Newsweek, Capturing the Niche

May 14-21, 2007 issue

Creating an experience for travelers who share the same interests creates a sense of community—and that keeps customers coming back. Las & Res, a Swedish tour operator that specializes in rural vacations in non-Western countries, says that nearly two thirds of guests make a repeat booking. Las och Res uses home-stay accommodations in villages and prepares travelers with generous packets of literature in advance of their trips, so they can better relate to locals they meet. At roughly three weeks each, they're also longer than the average tour. "Travelers need time to have in-depth meetings with local people," says founder Christian Jutvik. "Second class on an Indian train is always going to be more interest-ing than an air-conditioned tourist coach." Anke Samulowitz, a 41-year-old health manager from Stockholm, has traveled with Las och Res five times, from Haiti to Indonesia. And she has made friends for life. "The people who go on these trips think similarly," Samulowitz says. "I met two girls on a trip to Equatorial Guinea and we kept in touch and decided to go to India together."

By Michelle Jana Chan, Newsweek International