business”.

So after 10 years of studying the international travel industry, I can sum up my observations in three simple words:

In my opinion, most of the travel industry can’t keep doing things the way they do.

But they keep doing it because that's how business works.

That’s why we need to do things better.

Travelhood is the way how to unite our forces and have an impact locally. And if we are on the right path, we will collectively have a global impact, too.

So if you are a local (or an international) tourism professional, join Travelhood, your new family of like-minded travel geeks.

In the upcoming months, we will be doing a lot of community work.

Inspiring events, educational courses, and community connections.

We need to speak the same language and grow understanding of each other.

But Travelhood has bigger plans than just getting together and learning from each other.

We want to create synergy – have stronger businesses and have a positive impact on our places.

For that, we will have more advanced forms of collaboration.

Travelhood, however, isn't for everyone.

Travelhood may not be that great for companies who intentionally do greenwashing – and certainly, we’ll have nothing to talk about with people who think that running business-as-usual is the way to go.

We are the best fit for small tourism businesses that directly serve travelers.
You don’t need to work with visitors 100% of the time. It can be one of your revenue sources.

Join Travelhood if you are:

• Travel organizer: tour operator, DMC, guide, transportation providers, car/bike/kayak rental, and everyone who connects places into routes
• Experience provider: activities, workshops, food and drinks, performances, and everyone who welcomes guests on local experiences
• Hospitality host: hotels, holiday homes, airbnbs, farmstays, campings – everyone who wants to provide more than a room

Travelhood is also great for travel agents, advisors, coaches, influencers, and everyone who inspires people to travel mindfully.

Travelhood is happy to connect with technology providers, business consultants, and like-minded communities.

Travelhood fits both seasoned tourism professionals and those who only aspire to start.