Much More than Machu Picchu

‘Tis the season to be selling Peru, so it seems. The destination has done a great job in promoting itself and the upcoming ASTA International Destination Expo in Lima seems to be the right event at the right time. In researching my talk on Niche Markets for the IDE, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there are about 75 more reasons to visit Peru than just exploring Machu Picchu.

To be clear, Machu Picchu is an extraordinary and overwhelming feast for the eyes and the imagination, and having spent a few days there in 2003 after hiking the Inca Trail I can say that the history, mystery and spiritualism of the sacred valley is something very special. In travel we talk about ‘serendipity’, which is supposed to refer to chance happenings, where you don’t expect something to occur. But at Machu Picchu, you already know about the site, yet the more you delve into the sacred secrets, the power of the Inca architecture, the intensity of the condor and mountain inspired rituals, the more each page of your guidebook turns into a serendipitous revelation.

Machu Picchu

But there is much more in Peru. A niche market is a subset of travel—reflecting a unique client interest that responds to a need. And we all have them. Photography is a niche, as is history, culture, shopping, food and drink. But then each category can be divided into more niches. A photographer may classify their own works of art as landscape/scenery or people/culture or wildlife and more. A culinary traveler may look for markets and then restaurants, followed by cooking schools, wineries, and unique local tastes such as pisco or ceviche (or even guinea pig).

Other unique niches include dark tourism (the Museum of the Inquisition), jewellery (the Gold Museum), adventure, both soft and hard, which can take in everything from trekking mountains to llama trekking to alpaca farming, and from paragliding to hot air ballooning; from scuba diving and ship wrecks to surfing, fishing (salt water, fresh water, deep sea) and cruising. And then there are the sustainability travellers, looking for more eco-friendly experiences in the Amazon or through voluntourism or live-like-a-local programs that emphasize learning Spanish or sharing thoughts and ideals with people who have an absolutely different life style than your own.

As travellers of all ages feel that travel itself is an experience that is owed to them, and each generation of traveler re-interprets how they like to travel (education, groups, FITs, physical activity or physical interaction with the land, people based travel and on and on) the importance of qualifying clients as to their needs—but also in being able to accommodate those needs-- falls into the exclusive realm of real-live-trained-travel-professional skills. Next time a client expresses interest in a destination known for a solo attraction, probe a bit deeper, research a bit more and you can come up with an amazing program of satisfaction and smiles.

-Steve Gillick, President and COO, CITC