Financial Times Europe - 09.11.2019 - 10.11.2019

8 ★ FTWeekend 9 November/10 November 2019

Georgia

The underground

electronic music

scene in Tbilisi

has already led to

some dubbing it

“the new Berlin”.

Its graffiti-daubed

warehouses

converted into hipster hostels, visa-free

travel for EU nationals since 2017 and

last year’s legalisation of marijuana have

all helped Georgia hit record visitor

numbers (8.7m last year).Access is

getting easiertoo: Ryanair is launching

three new routes to the country this

month and a fourth next summer; Wizz

Air is adding around 60,000 seats on

routes to Kutaisi next year.

Faroe Islands

No other destination has everaged thel

viral power of social media as much as

the tiny Faroes. A reorganisation and

funding boost for the tourist board in

2012 was followed

by a string of

online campaigns

including “sheep

view”, a cutesy

alternative to

Google Street

View with

cameras strapped

to the back of sheep, and “Faroe Islands

translate” in which islanders translate

phrases via video message.In April, the

islands were “closed for maintenance”

for a weekend, with volunteers invited to

come help with conservation projects.

The result has been an increase in

visitors (with tourist nights up 31 per

cent between 2014 and 2018) — and a

change in demographics. “Our visitors’

age group has certainly fallen,” says

Súsanna Sørensen of Visit Faroe Islands.

Albania

While Dubrovnik has become so overrun

that it has unveiled plans to tax cruise

ships, the beaches of Albania — less

than a five-hour

drive away —

remain blissfully

quiet. But perhaps

not for long. The

stigma around

what was once

the Balkans’ most

dangerous

country is lifting and tourist numbers

were up 20 per cent this year. Newcomer

music festival Kala in the coastal town of

Dhërmi is what Croatia felt like before

the coast got choked with beach clubs.

Festival goers should soon find it easier

to get there, thanks to a new airport

pl anned for nearby Vlorë.

Uzbekistan

Offering the chance to rave on the

dried-up Aral Seain a graveyard of

rusty ships, ithia festival, whichS

launched last year, is the Burning Man

of Central Asia. It has helped attract a

very different type of visitor — as has

the relaxation of visa rules and

improved infrastructure that makes

independent travel much easier.

Skyscanner report a 97 per cent

increase in searches this year compared

with last; Intrepid Travel, which claims

to be the world’s largest small group

adventure company, says Uzbekistan

sales have risen

257 per cent year

on year. “It’s the

fastest-growing

destination of

2019,” says Aaron

Hocking, Intrepid’s

commercial

director.

Pakistan

Could 2020 be Pakistan’s year? newA

e-visa scheme was launched in March

and British

Airways resumed

flights to

Islamabad in

June. Meanwhile

visits to the

country’s cultural

sites rose more

than threefold

between 2014 and 2018.STA travel, the

world’s largest travel company for

students and young people, reported a

91 per cent increase in travellers this

year compared with last, and adventure

tour operator Wild Frontiers has

recorded 40 per cent more bookings.

atie GatensK

In the black-and-gold lobby of the
Hilton London Bankside, I’m sit-
ting in a chair that looks like
leather but is in fact made from
pineapple. I’m waiting to check
into what the hotel chain bills as
the “world’s first vegan suite”, an
innovation unveiled earlier this
year and oneemblematic of a far
widertrendintravel.
Holidaying as a vegan used to
mean running the risk of eating
salad and chips every night afor
week, but the travel industry is
finallygraspingthesizeandpoten-
tial of the vegan market — espe-
cially among Generation Z. In the
UK, 600,000 peoplehave declared
themselves vegan according to the
Vegan Society, a threefold increase
on 2014. A YouGov/Agriculture
and Horticulture Development
Board survey found that the 18-34
age group make up 54 per cent of
vegans in the UK. While a desire to
avoid animal cruelty remains the
keymotivation,environmental
concerns are of growing impor-
tance, and activists including
Greta Thunberg, herself a vegan,
have made travel an increasingly
significantconsideration.
The result has been our opera-t
tors going far beyond alternative

menus.SkiBeatlastyearlaunched

vegan ski weeks, for example,

while German-based operator

Vegan Travel offers vegan cruises

worldwide and VegVoyages runs

grouptoursinAsia.

Back at the Hilton, I enter the

suite to find bright pineapple print

cushions made from Piñatex

(pineapple leather) that comple-

ment the muted green-and-brown

colourscheme.It’ssleekandurban

—notintheleasthippyish—and,if

not for the name, you wouldn’t

know it was any different from the

other rooms. In fact the floor is

made from bamboo (sustainable,

recyclable and pesticide- free), the

carpet is from organic cotton

(rather than wool or polyester)

and the toiletries are all vegan-

friendly. Pillows offer various

alternatives to feathers — organic

buckwheat hulls, kapok fibre or

organic millet husks. The minibar

offersprotein powder, fruit and

nut snacks and energy balls. Even

thekeycardisplant-based.

