Why The Trip Boutique?
When Kevin was a teenager, travel to him merely meant to go out, have fun, and eat a lot of food. As he admits, he defined travel as consuming the experience as well as the destinations he visited. But choosing a major in Tourism, and later starting to work at The Trip Boutique, shifted his perspective. Rather than being interested in what a country can give him, Kevin now asks himself what tourism can give the country. As a result, he became more aware of the effects his actions as a tourist have on the locals and tries to behave accordingly.
Why personalized travel?
Kevin believes that at The Trip Boutique we can steer tourism towards a more sustainable direction by helping customers become conscious, independent travelers. While writing his BA thesis on the phenomenon of “overtourism”, Kevin grew convinced that personalized travel could support solving the problem of saturation and congestion many cities and other popular tourist hotspots face. By distributing the tourist flow across different areas of each destination, we can reduce the negative impact tourism has on the local quality of life and start focusing on the many advantages tourism brings, such as supporting the local economy and enabling authentic cultural exchange between travelers and locals.
Why sustainable travel?
Kevin now looks for sustainable ways to explore his chosen destinations. On his journey across Morocco in January 2019, for example, Kevin relied mainly on public transport – he traveled by train from the north to the south, visiting six cities. During that time, he had the opportunity to talk with the locals and participated in many interesting conversations. Consequently, Kevin learned about both the problems Moroccans face and the hopes they have, which is something he would not have access to had he joined an organized tour or chosen a package holiday.
Kevin’s goal
Kevin wants to share the insights he gained during his own travel experiences and his studies with The Trip Boutique customers. Most importantly, he would like to turn his vision of socially as well as environmentally sustainable tourism into reality by promoting personalized travel.