Alex Jimenez, proprietor of Luxe Itinerary, is aware of how necessary it’s to have a distinct segment as a journey advisor. That is why she emphasizes her two private journey pursuits: eco-friendly journeys and wellness holidays for girls over age 40.
Although she’s new to the sport, Jimenez is on observe to greater than double her consumer base this yr and is devoted to rising as an impartial journey advisor. And he or she’s doing all of it by diving deep into the precise kinds of journey that she is most obsessed with.
Journey as a Second Profession
The lifelong New York Metropolis resident began waiting for retirement from her authorities job when she turned 52 (she is now 56). Understanding that she wished to have the ability to journey and stay in different international locations, Jimenez sought a distant job.
She enrolled in Dean Horvath’s Promoting Luxurious Journey course and has been hooked on the brand new profession ever since. She formally launched Luxe Itinerary in October 2019, however the enterprise sat idle for about two years as a result of pandemic.
Throughout that point, nonetheless, Jimenez herself continued to journey, which made her a go-to for journey recommendation when others started jet-setting once more as properly.
“I did nothing however publish, publish, publish on my social media about these journeys, and I feel that is most likely what attracted folks and constructed consciousness about my model,” she defined.
Jimenez has booked greater than a dozen journeys for purchasers; she had six purchasers in 2022 and 6 in simply the primary 4 months of 2023. She operates underneath the host journey company Shoreline Journey Group, and he or she can also be a member of Virtuoso.
Eco-Pleasant Journeys
As a baby, Jimenez spent 5 summers at a sleepaway camp in Connecticut, the place she discovered enjoyment and respite from the concrete jungle she calls residence. When she started touring as an grownup, she naturally gravitated towards nature-filled locations.
“I wanted that atmosphere to decompress from residing within the metropolis for 10 months a yr, and I carried that with me my entire life,” Jimenez says. “[We learned] we have now to maintain the land, to deal with the animals with kindness, maintain the lake clear, do not litter. These sorts of values have been instilled in me from summer time camp, and that caught with me.”
In keeping with Jimenez, there are three parts of eco-friendly journey: celebrating the native tradition, supporting the native financial system, and defending the planet. Translated into experiences for her purchasers, that may imply taking cooking or crafting lessons from natives or staying at a resort that was constructed from recycled supplies or that makes use of furnishings crafted by native artisans.
“One thing I actually don’t love is individuals who go to a resort in Mexico and so they do not go away the resort, in order that they’ve by no means actually visited Mexico,” Jimenez stated. “They’re simply in a bubble someplace that occurs to be geographically on prime of Mexico. That to me shouldn’t be sustainable.”
For eco-friendly cruises, Jimenez recommends Virgin Voyages to her purchasers. The road provides native excursions at every of its stops for company to expertise the tradition of the nation they’re visiting.
Wellness for Ladies
In November 2022, Jimenez established the Annual Ladies’s Wellness Weekend in Rivera Maya, Mexico. Just a few ladies over 40 joined her over the Veteran’s Day weekend for an opportunity to calm down and unwind.
“My area of interest is ladies who’re sandwiched in between the ageing mother and father on one facet and the youngsters on the opposite facet preparing for going to school,” she stated. “I personally by no means had kids however I did have ageing mother and father who I took care of lots. It is exhausting so I feel it is necessary for girls to pause and simply bear in mind to maintain themselves which is one thing that we regularly don’t do.”
This yr, the retreat might be in Playa del Carmen, Mexico. Jimenez added that, like herself, many ladies get pleasure from touring alone. Nevertheless some ladies do not feel snug touring fully by themselves, which is why she hopes to develop the annual retreat within the years to come back.
“There’s an enormous marketplace for solo-traveling ladies or ladies who need to journey solo however have not fairly jumped off the cliff but due to authentic fears, particularly in the event that they’re popping out of a wedding or are just lately widowed and have been with a companion for therefore lengthy, and now touring by themselves is type of [scary],” Jimenez stated. “Ladies who need to journey solo come collectively in a bunch to be solo in a bunch.”
Eco-friendliness and wellness can go hand-in-hand, Jimenez added.
One of many journey lover-turned-advisor’s private favourite journeys was a yoga yacht cruise on the Mediterranean Sea, which included each bodily health — together with yoga, mountaineering, and swimming — and eco-friendly components like being surrounded by nature.
Jimenez is presently serving to to construct an itinerary for a mom and daughter to take an eco-friendly wellness journey to India, which can embrace meditative, stress-free, and non secular experiences, she stated.
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