The tourism industry suffers a chronic problem. Any popular destination is quickly subjected to an influx of tourists from all over the world. Popular tourists destinations in every country have been so crowded with foreign travelers that the local experience is diluted. An inspiring startup company by the name of Wildthentic wants to break away from the cookie-cutter travel model to bring you authentic experiences.

Take a walk down Bangkok and you’ll see touristy items on display catering to English-speaking crowds who’ve visited for the first time. London’s Tower Bridge is where you can get the most overpriced cuisine in Britain and Morocco’s malls are now littered with the same luxury brands you’d see at home. The local culture and experience is so diluted it may make one wonder what the point of leaving home was.

Now, one startup wants to solve this issue and offer a more authentic experience for tourists willing to go off the beaten track.

IMAGE: WILDTHENTIC

Wild+Authentic = Wildthentic

Wildthentic is a digital startup in the tourism industry. Launched in 2016, this young and nimble upstart wants to create a singular travel experience for millennials or adventure-seeking travelers who would never consider hiring someone to plan their travels.

[pullquote]At first glance, Wildthentic may seem like any other travel agency online.[/pullquote] You can book a holiday and pick from a wide array of things to do and see. However, any similarity to traditional travel agencies ends there. Dig below the surface and you’ll see a platform dedicated to unique and authentic experiences.

With over 200 criteria, the team behind Wildthentic wants to discover and promote lesser known parts of the world. Instead of simply visiting a popular village, they arrange for a local experience that includes meeting and living with native villagers. Instead of a quick sightseeing tour of Argentina in a bus, they arrange a whole day’s rafting tour in the gorgeous but little known El Chaltén.

A Need for Experiences

Wildthentic taps into the need for an experience. According to Goldman Sachs, millennials are more likely to spend money on experiences than stuff. However, it’s not just millennials who are looking out for cultural experiences and authentic journeys. A survey by Expedia found that  76% of Baby Boomers and 62% of Generation Xers rated ‘local cultural experiences’ as their top priority while traveling.

This coincides with a rise in demand for ‘experiential travel’.

An industry study found that there was more demand for local and authentic experiences are quickly gaining ground on traditional travel packages. People don’t just want to take a selfie in a popular part of a new town or hike up to a monastery. Instead, travelers want to go a step further and speak to the monk to see how he lives or interact with a local food blogger to discover a unique place to eat local cuisine.

Wildthentic hopes to provide a unique blend of local experiences and catered travel services to satisfy this growing demand in the tourism industry.

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IMAGE: WILDTHENTIC