GET SCHOOLED ON YOUR NEXT VACATION
Educational tourism offers lifelong learning
More people — especially those who’ve travelled extensively and ticked off their bucket-list trips — are looking to get something extra from their travels. It’s why tour operators are expanding their educational offerings for those interested in lifelong learning without the homework.
Educational travel runs the gamut from food and wine trips to birding, painting and photography excursions. Whether you’re honing those camera skills in the Galapagos, learning to speak Italian in Florence or visiting Angkor Wat with an archeologist, the options for independent- or group-learning experiences are more plentiful than ever.
Road Scholar, a non-profit organization that offers more than 5,000 educational tours in 150 countries, is seeing an uptick in users. And, according to the organization’s president Jim Moses, that’s directly related to the aging of the baby boomer generation. “Those people are very interested in learning and experiencing,” he says. “It’s more than just going and sitting on a beach — they’re looking for something more authentic.”
Many people at retirement lose the community experience they got in the workplace. Group travel can help fill that void. “[Older travellers] are looking for more engagement, to socialize more — they’re not necessarily looking to escape from the rigours of their lives,” says Moses. “There’s a real community that’s created when you’re on a learning experience,” he says. “Deep friendships are formed.” Road Scholar caters to them, offering a range of educational programming, from cultural-immersion experiences to small-ship tours, volunteering opportunities and active adventures, such as hiking with a naturalist. The organization is also launching educational trips in “exotic” locations, such as Iran and the North Pole.
One of its newer trips — and one that is quickly becoming popular — is called “Living and Learning.” Similar to a college semester abroad, it lasts four to six weeks and lets independent travellers stay in their own apartment, shop in local markets and use public transportation while being immersed in learning a new language. So far, the program is offered in a number of European cities, including Paris and Florence, as well as in Cuba.
One segment of the educational travel market that has been consistently popular is photography tourism, where participants learn tricks of the trade in wish-list destinations. National Geographic Expeditions offers cultural trips that include an educational component; in some cases, a historian, naturalist or archeologist is on hand to provide expert commentary. Some trips are designed for the photography enthusiast and led by a National Geographic photographer, letting participants share “the love and power and inspiration of photography,” says Molly Danner, program director for National Geographic Expeditions and Photography Workshops.
The company continues to add destinations and workshops to its roster. One of its new offerings for 2017 is an advanced photography and lighting workshop in Saint Lucia, with internationally acclaimed photographer Joe McNally — a contributor to National Geographic magazine for more than two decades.
“He’s a master of flash and lighting,” says Danner. “But in general, [with] a lot of our photographers, you’re not diving into the nitty-gritty; it’s about storytelling or how to think about composition.” In fact, most of its photography expeditions are designed for amateurs.
While participants learn the basics of settings and exposure, the trips are “largely about how you approach things, how you think about your artistic vision,” says Danner. “It’s a bit more abstract and inspirational.” And that, ultimately, is what educational travel is all about.