The WHL Group Continues to Grow, Unveils a New Website

Ethan Gelber
19 March 2010

The ‘begats’ are almost biblical. In the beginning there was www.worldhotel-link.com, a development project of the International Finance Corporation (the IFC is part of the World Bank Group) in the region covering Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. In 2006, it begat whl.travel, a private business that is now a global online travel-booking franchise network of local tourism companies in nearly 300 destinations. In July 2009, it then begat the WHL Group, the parent for a group of interrelated travel companies, which became the largest local-travel company in the world. To make all this clear, the WHL Group website was unveiled early this week.

The WHL Group Flexes

The WHL Group is a global network of companies that help travellers find unique ways to experience a destination through local tourism professionals. It now includes:

whl.travel, a travel portal for accommodation, tours and activities;
Urban Adventures, a travel portal for short city tours and day breaks;
Green Path Transfers, a travel portal for airport and inter-city transfers;
WHL Consulting, a professional services subsidiary with a singular focus on providing innovative, high-technology solutions to small businesses; and
this blog, its online mouthpiece that pulls from a vast pool of ideas generated by WHL Group companies, local partners, suppliers and more, and showcases innovative and ethical tourism projects and practices.

Solidly Anchored in its Development Roots

Despite the expansion of the WHL Group, it’s a grand apple that has not fallen far from its tree of origin. What started in 2002 as pilot project of the Mekong Private Sector Development Facility (MPDF, the technical advisory services arm of the IFC) to create a new online accommodation-booking model that took into account the local skills gaps, language difficulties and Internet access problems facing travel service providers in the developing world is still very much in the business of empowering local partners. Today, however, while the mission remains to bridge the last mile and allow locally owned travel product to connect and be sold to the global market, the focus is on travel professionals who have practice in experiential and mindful travel and a local’s knack for identifying, explaining and sustaining the distinctive qualities of a place.

The WHL Group work methodology also remains the same: to separate all those things that needed to be done locally from those best done centrally. Local partners become responsible for identifying and negotiating contracts with local travel service providers, collecting and loading local digital content onto the web and keeping it up to date, as well as acting as the interface between travellers and accommodation providers when questions are asked, bookings made etc. The supporting global team then focuses on the technology platform, Internet marketing, provision of payment gateways and management and technical support and more.

The Growth Has Not Slowed

Throughout 2009, when economies were slowing and travellers staying close to home, the WHL Group went through a period of incredible growth. For example, at the end of 2008, whl.travel had 150 destination websites live in 60 countries. As of mid-March 2010, the network spans nearly 300 destinations in 93 countries, of which almost 200 destinations are live in more than 80 countries. Similarly, Urban Adventures, which launched in October 2009, now has tour product in 50 destinations either live or under construction.

Of course, the WHL Group is still building its global network very aggressively and always on the lookout for travel entrepreneurs eager to assume franchise control of a destination. For more information, please follow the ‘become an operator’ links on the WHL Group website.
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Meaningful Membership

More than just a local-partner service provider, the WHL Group is an unparalleled and powerful global membership organisation. The WHL Group helps find, develop and support grassroots-owned and sustainable tourism initiatives. Its component companies then work to create sales opportunities at the global level for local tourism product.

Of course, the key ingredient in all of this is the trust and power the WHL Group places and supports in its local franchise partners. The local partners become not only a vital on-site lifeline for travellers who appreciate an often-missing personal touch, but also owners, operators and primary beneficiaries of the mechanisms that make these efforts possible. Those with a particularly keen awareness of their community needs then become mindful ambassadors for their interests and core needs.