Painted Circle is building a travel ecosystem where more people can benefit from tourism.
Wouldn’t it be great if tour operators and activity providers didn’t have to pay huge commissions to be found on travel sites? Wouldn’t it be awesome if, as travelers, we knew we were spending money at businesses that value inclusion for all guests, and that manage their environmental and social impact? Wouldn’t it make sense for destination managers to move beyond marketing and pay-to-play, and instead have resources to work towards managing resources and sustainability?
🧳 How we see the future of travel
Local connections, deeper regional exploration, and mindful purchasing are how we see the future of travel. More than deciding between small or large tour operators, travelers are wanting to know that they are spending their money at businesses that value and welcome them, and that are proactive in being part of a sustainable travel environment.
👨🏽💻 How Painted Circle is working towards this future
Not only are we travelers, we are former tour operators who are building our travel site to be supportive of travel and experience businesses. We think collaboration and shared value are better than fees and commissions when it comes to building resilient businesses that improve their communities.
This is the time for us to circle up and make all of this a reality. Let’s not only feel good about traveling - let’s travel as a force for good. The Painted Circle platform looks familiar on the surface, but is built on a business model that positions purpose before profit. We don’t charge fees or commissions like traditional resellers / OTAs, and we are inviting travel writers and bloggers as well as community organizations and nonprofits to be part of our circle.
🙋♀️ Let's work together
Painted Circle is by design a platform that invites collaboration. We are just starting to build out our destinations and are excited to welcome you as a travel business, community partner, or as an explorer!
+ 430 others joined this month
Comments
Thanks so much to the Travel Massive community for showcasing Painted Circle! Painted Circle is a self-funded startup built on more than a decade working as a bike tour operator and a lifetime of traveling. Working in travel has given me so much and I hope that Painted Circle can help support all of those who are creating amazing travel experiences to prosper. I am encouraged by all the talk within our communities of the desire to make travel better, but we need tools and partnerships to turn talk into lasting and meaningful action. I look forward to collaborating and co-creating with those of you who are interested so please be in touch!
Thank you for the great info, Charles! I signed up and am excited to follow your journey.
What is the timeline on adding more destinations and experiences on the platform? I'll be happy to see more available fort he destinations I'm planning to visit :))
Thanks so much for joining, Maria! We've already had several tour operators create listings for their businesses in Helsinki, Berlin, and Paris. Those businesses are already visible on paintedcircle.com, and as soon as we have enough listings in one region we will open sales for our online RADIUS pass.
In the meantime, travel businesses in any location can go ahead and sign up and create their listing. Seeing where business interest is located will help us to target our outreach and launch in that region. So if your business is interested in being on Painted Circle, feel free to go ahead and sign now up wherever you are - it's free and will only take about 20 minutes to create your listing. And of course, I'm happy to connect to answer any questions or help with signing up.
Thanks!