Sitting down to dinner, we have

our very own vegan dining table

complete with Piñatex-clad

chairs. I order the lightly spiced

dhal,while the waiter lists the

range of vegan drinks available,

including wines made with-

out animal-based fining agents.

The suite is unusual in its atten-

tion to detail but it isn’t unique.

The UK’s first entirely vegan hotel

opened in June in Pitlochry, Scot-

land: the Saorsa 1875 uses only

cruelty-free eco products, even for

cleaning; their electricity also

comes from Ecotricity, a vegan-

certified renewable energy com-

pany. Co-founder Jack McClaren-

Stewart, 27, noticed a correlation

between luxury experiences and

the number of animal products

used. “You see more leather, wool

[and]silkgownsbecauseforalong

time that is what’s been synony-

mous with luxury,” he says.His

aim was to redress that situation

and challenge “the notion that

compassion, comfort and style are

mutuallyexclusiveideas”.

The morning after my night at

the Hilton, I throw open the soya-

bean silk curtains and scribble

some notes using the complimen-

tary pencil (made with recycled

paper and wood). Downstairs, I

finishmystaywithblueberrymuf-

fins, quinoa pancakes and an

almond milk latte. It occurs to me

that I may never have to endure a

“chipsandsalad”vacationagain.

Hanna Dokal

Hanna Dokal was a guest ofHilton

(londonbankside.hilton.com). The

vegan suite costs from £549 per night

FIVE TO WATCH Destinations on the up

The new travellers

A coffee machinestutters into

action as a group of entrepreneurs

on communal benches raise their

voices above the din, gesticulating

at a MacBook. Meanwhile, ambi-

ent house ripples through speak-

ers and a baseball-capped skater

grinds down a mini ramp. This

could be the newest co-working

space in New York or London, but

in fact the Verse Collective sits on

a beach fringed by coconut trees

in remote Hiriketiya, Sri Lanka.

Opened in 2017, it is one of a new

breed of co-working spaces in

remote locations that offer the

chance to combine superfast

broadbandwithasuper-slowpace

oflife,andsoareblurringthelines

betweenworkandholiday.

“In one generation, the internet

has totally changed the game,”

says Verse’s South African co-

founder Jeremy Klynsmith. “Now

there are so many ways to earn a

living while being location inde-

pendent. Companies are saving

money not having to lease offices

and freelancers can network with

peoplefromallovertheworld.”

One of the first on the scene was

CocoVivo, started 18 years ago by

Ulrich Gall on Isla Cristóbal in

Panama’s Bocas del Toro. “Co-

working didn’t exist at that time

— not even as a word,” Gall says,

over a high-speed fibre connec-

tion that links the island to the

outside world. “Then about 10

years ago, internet access got bet-

ter and the gig economy started to

boom. Young people realised they

could move to somewhere like

Chiang Mai or Bocas del Toro, run

their online business, and still

have money left over.”

Nevertheless, the island setting

and lack of infrastructure can still

present challenges. “We have two

internet providers now in case a

sloth chews through a cable some-

where,”saysGall.

Remote co-working is also

proving a beneficial lifeline for

rural communitiesthat have pre-

viouslyseenabraindrain.Thevil-

lage of Thingeyri (population

260) sits beside the sea n Ice-i

land’s Westfjords, the distant

region that only about 7 per cent

of tourists to the country ever

reach. Nevertheless, it is home to

Blabankinn, a remote start-up

incubator set up by Arnar Sig-

urdsson in 2017 that has ad visitsh

fromJapaneseappdevelopersand

entrepreneursfromBrooklyn.

“There’s definitely an opportu-

nity for small remote communi-

ties to revitalise and attract

young, creative people, partially

thanks to the increase in remote

work,”saysSigurdsson.

One major player in the sector

is Selina, founded in Panama by

Rafi Museri and Daniel Ruda-

sevski. Since its launch in 2015,

the company has expanded to 54

properties in 13 countries, and has

plans to open in 400-plus loca-

tions by 2023. Selinacombines

co-working spaces with accom-

modation, lso offering member-a

ships that allow travellers to stay

in the group’s properties world-

wideforafixedmonthlyrate.And

they’ve got their sights set on Gen-

eration Z — “a new generation of

two billion consumers who are

entering the marketplace during a

time of digital dominance,”

according to Museri.

atie GatensK

A craving for

ommunityc

Tourists have always cherished the fantasy of “liv-

ing like a local”, if only for a few days. Now, though,

technology is helping the next generation of travel-

lers live out those ambitions in far more meaning-

fulways.

