Despite it being a high season at many of our Asian destinations, December has also offered us some quieter, contemplative moments to reflect on the incredible and momentous year we’ve had at Discova.
As a DMC, we believe travel can be a transformative experience for visitors as well as the residents of a destination. Our partners echoed this sentiment at two recent global trade shows, as their customers have greatly appreciated the opportunity to give back and engage with locals during their travels through Discova’s owned and operated Signature Experiences.
The idea of empowering grassroots communities at our destinations is further highlighted through our work in Educational Travel, where we work with specific villages to improve their infrastructure, education, and healthcare and support them in accessing economic opportunities to improve their circumstances.
The Eileen Yee Educational Fund deserves a special mention here. Contributions to this initiative from our generous partners have allowed us to start providing financial assistance to high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds at our destinations. This support will enable them to complete their education and access a wider range of life opportunities.
As we continue to expand our operations in East, Southeast, and South Asia, we are determined to take the local community along, whether it’s through nurturing the 95% local staff at all our offices or engaging with the people whose history, traditions and culture make our destinations living, breathing, and thriving places that continue to draw travellers from far and wide.
Here are some of the key moments that shaped 2024 for Team Discova.
In the final quarter of 2024, Discova participated in two major travel trade shows in Singapore (ITB Asia) and London (WTM). We met hundreds of new and old partners who were delighted to see us in person and learn about unique new products at our existing Asian destinations and possible expansions into more frontiers across East, Southeast, and South Asia.
We were happy to learn that our partners were specifically interested in authentic and immersive excursions, that also provide an opportunity to support local communities and businesses. With solo travel on the rise, our tailor-made travel services have also garnered great traction at these trade shows, for creating the perfect itineraries to suit your customers.
Since 2007, Discova has collaborated with communities in Mai Chau, Vietnam, to drive sustainable development and address local challenges. These efforts have led to success stories with tangible outcomes – such as the construction of roads, dams, and the establishment of Happy Library.
Recent projects focus on financial aid for disadvantaged students, in partnership with Discova’s Eileen Yee Education Fund.
These projects highlight a shared vision of empowerment between Discova Educational Travel and our partner agents, schools, and community partners. These partnerships not only benefit the local community, but also inspire the next generation to actively engage in meaningful change.
Discova’s initiatives in Trei Nhoar, Cambodia, are continuing to address local needs with recent efforts including installing solar lighting across the community which enhances safety and enabling night-time activities while promoting renewable energy.
These solar lights build on earlier projects, that continually contribute to a sustainable development of our very own grassroots project.
By experiencing Trei Nhoar through a day trip, you can take part in this transformation firsthand and make your travel experience not only unique and memorable, but also impactful for the local community.
The future of travel can be summed up in one word – personalisation. Travellers are increasingly demanding unique, bespoke experiences that cater to their specific needs and desires. Whilst we are already seeing evidence of this, there is expected to be a major surge in demand for carefully tailored travel packages.
Alongside this shift towards personalisation, there is also an expectation that solo travel will become increasingly popular in 2025. More and more individuals are embarking on independent journeys and travel providers will need to offer specialised services in order to satisfy this growing demand.
Contact us to learn more about these trends!
With an increasing number of visitors keen on travelling widely across Asia and making multiple trips to explore off-the-beaten path sites and scenes, we are happy to support this rising demand by opening a new office in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, moving to a bigger office in Phuket, Thailand and having our own base in Borneo, Malaysia by 2025.
To focus on our plans to fast-track the growth of our Asia operations this year, we sadly had to close our offices in Mexico, Dominican Republic and Costa Rica and say a difficult goodbye to our people, customers and suppliers in the region. However, this refocus of our leadership and resources has allowed us to leverage our capabilities to become the leading Asian specialist by taking take advantage of the increasing demand within the inbound market in this region.
The Eileen Yee Education Fund continues to thrive, breaking barriers to education for underprivileged students. In just a few months since its launch in August 2024, and after the success of Discova’s Pink Week Campaign, the fund has already started providing life changing financial support to five students in Vietnam. This growth is fueled by the commitment and generosity of Team Discova, friends of Eileen, and our corporate partners such as FCM Asia.
Every donation opens doors for underprivileged students to pursue dreams, empowering families and uplifting communities. Together, we can change lives. Join us in making an impact – donate today.
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and stay at the forefront of new product offerings, Discova behind-the-scenes, destination news, travel trends and thought leadership articles from our on-the-ground experts.
