What Is Elite Tourism?
It’s all about going where the rich and famous go… without the cost!
I want the experience of visiting unusual and unique travel destinations.
I am willing to pay for this, either with currency, air miles, and credit card points.
OR I will work my way to my safe harbor.
I know how to do this; I can tell you:
What IS Elite Tourism?
Decide if you are going as:
A. an EXPERIENCED traveler,
B. a BUDGET traveller,
C. or as a LUXURY traveler.
D. or INDEPENDENTLY WEALTHY (it’s the best way by far! It is so convenient to be wealthy!) (Enough of that!)
Elite Tourism Gets Paid To Travel!
Ever wonder what it would be like to go on an all-expense-paid move overseas?
That’s when you are relocated within the company you work for.
Since you are going for an extended period of time, your family is going too.
They will pay for everything: for the move, schooling, and currency exchange.
As long as you are willing to manage their outpost restaurant chain based in Malta, for five years!
All expenses are covered, and you maintain your salary.
This gives you the (extra) means to explore everywhere in Europe and Africa.
Where do you want to go… fancy a trip to Israel?
Malta is in the Mediterranean Sea just south of Sicily; you are a neighbor to Crete!
Only 589 miles away!
(Learn more about the beauty of Crete in “The Charisma Of Greece” link here.)
You will be handsomely compensated for any inconvenience.
That’s what I want. Definitely a LUXURY PACKAGE!
Get Paid For Your Talent!
This reminds me of my niece, Giselle, who is an artist. For four years, from 2017-2020, she and her family of three were invited to Dubai, to illustrate her art, for five weeks.
She was discovered while doing a live painting in the McDonald Hotel lobby in Edmonton, Canada.
Her discoverer invited her, and her family to Dubai to paint in their lobby!
(Her discoverer is a Canadian who was asked to manage a part of the Raffles Hotel, in Dubai! See the domino effect here?)
NOW, she does live paintings in the Raffles Hotel, in Dubai, and her works are displayed for sale.
International travelers buy her art; … 85% of Dubai’s residents are expatriates!
While she is painting, Giselle talks to the people around her.
Her son Quinn, who was six the first time they went… well no one knew what to do with him!
He was six! … He needed to have some fun occupation, while Mom was working and Dad was managing!
They walked by the kitchen and Quinn said, “Hey Mom, look where they roll out their pastries! … Real marble!”
The pastry chef of the restaurant in Raffles, Dubai, heard this and took Quinn on as his charge!
Quinn likes to bake cakes. He has spent seven hours a day, four days a week with the pastry chef of Raffel’s hotel, for four years! And he loves it!
This is a nice thing to have on your resume!
Now Giselle’s talent has worldwide exposure! And Quinn will be a great pastry chef one day! To see Giselle and her work, click the link: www.giselledenis.com... She’s pretty, hey?
I categorize this mode of travel as a LUXURY PACKAGE!
Do A Work-Exchange Program!
Not to be confused with “working for a company and being relocated overseas”.
Remember, you don’t have the money to do this and you have to be innovative!
Now This Is Innovative!
Get a seasonal gig working on an organic farm in Australia.
They have a job and accommodation for you, but you will need to pay for the flight to get there.
That’s ok. You saved air miles, and your credit card gives points for everything!
If you can ski, be an instructor in Australia from May to October!
Then while you are there, stay for a summer Christmas!
That’s the way to do it. Make this BUDGET PACKAGE work hard!
This Is One Way To Use Points!
My cousin and her daughter went to Paris, and Washington DC, on credit card points.
Their flights and accommodations were paid for.
They paid for their own food, drink, and souvenirs.
That is a nice chunk of covered expenses!
And who wouldn’t want to shop while in Paris? They are women, after all.
This gets better: When said daughter graduated from university, she went to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco.
Once the package was chosen, the credit card points paid for the flight to three countries and the accommodations. Some meals and tours were included in the package.
