The Next Step for Sobremesa Tours
As we wish our hardest for the end of the pandemic, slowly (at least in some countries), part of the population is beginning to get their vaccines. The past year’s dreams of long-lost travel, little by little, can start to mutate back into real plans. There’s even a name for the travel frenzy led by the first in line to receive their doses of Covid shots (mostly those over 65): mortality salience, a behavior change caused by the sense of one’s life running out, according to this recent NY Times article.
Though we know that 2021 will still be very timid and cautious -especially in Europe, where vaccines are still more scarce- at Sobremesa we are eagerly hoping to re-open the majority our tour offering in 2022.
While the pandemic has certainly been difficult for all, as a travel service, it has given us the opportunity to reflect on our values, practices, and goals. In times of such rapid and radical transformation, things slowed down for us, and left us with time to think important things over.
We have always been convinced that tourism can offer a way towards experiences that are beneficial to all involved parties, which includes the land that hosts us. Moving forward, we’re excited about embracing the concept of regenerative tourism, the next step after sustainability. Rather than a ‘leave no harm attitude,’ typical of sustainable tourism, regeneration means improving a destination, making the place somehow better than how you found it.
We are excited to create and offer experiences that will improve and regenerate the places we operate in. Though we still love cities and all the possibilities they offer, our efforts will focus on adding opportunities to step away from the busy streets (for a few hours, for the day, or several days) and responsibly discover the lesser-exploited natural areas surrounding them.
While we are convinced our guests will appreciate this new focus, we are also relying on caring hosts, as without them true regenerative tourism would not be possible. One of Sobremesa’s prized assets is our connection to like-minded people in the community. Taking advantage to the fullest of these alliances, we are gathering an array of options for you to choose from, which include, for example: participative visits (inasmuch as you’d like) to organic producers; a botanical foraging walk on the outskirts of the city; a 3-day tour in an unknown, precious region of Spain just a couple of hours from Barcelona, where we have beautiful things in store, such as an experience with a high quality, sustainable olive oil producer.
There is still a lot of work to be done in the industry, and only a small handful of us are toting the crucial regenerative cause. Are you in for this new type of travel experience? Stay tuned for upcoming tour info so you can book your spot for 2022; they will be very limited, that’s for sure. Drop us a line here if you want more info sooner.
Photos by @beckylawtonfoto