Through the Looking Glass: Using Your Travel and Tourism Diploma to Plan Literary Trips

Asian man travel relax in the holiday. sleep relax read books on rocky cliffs. On the Moutain. In Thailand
There’s something about a great book that transports readers to a land far away. How many readers lost themselves in the magical landscapes of Harry Potter, for instance, or felt the heat of the Cuban sun while reading Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea? Who hasn’t dreamed of stepping into the fantastical world described in Alice and Wonderland? This experience can be a great feeling, which is why many readers see books as opportunities to escape and explore as much as to take in a good story.

Today, it’s becoming increasingly common for readers to set out to discover the real landscapes behind their favourite literary settings. This presents a fair bit of opportunity for travel and tourism professionals looking to create amazing and memorable experiences.

Curious about how you might cater to the literary crowd? Here’s how to plan awesome trips ripped right from the pages of famous books.

Consider Including Stops Inspired by Multiple Books or Series

Voracious readers have often read and loved a number of books associated with a particular city, country, or region, so why not take that into account when putting together a literary trip? In London, for example, you could include stops at the Charles Dickens Museum, Shakespeare’s Globe, the Sherlock Holmes Museum, and, yes, Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross Station. Each of these iconic destinations helps to give literary travellers a variety of British literature, as well as an experience they will never forget.

Planning a BritLit tour? Try mixing destinations like Shakespeare's Globe and Platform 9 3/4
Planning a BritLit tour? Try mixing destinations like Shakespeare’s Globe and Platform 9 3/4

To help personalize these trips, include some ideas to suggest to clients but also work with them to put together trips defined by their personal tastes. Get this balance right and you should have little trouble planning amazing literary trips that people will love.

Do a Little Research to Make Transportation a Part of the Experience

Some travellers will be all about efficiency and want to fly everywhere they go. Some book lovers, though, might want to experience particular modes of travel associated with favourite pieces of literature. They might be interested in a ride on the Orient Express train line (like in Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie), a cross-country road trip (like in On the Road by Jack Kerouac), or even a prolonged point-to-point hike (like in Wild by Cheryl Strayed).

Completing a travel and tourism diploma can help you get acquainted with the particulars of adding these unique touches to trips, allowing you to create truly once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

Consider making unique modes of travel a part of literary tours
Consider making unique modes of travel a part of literary tours

Use Your Travel and Tourism Diploma Training to Create a Well-Rounded Literary Experience

Great literature excites the senses and often helps readers explore a particular place and time as if they were there. A great literary tour can do the same! After earning your tourism management diploma, you might make tours that include stops at restaurants, pubs, or bars that may not be directly associated with a book or author, but that evoke a similar feeling or help to bring that world to life.

If you’re planning a James Bond tour, for instance, you might include stops at London’s International Spy Museum and Imperial War Museum for some real-life context for the popular book series. These details can help add a whole new level to your literary trips, truly bringing fictional worlds to life.

Drinks, meals, and other experiences can round out a literary trip
Drinks, meals, and other experiences can round out a literary trip

Do you want to learn more about planning amazing trips and tours?

Contact Eton College about studying for tourism careers in Vancouver!