A Tour Operator Flips the Playbook by Embracing Travelers' Passions, Not Destinations

25.08.2023 - 14:31 / skift.com / Travel Experiences / El Mansouri

Yoga enthusiasts wanting an immersive cultural retreat, football fans looking to meet their sporting heroes or individuals with a penchant for the mixology of gin — these everyday interests and hobbies are shaping “passion-driven” itineraries for travelers looking for more meaningful travel experiences.

Dharma, an Abu Dhabi-based tour operator for businesses, says it is ready for it. They aim to simplify group travel with their travel management software service as they help non-travel companies create tailored travel experiences for their existing communities or fandoms.

“Our core conviction is that the future of travel is passion-based, not destination-based,” said Dharma co-founder and CEO Charaf El Mansouri.

Starting with the community that cares deeply about a particular interest or experience immediately lowers the need to find customers who will book the tour.

“Dharma is not about indiscriminate supply. Differentiation is what we build with relevant, repeatable supply,” added El Mansouri.

With some 50 talent partners, as Dharma calls its clients, mostly based in the U.S. and U.K., it kicked off its business model with a focus on wellness and sport. According to El Mansouri, its first sporting venture, Looking FC, is an example of its group travel differentiation.

It featured a range of immersive four-day trips led by former French national team and Manchester United player Eric Cantona.

“Manchester United has 600 million fans online. So we’re talking about one itinerary around one club or team, curated by Cantona, who is widely considered the best player ever to have played for that club. We have proprietary supply and a captive audience, which changes the group tour conversation dramatically.” he said.

Dharma bridges the practical aspects of group travel merchandizing for non-travel brands looking to travel experiences to delight their customers.

High Yoga is one of Dharma’s first clients and has run about seven retreats of groups between 15 to 25 people with them to destinations like Morocco and Croatia.

All their trips have been sold-out, with repeat bookings across their student base and no need for external marketing. According to Mona Godfrey, one of High Yoga’s lead teachers, the trips are centered on being close to nature and having a deep sense of cultural immersion. For example, the students met artisans who make musical instruments in Morocco. These instruments were then played during their yoga sessions while on the retreat.

“Working with Dharma is like working with heartfelt-experience curators. It is never a cookie-cutter group tour and we couldn’t do these curated retreats without them,” said Godfrey.

The acquisition cost for this yoga community is zero as High Yoga pays 20