Booking Your Next Life or Career Experience
Was having dinner at Bonheur with a couple of girl friends. In the middle of dinner, MK suddenly said, "Why don't you organize a boot camp? You know, climbing walls and all that, like Police Academy." LP chimed in: "Yeah, but with luxury accommodation, spa and good food at the end of the day. And of course cute instructors."
It was really interesting, because NY Times had just done an article on Monday about the new trend in leisure travel: travellers want to learn something. Actually, I don't think it's anything new, but what is new is that more and more travel companies are offering more short-term, niche learning experiences that will fit into a week-long holiday. We often tailor such trips for our clients. Single, female travellers like cooking or yoga holidays. Some with more time learn a new language or brush up on a rusty one. On ski trips, we book private snowboard instructors for skiers curious to convert. Others want a wine expert to guide them through tastings around wine regions. We've always tried to build in learning experiences into the trips we create for our clients. So when the girls suggested the boot camp idea, I told them to let me know the size of their group and budget and I'd create a boot camp experience for them. We already brainstormed a few destination ideas -- Mongolia, Tibet, Thailand, Malaysia.
In a similar vein, but a bit more new is the idea of trying a new career on your holiday. I came across Vacation Vocations in a recent issue of Business Week. This company, I thought, is brilliant! I know so many burnt-out professionals -- lawyers, bankers, accountants, architects -- who want a change in career, but for one reason or another have not gotten up enough nerve to make the break for a new career. Some aren't even sure what their dream job might be and that's why VV's concept is brilliant, because it allows people to sample different careers over the course of a holiday. While it's not enough time to really get to know the industry and gain industry expertise, it is enough time for a person to figure out whether they would like to spend more of their time in a particular line of work. I think this idea would be great for Hong Kong teenagers, who are pressured by parents to go for the "safe" professional careers. Yet, most people don't know what career options exist and which best match their interests and strengths. If teenagers were given more exposure to find inspiring careers that they can be passionate about and see how people can make a living doing what they love, then perhaps students would be much more motivated and would make better educational and career choices that would lead them to be happier and more productive adults. After having had a browse through their offereings, I thought it would be kind of fun to spend a couple days shadowing TV producers in NYC. There are a lot of other interesting opportunities -- advertising, fashion, dude ranching, catering, hospitality, music, the list goes on. All you need is time to check them out (and money to pay for it of course), but it could be a truly life-changing holiday.
It was really interesting, because NY Times had just done an article on Monday about the new trend in leisure travel: travellers want to learn something. Actually, I don't think it's anything new, but what is new is that more and more travel companies are offering more short-term, niche learning experiences that will fit into a week-long holiday. We often tailor such trips for our clients. Single, female travellers like cooking or yoga holidays. Some with more time learn a new language or brush up on a rusty one. On ski trips, we book private snowboard instructors for skiers curious to convert. Others want a wine expert to guide them through tastings around wine regions. We've always tried to build in learning experiences into the trips we create for our clients. So when the girls suggested the boot camp idea, I told them to let me know the size of their group and budget and I'd create a boot camp experience for them. We already brainstormed a few destination ideas -- Mongolia, Tibet, Thailand, Malaysia.
In a similar vein, but a bit more new is the idea of trying a new career on your holiday. I came across Vacation Vocations in a recent issue of Business Week. This company, I thought, is brilliant! I know so many burnt-out professionals -- lawyers, bankers, accountants, architects -- who want a change in career, but for one reason or another have not gotten up enough nerve to make the break for a new career. Some aren't even sure what their dream job might be and that's why VV's concept is brilliant, because it allows people to sample different careers over the course of a holiday. While it's not enough time to really get to know the industry and gain industry expertise, it is enough time for a person to figure out whether they would like to spend more of their time in a particular line of work. I think this idea would be great for Hong Kong teenagers, who are pressured by parents to go for the "safe" professional careers. Yet, most people don't know what career options exist and which best match their interests and strengths. If teenagers were given more exposure to find inspiring careers that they can be passionate about and see how people can make a living doing what they love, then perhaps students would be much more motivated and would make better educational and career choices that would lead them to be happier and more productive adults. After having had a browse through their offereings, I thought it would be kind of fun to spend a couple days shadowing TV producers in NYC. There are a lot of other interesting opportunities -- advertising, fashion, dude ranching, catering, hospitality, music, the list goes on. All you need is time to check them out (and money to pay for it of course), but it could be a truly life-changing holiday.
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