Budget travel course pre-design analysis

Having just returned from a two-week trip to Scandinavia*, saving money on travel is very much on my mind. The Nordic countries are notoriously expensive, but I think I did pretty well all things considered. The topic for my course will be how to save money on travel.

There are two kinds of traveler in this world: the ones for whom money is no object, travel is a status symbol, and being comfortable is the top concern. The others travel to experience different cultures, learn about the world, meet people, and have fun. This group, which I would call "adventure travelers," tends not to have so much money available to spend, and it is for them that my course will be designed.

I conducted a survey using Survey Monkey and sent it to just about everyone in my email list. I would say most of these people fit in the second category of traveler, as do I. If you want to look at (or better, take) the survey go to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=02fX_2b4HPnRSMF8YPfDyzxQ_3d_3d

I wanted to determine the NEED FOR and INTEREST IN a course in saving money on travel. I left a comment section for open-ended responses to each question, and I got some great material! Too bad the program is anonymous because I would like to give people credit for their great ideas. This also encouraged me that this course would lend itself well to learner/learner interaction. Even those with great ideas would benefit from learning the DIFFERENT great ideas of the other learners.

As of now, 20 people have completed my survey. It is still open so I look forward to getting many more responses.

I asked people's feelings about travel and expense, and 76% of the respondents agreed with the statement, "I would travel more if it were less expensive." Most agreed that airfare and lodging where the toughest costs to control, but in the open answer several mentioned food… which is very true… I just forgot to make it an option in the question.

Of the respondents, 57% had specific ideas on how to save on airfare, but there were many different ideas. Many of them expressed an interest in hearing other ideas for saving in this area. Also, 26% said that they supposed there were ways to save but they did not know them. Because respondents would be unlikely to select both options, this indicates that 83% would benefit from learning a variety of ways to save on airfare.

The results were similar when asked about lodging: a total of 95% either suspected there were ways unknown to them to save, or knew of ways to save but would be interested in learning about other ways.

Most people (70%) correctly answered that there is no age limit for guests at most "youth" hostels, but 30% believed that the age limit was 25 or 30.

There was no consensus on whether a cruise vacation costs more or less than a conventional air/hotel vacation. (Depending on the choice of cruise and spending on liquor/spa/gambling/tours, it can be a huge bargain or a huge blowout!)

My mini-analysis indicates that there would be a receptive audience for my budget travel course and there are areas where learners need more facts and information. Additionally, I realized that the community of learners themselves would be a valuable resource for ideas on saving money on travel. When I design my course, I will be sure to include ways for the learners to communicate and share experiences, which will enrich the content.

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*If you want to check out the photos go to http://picasaweb.google.com/jeffrey.david