Trippin,forexample,beganasaclosedFacebook

group where friends shared travel tips and has

expanded into a series of online city guides written

by young locals.“Travellers my age are seeking

authenticity,” says co-founder Sam Blenkinsopp,

28. “We’re looking for places that provide genuine
    insightsintotheculturewe’revisiting.”
    Blenkinsopp believes there is a lack of trust
    between people in their twenties and established
    information providers such as tour operators, Tri-
    pAdvisorandconventionaltravelmagazines.
    Ifyoudon’tknowwhothesourceofinformation“
    is, you don’t know if you align with their values or
    how real their experience has been. There is also a
    tendency to fetishise certain aspects of a culture in
    the travel industry.
    Content created by
    locals allows them
    to reclaim their
    narrative.”
    A spate of other
    appshaveemerged
    that match visitors
    with locals. renchF
    app EatWith con-
    nects travellers
    with hosts offering
    gastronomic expe-
    riences, such as
    dinnerinanartist’s
    studio in Berlin.
    According to the
    company, 52 per
    cent of users are 18-34 years old. Similar apps
    include I Like Local, a social enterprise operating
    throughoutAsiaandAfrica,whichofferstourssuch
    as“aDelhistreetwalkwithaformerstreetkid”,and
    Showaround, which has locals in 212 countries.
    Nearly 40 per cent of those on Showaround don’t
    charge for their time, keen to simply connect with
    like-mindedpeopleandsharetheirculture.
    Airbnb got in on the act in 2016, launching its
    “Experiences” portal to allow accommodation
    ownerstoalsooffertoursandevents,andthissum-
    mer it added Adventures, a collection of multi-day
    trips led by locals. “Travellers, especially those in
    their twenties, are looking to experience a destina-
    tion in an authentic way by unlocking a different
    side of communities,” says Joe Zadeh, head of Air-
    bnbExperiences.
    Factor in bike-sharing apps, and language apps
    such as Voice Translator and it seems that travel
    couldbeenteringanegalitariannewage—forthose
    techsavvyenoughtoaccessit,thatis.
    Imogen Lepere

Loneliness is a modern epidemic — and

something to which unmarried, social

media-shaped twenty-somethings

living in volatile rental properties

seem particularly prone. In a recent

YouGov poll, nearly a third of millenni-

als reported “always” or “often” feel

lonely, a figure far higher than older

demographics.

Andsoagrowingnumbertravelnotto

escape but to connect, to seeka sense of

community abroad that evades them at

home. Take the rise of retreats such as

Lodged Out, aUS start-up that runs

summercampsforyoungadults.

Its founder, Bobbilee Hartmann, a

software engineer who recently turned

30, explains: “The busier we get and the

more time we invest in social media, the

more we’re separated from the world

around us and the smaller our real-life

circles become. I think my age group is

craving the chance to meet new people

inanauthenticway.”

At Hartmann’s retreats, this means

staying in shared accommodation such

as historic summer camps in remote

locations without mobile reception or

WiFi. Guests join workshops such as

learning about photography and forag-

ing herbs, participate in activities such

as kayaking or archery, and enjoy con-

versations around the campfire. The

retreats sell out within hours from a sin-

gle post on Hartmann’s social-media

channels,asuresignofthetimes.

VillaLena,aTuscanfarmhousewitha

revolving cast of artists in residence,

offers a similar if less prescribed com-

munity experience and, according to

owner Lena Evstafieva, its clientele is

getting younger. While guests can book

private rooms, they are encouraged to

mingle by helping out on the organic

farm, dining at communal tables and

through creative activities such as writ-

ingworkshops.

While these experiences last several

days, other forms of community-based

travelling work to different timeframes.

Norn, an international members club,

taps into the craving for community by

arranging 60-90-minute conversations

between carefully matched strangers at

their modish spaces in Berlin, London

and San Francisco. “It gives members a

waytounderstandthelocalzeitgeistina

more meaningful way and create

authentic connections with people

they’ve met 100 per cent offline,” says

founderTravisHollingsworth.

Group tour operators such as Much

Better Adventures have recognised the

trend, with specially designed packages

forlike-mindedtwentysomethings.

ntrepid Travel recently launched aI

collection of itineraries for 18-29 year-

olds that focus on sustainability, “a way

for customers to connect with people

their own age who share the same val-

ues,” according to chief growth officer

Michael Edwards. The trips have been

so successful they are inaugurating 15

new tours in 2020. US company For The

Love of Travel says the social aspect is a

key element to their trips, with groups

split evenly between male and female

travellers. The average age is 28, and 60

per cent say they are single and looking

tomeetpeople.

With an audience hungry for new

connections as well as novel experi-

ences,it’snosurprisethetravelindustry

isputtingitsfriendliestfootforward.

Imogen Lepere

‘The more time we

invest in social media,

the smaller our real-

life circles become’

The rise of

vegan travel

New technology and differing priorities

are changing the way the NextGen

travel — from summer camps for

grown-ups to offices on the beach

Holidaying as a

vegan used to mean

eating salad and

chips every night

Using tech to connect

with locals

The blurring of

work and play

NextGen

Hanna Dokal and her sister Harli at the Hilton Bankside —Lucy Ranson

Bobbilee

Hartmann

(right),

founder of

Lodged Out

Trippin co-founder

Yasmin Shahmir

Selina in Arequipa, Peru

NOVEMBER 9 2019 Section:Weekend Time: 11/20197/ - 17:44 User:andrew.higton Page Name:WKD8, Part,Page,Edition:WKD, 8, 1