As I sit here planning my upcoming trip to Portugal and Northern Spain, I peruse the guidebooks for the umpteenth time and try to recall the countless recommendations I’ve received from people I know who have been there.  But then I start thinking about what I really want to get out of this adventure.  And that’s when I decided to put the guidebook down and slowly back away.  Because what I want, is a truly authentic experience…

“Experiential Travel” has become an increasingly popular trend over the past few years, emerging as the new way (and the best way, in my opinion) to travel.  It’s no longer about simply going to a place and just seeing it.  It’s all about actually experiencing it.  This means stepping out of the ordinary (and perhaps your comfort zone) to go off the beaten track.  Think of every trip you go on as an adventure or exploration…not just a vacation, and discover the authenticity of the place you’re visiting.  A huge part of this is done by connecting with the destination and immersing yourself in the culture that surrounds you.  Oddly enough, the best way to travel is to not be a “tourist”.  (Note-to-self.)  And fortunately, nowadays, there are countless ways in which to do this.  (You just have to be willing.)

So, here are a few tips on how to create the experience you want:

1.     Talk to the locals.  The best way to create an authentic experience is to meet the people who live there.  Get their recommendations for where to eat, what to do and what to see.  Let your curiosity get the best of you and ask locals questions about their traditions and the heritage of the area.

2.     Be a “locavore”.  Eat at a restaurant that only locals eat at.  Sample the cuisine indigenous to the area or better yet, learn how to cook it.  Taste the wine from the region you’re in and discover how to pair it with the area’s traditional dish.  Essentially, turn off of Main Street and take the road less traveled.  You never know what you’ll find just around the corner.

3.     Choose your lodging wisely.  Why on earth would you travel to an exotic locale, only to stay in a hotel that looks like it could have been located anywhere in the world?  Instead, stay at a hotel that offers a true sense of place.   Where you stay throughout your travels, should capture the local flavor and reflect the destination that you’re in.  Seek out lodging that has intriguing architecture and inventive décor and, in turn, provides a unique experience.  Boutique hotels are a good way to go as they usually boast a great deal of character and often are a departure from the norm.  Although, to their credit, even several big name brand hotels have started to change their tune so that Brand X’s Hotel Barcelona, for example, is now quite different from Brand X’s Hotel Chicago.

4.     Learn by doing.  Engage in the local culture and customs and get to know the history of the area you’re visiting.  If you want to take a tour, hire a local guide.  Sure, go check out the typical “tourist-y” sites, but then ask them to show you everything else.  After all, won’t a local know the area best?  Learn the local language by taking a class.  Find out if there are any opportunities to volunteer in the area while you’re there.

Basically, what I’m saying is…step off the tour bus, put the guidebook down, and travel the right way.

Overall, the tone was exceedingly positive and a wide variety of perspectives were provided, as each media attendee represented a very different area of the industry.

The media panel included:

• Kyle Wagner – travel editor of the Denver Post; an active blogger, tweeter and foodie.
• Lois Friedland – a freelance journalist, and editor of national and regional magazines and newspapers.  Friedland is also About.com’s adventure travel guide, and the Colorado Ski Resort Examiner for Examiner.com.
• Tim Shisler – a published writer, videographer, photographer, speaker and founder of Plus Ten Media, a digital content agency for outdoor and travel brands. Shisler’s work has appeared in numerous magazines, including Backpacker, Bicycling and Mountain Bike. (www.timshisler.com)
• Jason Hussong – an independent blogger who narrates stories about his travels around Colorado and the world at www.jasons-travels.com.
• Kara Williams – an award-winning freelance journalist with more than 18 years of national and regional print experience. She also is a founding member of both the successful www.travelingmamas.com and TheVacationGals.com.
• Kris Wagner – the map editor for Backpacker, Bicycling, and Mountain Bike magazines. His work in interactive media, GPS, and maps has garnered more than 20 web and publishing awards, including three national magazine awards. His research on the limited lifespan of digital gadgets was also published in Wired magazine.

Here are some of the key learnings:

• Travel trends we will see in 2010:  experiential travel, luxury travel deals/specials, volunteer travel, organized tours.
• As the media industry continues to evolve and print content decreases, the digital arena is becoming increasingly significant.  That doesn’t mean that print is totally dead (as some people love to claim),  it simply means that you shouldn’t ignore the digital world.
• Along with sending journalists a pitch from which they’d lift copy for a print outlet, send them a 40-character or less phrase that they can lift and use as a Twitter message to promote your story.
• Travel coverage may get more regionalized as local papers have fewer resources for national/international stories, and readers continue to take more driveable trips.  To this end, the future of print newspapers will be led by the larger, national dailies, with regional bureaus providing them with local news feeds.
• Travel content is more fluid than ever, and we’re seeing an evolution in formats. Audio slideshows, geo-coded maps and video are being used as regular parts of travel features.
• Not surprisingly, Twitter should be used to engage in a conversation with journalists and build a relationship, not just to push your ideas and pitches on them.