Take a moment to picture the most meaningful trip you’ve ever taken.
You might recall spectacular scenery, sensations and unexpected discoveries - but odds are, the reason those memories are so meaningful is a human connection you made. Conversations you had. The relationships you built with your local guide or hosts, a small community or your traveling companions.
Human encounters are what make both life and travel worthwhile. The fast pace and global challenges of today’s world mean that we’re craving those encounters in ways perhaps we had never imagined. What’s more, this is the type of travel that small, especially rural, communities – those that offer fresh, local food and lodging, greater supply chain transparency, and natural surroundings – are perfectly positioned to deliver.
However, this hasn’t always been obvious. Trips, tours and marketing tend to showcase extraordinary activities or settings, but not the interactions that infuse those itineraries with deep meaning and mutual benefit.
Ann Becker is on a mission to change that, and to make sure that as the travel industry begins to reemerge, it puts the connections among local hosts, small communities and visitors front and center responsibly. Ann has devoted the past 15 years to creating authentic travel adventures, building her own responsible tourism business, and honing what it takes to create meaningful relationships on the ground. Today, Ann is sharing her expertise with others who are inspired to create authentic travel experiences with human connection at their heart.
Ann does this by:
Connecting: Ann draws on the networks she has built over decades as a traveler and travel leader to make strategic connections between tourism communities and travel leaders so they can share best practices or build collaborations.
Advising: Ann supports travel leaders and organizations as they develop or improve their experiential travel experiences, or look for ways to increase their positive impact on the communities their programs visit.
Speaking: Ann is a seasoned speaker and facilitator who motivates travelers, along with local and international travel leaders, to expand their understanding of the power of travel to make a positive difference in the world.
Ann’s Story
Ann Becker fell in love with Costa Rica during a visit in 2005 and decided to leverage her nearly 30 years of business experience in to a small experiential travel company bringing travelers to Costa Rica and beyond. As the founder of Travel with Ann, Ann has also advised countless people about experiential travel and has shared her experiences through myriad convenings and events. When not traveling, she lives with her family in Chicago.
