Itineraries + guidebooks + journals= Travel Kollekt
No more pre-filled guide books. Travel Kollekt empowers people who desire to travel responsibly to organize their own travel research and print their completely, personal travel books. It’s a new approach in travel and our mission is to prove that planning, sustainable travel and serendipity can go hand in hand.
At Travel Kollekt we believe responsible, sustainable travel requires preparation. This is why we've built a digital platform to allow independent travelers to transform their research, best tips & insights into personal, beautiful & functional travel books.
This allows you to focus on local, niche and make it personal.
As independent travelers we can help define responsible travel. One book at a time…
It works in three simple steps:
1. ORGANIZE & CURATE: Kollekt from any source in the world.
2. DESIGN & DISCOVER: Add special templates & content from locals and experts (a small, but growing library;-))
3. TAKE IT WITH YOU: Choose your cover. Create your book. Order print or download ebook. It's really that simple.
We also have a partnership with onetreeplanted.org to secure that for each book printed we plant a tree. We directly embed the responsible tourism manifesto from UNWTO into every book that is created with Travel Kollekt and in the future we will do so for each individual country/region that is planned for so that we can link local and actionable advice with the traveler.
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Hi, I am Louise Zastrow, the Founder of Travel Kollekt.
The platform was built from a personal need to create a solution that would help me find order, functionality, information and ultimately better presence when traveling in a very loud, cluttered and commercial-algorithm-driven world. And even more so from a desire to figure out how I could become a better, more responsible traveler.
In the proces I realized that I am not alone! The German magazine "Business Punk" has called us "the best innovation since Lonely Planet" and we've been described as one of "101 Ideas for Tourism that get us closer to the UN Sustainable Development Goals."
Here on Travel Massive I hope to start a conversation on how independent travelers play an important role in responsible travel going forward. And to learn from my peers.
A few years back, together with a friend I made a small video about why I decided to build travelkollekt.com: vimeo.com/266944218
Let's keep the conversation going...
This looks amazing, Louise, great job! In terms of printing a book, which print on demand partners do you use? I'm curious if they will be based in EU as any other location would trigger custom costs for me.
Hi Maria, Good question!
We have a partnership for printing in Germany with BoD - Books on Demand. They are based just outside of Hamburg and because if this partnership we are able to ship globally. And without any additional custom costs within EU:-)
We are very happy to partner with BoD as they make a great product, professional book printing in great quality which was really important for me. The books should be affordable for as many as possible, but also last long and have the right quality.
The book itself is a handy soft cover paperback in 13x21cm, fits in a pocket or handbag, printed on matte, structured, 90g creamy paper, FSC certified. Once created, they can be ordered directly to your home or as a gift to a friend/co-traveler.
Love the idea - not sure how to implement it though as a DMC - First impression it seems more something for individual travellers that want to make their own record of their travels.....require quite a bit of time and dedication.....my travellers don't usually have that time before travelling.... Awesome project though! Well done!
Hi Isabelle, Thanks for sharing your thoughts and nice comments. There is no doubt that not all travelers will be up for this, but we are all different:-) Actually when you mentioned the potential role as a DMC, we have options for that either as a tool for delegations, group tours or as individual travelers. We have a travel agency in Denmark that focuses on responsible travel that uses our platform, as a PRO User to communicate the travel plans and inspiration. Maybe we should have a chat? :-) You can reach me at louise (a) travelkollekt.com
It is a great idea, with great potential and flexibility.
We at Fairbnb.coop are great fans and Louise is a passionate and visionary entrepreneur!!!
Thank you Emanuele! And the same for Fairbnb.coop, Two platforms – one vision:)
Louise,
This is such a great idea. Being over 50 and having backpacked Europe before technology, I am reminded of my worn travel books and maps. I think you should absolutely market to older adults who are so comfortable with this idea of using a guidebook. While Tripit, Padlet, and Evernote are great apps, there is just something about holding physically, the information in which you are interested. Also, older travelers love to plan, so I think it would be both a wonderful guide and reminder of past travels AND how fun for younger generations to relive their parents'/grandparents' travels. Such a great keepsake. Well done!
Thank you Hilary! And yes, you are right, there is a very relevant and unexplored potential in this market. Really appreciate you sharing your thoughts and ideas.