Testing the Waters with Dori: What Does Immersive Mean?

I recently had the chance to contribute a couple of quotes to an upcoming AARP article on the growth of the slow travel movement. Though slow travel has been around for a long time, elements of it are growing among mainstream travelers. In particular, the immersive aspect of slow travel is expanding into many elements of travel from hotel and resort stays to bus tours and cruise itineraries.

Today’s traveler wants to experience the destinations they’re visiting beyond simply ticking off a list of must-see attractions. Rather than trying to fit in as many ticked boxes as possible into one trip, travelers nowadays want to see less but experience more. In response, hotels, resorts, tour operators, and cruise lines are adding optional experiences guests can take advantage of that enable them to “immerse” themselves in the local culture.

But what does this immersivity look like?

Last week, I spent four days at an all-inclusive in the Mexican Riviera where daily cooking demonstrations taught guests how to make Mexican dishes from scratch. The demos were poolside and were not interactive.

Would you call that immersive?

Last month, I sailed on Azamara Cruises and participated in a cooking class in Cartagena that was completely hands-on. Using local ingredients, we made several Colombian dishes and enjoyed the fruits of our labor over an hours-long lunch.

What about that? Is that immersive?

Like so many other words that are thrown about within the travel industry and in travel marketing – the most infamous being “luxury” – immersive can mean different things to different people. What might satisfy one client as immersive won’t be up to par for another.  

(Another word bandied about that has the same basic connotation is “authentic,” but in my opinion that’s even more vague.)

My idea of immersive is not a poolside guacamole demonstration, but then I’m not your typical all-inclusive traveler. It’s quite possible that poolside demos are just immersive enough for most all-inclusive guest to feel like they truly experienced Mexico during their stay.

But what about the Azamara cooking class excursion I did?

By and large, the guests who participated in that excursion loved it. They felt like they did, indeed, get a real taste of Colombia. (My two cents? Yes, it was immersive, but it lacked context. Why these dishes? What were their histories? Were they everyday dishes or holiday dishes?)

Sadly, that was the only immersive excursion we experienced during our 10-day Azamara cruise. Virtually all the other offerings, in every port, were your typical Caribbean excursions. And yet, Azamara markets itself as owning destination immersion among the cruise segment.

So, once again, I have to ask. What does that mean?

Azamara points to its longer stays in port as part of its destination focused cruising. Okay, yes, we had longer stays than I’m used to on other cruise ships. But just because you have longer in a port doesn’t mean you’re immersed in it. That’s nearly impossible to do as a day visitor without someone – ie the cruise line – facilitating that immersion.

Highlight tours, snorkeling excursions, glass-bottom boat rides — none of that is immersive.

I do understand that creating immersive experiences in Europe and Asia is easier to do than in the Caribbean where sun and sand are the main draw. But if a client is choosing Azamara for their Caribbean cruise, it must be assumed they still want some level of that destination immersion that Azamara promises.

So yes, it’s more difficult in the Caribbean.

But I don’t think it’s impossible.

On our half-day “Beauties of Curacao” bus tour, we stopped at a former slave plantation. The main house is now an art gallery and souvenir store. We were dropped off for 45 minutes or so to wander around on our own. You know it’s a wasted stop when everyone is back on the bus well before time is up.

But… what if one or more of the artists had been there to talk about their work? Or if a descendant of a slave who used to live on the plantation was there? What if a local historian was on hand to answer questions?

Any one of those options could have turned a waste of time into an immersive experience that helped guests get a better feel of Curacao’s history, culture, and people.

Seems to me, that’s what travelers looking for immersion actually want. Isn’t that why they choose a supplier claiming to offer more immersive experiences? Not simply for longer stays in a destination, but because the experiences in the port – or at the hotel or on the tour – are different?

What do you think? Am I totally off-base? Do your clients want actually immersive experiences or is a poolside guacamole demonstration enough to satisfy most of them? Let me know your thoughts at dsaltzman@travelmarketreport.com.