Bosnia and Herzegovina is currently the strongest seller for Hybrid Tours, a community-led tour operator, according to co-founder Hira Aftab, who says magazine coverage and the World Cup have lifted interest in the country.
Aftab says travellers are moving away from “authentic” as a marketing label and towards trips that offer real contact with local communities, an opening for smaller operators competing with much bigger brands.
“We specialise in combining the best of travel with social impact,” Aftab told Emerging Travel. “All of our tours are community-led and we really amplify community experiences through storytelling.”
Jordan is usually one of the company’s bestsellers but those tours are currently not running, she said. Pakistan draws strong interest, “and they always have so many questions”, with some hesitation at the booking stage, but “people do end up booking and they really enjoy it”. South Korea is a newer addition.
The company partners with communities on the ground so they can represent themselves on their own terms, Aftab said, with the aim of keeping profits local.
She said adding context and history to itineraries is part of the offer, even when that can make trips less comfortable. “We just think travel is pretty flat without that context,” she said.
“Recently we felt a lot of people are now coming around to seeing what authentic travel means without the authentic label, because I feel it’s kind of become a buzzword,” Aftab said. “People are really wanting to get to know local communities, have those spaces to converse and to connect, and learn about what food and culture and music mean to people.”
Emerging Travel also interviewed Saadia Baba of Xperience Pakistan on the country’s cultural heritage offer.
Hybrid Tours is a community-led tour operator co-founded by Aftab, offering trips to destinations including Bosnia and Herzegovina, Pakistan, Jordan and South Korea.
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