Learning Through Travel

Before the COVID-19 pandemic put the travel industry on ice, the practice of pairing licenses with vacation travel services, cruise lines, and other travel-related businesses had been on a long upward trajectory. One sector within that broader trend, illustrated by a recently announced deal between Thrillest and Academic Travel Abroad, consists of packages that put education and enrichment front and center. The deals can be forged either through licensing or another type of partnership.

Some examples:

• Thrillist, represented by Seltzer Licensing Group, paired with ATA for immersive travel experiences targeted toward what is described as an intellectually curious and adventurous group of travelers. The vacations include behind-the-scenes learning opportunities focused on food and culture. Mexico and Morocco were the first destinations featured in the program, which opened for booking on February 3, just before the global COVID-19 pandemic hit the U.S.
• National Geographic has been working with Lindblad Expeditions since 2004. The two partners together operate a fleet of eight expedition ships that support National Geographic research while offering travelers sightseeing in remote areas (enhanced by the use of exploration technology), along with regional cuisine, relaxation opportunities, an emphasis on photography, and educational insights from historians, scientists, photo instructors, naturalists, and other experts. National Geographic also has an educational partnership with G Adventures for 54 National Geographic Journeys trips, including three new destinations scheduled to launch in 2020. The programs, some of which are for families, offer in-depth examinations of culture and history.
• Smithsonian Enterprises has a number of educational travel partners. They include WorldStrides, for middle and high school trips that combine travel with subjects such as science, history, and math, and Mountain Travel Sobak, for branded active travel experiences ranging from curated tours of Scotland’s Hebrides and Highlands to educational hikes through the Andes. Both deals were announced in 2018.
• MasterChef, licensed by Endemol Shine (now owned by the Banijay Group), has been partnered with Cox & Kings for luxury culinary holidays to exotic food destinations around the world since 2013. Local food experts and chefs, sometimes including personalities from the show, provide the educational component.

While there is a growing pool of licensing deals and other alliances involving travel experiences, the educational niche remains fairly small, as a relatively narrow subset of travelers is looking to integrate learning into their vacation plans. In addition, not all properties lend themselves to such ventures. One or both of the partners needs to have a strong and credible association with and expertise in relevant educational content in order to create an experience that warrants a several-thousand-dollar investment. This is true of all travel experiences, of course, but adding the educational component creates a case where “logo-slapping” is certainly not the answer.

It is unknown how long it will take the travel industry to come back after the Covid-19 crisis. But branded partnerships such as these, educational and otherwise, may be an effective means of offering added value that will help entice travelers to purchase vacation packages once again.