How to
Travel for Free by Leading or Promoting Tours
Whether you're 16 or 60, you CAN travel just about
anywhere in the world for free -- and even with a nice
stash of cash in your pocket -- by telling like-minded
people about a trip and convincing them to go with
you. Get 5 to 20 to book the same trip, and your
trip is free.
© 2008
by Jacqueline Corbett
TheLivingWeb.net
If you have a burning
desire to see the Pyramids... or go on an African
Safari... or snorkel the Great Barrier Reef of the
South Pacific... and don't have the cash, don't
worry.
There's a good chance
that you can travel for free to just about anywhere in
the world your heart desires just by locating a group
of like-minded folks and convincing them to go with
you.
And if you are really
good at convincing a lot of fellow travelers to join
you -- and have chosen the right travel company
-- you could also earn up to $10,000 a trip for your
efforts.
Not bad for doing
something you passionately enjoy doing, and meeting a
whole bunch of people who enjoy the same kind of
traveling you do.
There are dozens upon
dozens of travel companies who are actively seeking
individuals to help them organize tours -- or promote
existing ones.
Age is no consideration.
Whether you are 16 or 70, there is a tour or tour
group that is bound to suit your travel interests.
Teachers are actively
courted to promote tours to their students... and even
given handsome cash stipends to boot.
High school and college
students are sought to promote grad trips and spring
break trips to their friends and classmates. Besides
free trips and "rock star" treatment, successful
promoters can often earn as much as $10,000 per spring
break. Ministers
and church members are rewarded for telling church
members about pilgrimages and trips to the holy land.
With as much as $10,000 to be made per trip, booking
and leading tours is a wonderful way to raise cash for
a church building fund... or augmenting a minister's
meager salary.
Scuba divers can get a free trip by organizing a scuba
dive trip and promoting it to their fellow divers.
Lovers of the oriental
culture can get free trips to Japan or China, while
connecting with a whole new group of friends and
earning enough cash to dine well and bring back lovely
souvenirs.
Travel companies
will often pay cash when you produce more reservations
than the minimum required to earn a free trip.
The number of paid
trips it takes to get a free one varies from travel
company to travel company.
Some require as few as 5.
Others as many as 15 or 20.
Many companies will reward
you with multiple trips.
Most will also offer a
commission which gets bigger the more trips you sell.
It doesn't take any
experience to get started -- and most travel companies
supply you with lots of marketing materials and
support.
The degree of
involvement in planning and promoting a trip varies
considerably. For
example, promoting a trip for a spring break can often
be done quite casually. Some spring break travel
companies will even send a representative to your
campus to put on a meeting. A few phone calls to
friends. Some posters placed around the campus.
An ad in the school newspaper. And voila, you
could easily have 15 or 20 people signed in no time.
Some companies don't even require that you collect the
deposits. And most will do the follow through in
collecting the balance of the trip fee.
The more
aggressively you promote, the more trips and
money you'll earn.
According to some
travel companies, it is not uncommon for a very
aggressive promoter to walk away with a free trip AND
a very sizeable amount of cash.
Some travel firms say
their top producers earn as much as $10,000 a trip.
There is no limit to
where or how you can advertise a trip to the general
public. The more widely you advertise your tour
or pilgrimage, the more trips you'll book and the more
cash you'll make.
To maximize your
chances for success, it is advisable to announce and
begin promoting your trip at least a year in advance
of your departure date, so that you have plenty of
time to reach enough people -- and to enable your
prospects sufficient time to raise fund and schedule
the trip. If you
are already affiliated with a particular group such as
a school, a church, or a club, it makes promoting a
trip all the easier as you already have easy channels
of communication in place. Writing letters or emails,
making phone calls, announcements at meetings or
services, announcements in bulletins, etc.
If you are
interested in making as much money as possible in
addition to a free trip -- either for yourself or as a
fundraiser, you might want to look at other ways of
reaching a wider audience.
- Press releases to
newspapers and other media.
- Posters and flyers
posted on community and church bulletin boards.
- Small ads taken out
in newspapers and appropriate magazines.
- Posting in special
interest forums on the Internet
- Holding public
meetings and seminars.
Organizing a trip
gives you rewards way beyond the trip and the money.
In the process of organizing a trip, you will also
come into contact with many like-minded people you
might never meet otherwise ... resulting in
friendships that last a lifetime.
For many, the best part
of actively organizing and promoting a trip is meeting
new people who have at least some common interests.
Because you are the
group leader, you are in a unique position to have
already "broken the ice"... so that when it comes
time to embark on your cruise or tour, you will
often be on a first name basis with everyone.
This feeling of camaraderie with a large number of
fellow tourists can contribute immeasurably to the
success of the trip -- and can often lead to
lifelong friendships.
So don't put off
traveling just because you don't have the cash.
Look through the
resources below for a travel company that suits you.
Then get in touch with them, set a date and a
destination. And start making plans to take the
trip of your lifetime... by helping others do the
same. Bon voyage!
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The above article
can be freely published in a newsletter or on
your website provided that this entire
resource box remains intact and is included.
 Jacqueline
Corbett is founder and editor of
The
Living Web. She can be
reached at
xenith@thelivingweb.net. When not hunched over her laptop finding
useful bits of information to help people live
life better including how to travel on the
cheap (www.thelivingweb.net/cheap_travel.html) she can be found in thrift stores
seeking great
finds to ebay or give as gifts ... and in
grocery outlet stores seeking inexpensive delicacies
to contribute to the healthy but frugal
gourmet meals she enjoys preparing.
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