Since the points didn’t quite str-et-ch to the end, their daughter paid the outstanding amount not covered.
It cost her only $100.00 to go to Spain, Portugal, and Morocco for 16 days!
Worked for them… make it work for you too!
Let this hereby be known as an EXPERIENCED TRAVELER PACKAGE.
What Else Can Points Do?
supplement your income!
You can use those points to stay in the airport lounge and rest, in real comfort. Go ahead; sleep.
They will cover the cost of your meals and really, you need never carry cash, except for tipping.
You know what it’s like to do a really great job, in the hospitality industry; you rely on your tips.
In most vacation attractions the wait staff are travellers just like you!
You will pick up varied skills along the way, and you can always find a job to supplement your income.
You are taking your EXPERIENCED TRAVELING to the next level!
Tip lavishly!.. It feels so good to do that, doesn’t it?
Teach A Language, Learn A Language!
In some countries, they are eager to learn English. You can arrange to have the job before you get there.
My friend taught English in Malta for 20 years!
Read about language possibilities in What Is An Exchange Student? https://corinnekey.com/what-is-an-exchange-student/
Book your trip a year in advance. You can save up to 50% on the cost of the package!
You have one year to top up your points! Take advantage of that!
Your EXPERIENCES are paying off!
You Don’t Always Have To Fly!
If you have ever worked on any ship, you could work your way across an ocean and
stay a while.
Want to live in Japan for two years? Permits will need to be in place but it is entirely doable.
Your BUDGET CONSCIOUSNESS will pay off in the long run!
Or just be independently wealthy!
I am telling you, it is so convenient and there is no limit as to what you can spend, buy or invest.
But I Don’t Have Any Money!
Ok, we are not independently wealthy, 🙁 🙁 🙁 🙁 this is a crowd of unhappy people!
but there are a lot of credit card points and air miles we can use!
Look for special deals, and group tours that need another traveler to get the trip going.
If you want to visit Monaco as the Rich and Famous do, plan to go during the Grand Prix and really make a splash!
Did they just walk in and throw their credit card down and not even bother to look at the price?… That’s the payoff for independent wealth.
You can book a year in advance and get those reward points topped up again!
That’s the payoff for traveling with credit card points!
Lake Como, Italy is a very popular place for the Rich & Famous.
Hotel accommodations can go up to a few thousand dollars per night.
That’s where “they” stay!
But didn’t you say that you are short of cash and you have just enough air miles for the flight?
What to do?
Secure a job at your destination, for at least three months.
You can wash dishes, teach a language, or be a tour guide.
Get this nailed down before you leave.
Another GREAT EXPERIENCE-BUDGET vacation!
Yes! I Want To Be A Tour Guide!
On a trip of 23 days to Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore, our guide was with us the whole time.
He made sure that all bookings were correct, and handled every situation that arose!
Our guide stayed in the same hotels, ate at the same restaurants, and had the same flights as we did… except he flew first class! His was a FREE trip!
Make it a long-term lifestyle. Being able to fly around the world for free is good management.
AND you get paid while vacationing!.. Good LUXURY TRAVEL plan.
Here’s An Option!
If you throw a dart at the world map, the opposite of the United States is the Indian Ocean, not far from Australia. Ah, now your interest has peaked… go to Sydney!
(Read: “I Want To Go There” to understand why).
So, What’s New?
Decide how you will explore this new place. You want to see as much as possible and make the flight work for you.
Flying to Sydney from NY is a long flight, at 9,950 miles, but this is not non-stop!
Plan on, at least 19 hours and 20 minutes, of flight time.
Then, add on the plane changes and wait times for those… Add on take-off times.
It could take two days to get there. Stop somewhere for a night or two to break it up.
Remember, those air miles will come in handy as an add-on for this very long flight!
CHALK THIS UP TO EXPERIENCE!
Backpackers In Sydney!
Now you are being really clever.
When you land in Sydney, you have decided to backpack in New South Wales.
You are going to stay in a hostel or sleep in a tent.
I hope you increased your walking endurance skills in the past year to prepare!
But look at the views from these hills. If we were driving we would not even see this.
OR, You could join an Adventure Expedition while in Australia too!
It is a walking and backpacking trek up the coast and a new experience!
The difference is that the accommodation is five stars and everything is already there!
I don’t have to put up my own tent!
The vistas have a thousand stars that have been here forever!
What did I tell you about credit card points and air miles?.. Save them!
Your EXPERIENCE is paying off!
I Need To Feed My Habit!
I confess I am a Hodophile.
As described by Wiktionary, HEDOPHELIA is an arousal from traveling!
Visit http://wiktionary.com for further understanding.
I am taking treatment for it and loving the recovery.
I have an irresistible urge to travel, as an elite tourist… oh… well.
As a sufferer of this dis-ease, there is no actual cure. I can only hope to keep it under control… That’s part of the fun!
My rehab includes short trips during the year … “These help to satisfy my cravings”,
I say defensively!
Then I plan on taking a really long and far trip to… somewhere, every three years!
(Watch this link: “Why Do People Travel?”)
A round-the-world trip costs about $25,000 to $30,000 and can go up significantly from there.
Did you save air miles and credit card points?
If you do your homework, this will cost significantly less! Plan on it!
If there is something you would like to add about travel, I would love to hear about it.
If there is information I can help with, please feel free to ask in the comments section below.
I would love to hear from you!
Regards, Corinne
Thank you very much for this comprehensive Elite Tourism post. I also like to travel a lot. I also really dream of traveling around the world. Your post is really a good foundation for doing that. In fact, I had not even calculated the costs involved. But you have even done them in this post. Keep posting valuable travel related posts like this. I will definitely share this.
Hello Pasindu!
I am always so pleased to hear someone say that they enjoyed my post and it was educational as well!
This makes me so glad and yes, please share. Share!
Regards, Corinne
PS. Once around the world? Piece of cake!
I could see your urge and passion for traveling around the world.
Your tips and ways to make travel happen in anyone’s life are valuable.
I never knew enough or many of the tricks you have considered, giving examples in many cases.
I traveled 19 times to India over years and never gathered and used points or cards.
More recently I got an AMEX card and had points. But the part of the ticket I had to pay was way higher than another airline. They changed their policy of paying cash for miles.
I am influenced by your article.
I will look at the cards my daughter is using to accumulate points she travels a lot and has the appetite for going around to personally experience the culture.
Awesome post that has the real potential to change one’s life.
Anusuya! I am humbled by your comment!
AND I am so glad you enjoyed my post and found it educational as well.
Contact me anytime!
Regards, Corinne
Great one Cook. When I travelled it was paid for by the Canadian taxpayers so thank you for that. While in Kosovo Cheri planned a trip to Israel and that was a life changing event in our lives. She planned everything and she is nothing short of amazing what would I do without her? I also travelled with my American buddy who was also an IPO (international police officer) and we went to Macedonia, Greece and Turkey. We walked through Athens and climbed the Acropolis and I even stood on Mars Hill where the apostle Paul preached to the Greeks about the “unknown” God whom they had made a pedestal for but no statue.
We even went to Istanbul and stayed in the Golden Horn and visited Topkapi Palace from where the Ottoman empire ruled and the Grand Bazaar with 5000 shops. How’s that for a shopping spree? All this was done in less than 9 months of deployment. Wonderful blog by the way. Your writing makes the reader feel as a participant in your world adventures….a not so common ability. Well done Cook er I mean Corinne with two “n”s.
Thank you Wayne,
Your comments are very encouraging.
Did you like the part about Giselle?
Don’t discount your own travels which deserve to be published too!
You are a great storyteller.
C
Quite entertaining, Cook! You have given your readers a lot of good suggestions. “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”
Thank you June. You know what it’s like! You’ve been there!
C.