Travel after coronavirus: learn something new on an ‘upskilling’ holiday, from boxing in Bangkok to salsa in Cuba

‘Upskilling’ holidays that teach new skills were on the rise before the coronavirus outbreak and are likely to grow further when it’s safe to travel
Some trips catering to wealthy travellers pair them with professional athletes for activities like skiing, climbing and cycling

Travel news and advice

Jamie Carter

Published: 7:00am, 9 Apr 2020

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The spectre of coronavirus continues to hang over everyone’s travel plans, but one thing is for sure: when it’s all over there is going to be a surge in travel as everyone tries to make up for lost time.

Chances are many of us will have a renewed appetite for fresh, meaningful experiences, with the previously growing trend of so-called “upskilling” holidays likely to rise further.

Travel company Responsible Travel reported seeing demand for holidays that teach you how to do something more than double over three years, with bookings up by 132 per cent in 2019 compared with 2016.

It said some pursuits have proved especially popular among holidaymakers, with bookings for dance-themed trips up 173 per cent while painting and art getaways soared by 433 per cent over the same period.

Learning activity holidays include artisan bread making. Photo: Shutterstock

“More of us are actively seeking to achieve a better balance in life, and we have seen that reflected in travel habits,” said Justin Francis, founder and CEO at Responsible Travel. “There’s been a pronounced shift towards viewing holidays as a chance to invest in ourselves and our interests. Special interest and learning breaks are a great way to meet people, unplug digitally and try something new, or spend quality time doing something you love.”

The trend for upskilling holidays is not about going back to school. With people’s lives getting ever busier, hobbies and interests are fast becoming a luxury, so a learning-themed trip can be a rare chance to pursue a passion, reconnect with a previous hobby – or to learn something completely new.

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The opportunities are endless. Responsible Travel, for example, offers trips themed around painting in Scotland, learning salsa in Cuba and flamenco in Spain. When guests at the Fairmont Maldives Sirru Fen Fushi resort tire of their luxury overwater villa, they can take individual lessons guided by a resident artist and sculptor. Travel agency Not In The Guidebooks’ learning activity holidays include jewellery making in Gascony, France, and artisan bread making in Andalucia, Spain.

If you have already mastered flamenco dancing, how about taking a week to learn to play the flamenco guitar in Seville? Or a private one-to-one with a professional songwriter at Nashville’s The 121 Hotel, where guests can listen to songwriters talk about the hits they penned for legendary country singers?

Continuing on the music theme, you could stay at Moxy East Village hotel in New York’s iconic East Village, home to thriving American countercultures, where guests can learn to DJ for free. Its Alphabet Bar hosts free DJ sessions for guests delivered by Scratch Academy, an East Village institution founded by Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC.

Upskilling holiday ideas also include jewellery making. Photo: Shutterstock

Meanwhile, the Desa Potato Head, Bali’s first so-called “creative village”, is opening in May. Its Akademi bar will offer cocktail master classes and even workshops for adults and kids on how to upcycle plastic waste into useful objects.

“Upskilling” can also mean authentic immersion into different cultures. Travel operator Shakti Himalaya is offering a new Spiritual Journeys trip in India’s northwestern state of Sikkim that includes the chance to meditate with a Buddhist monk at Rinchenpong Monastery, go on a 24-hour silent retreat and eat organic vegetarian food, all under the gaze of Kanchenjunga, the world’s third highest mountain.

For a more down-to-earth approach to cultural immersion, resorts Banyan Tree Lang Co and Angsana Lang Co in central Vietnam invite guests to be fishermen for the day, learning traditional practices from locals who play their trade in iconic round basket boats in Lang Co Bay.

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Banyan Tree Lang Co also offers a Vietnamese coffee-making class and lessons in conical hat painting, while Thailand’s Banyan Tree Bangkok hotel offers classes in Thai boxing, flower decoration, lotus folding and Thai cooking. Further north, Responsible Travel’s “learn to drive a tuk-tuk in Thailand” trip takes guests on a unique adventure around Chiang Mai.

There are also upskilling trips catering to wealthy travellers that pair them with experts or celebrities. Olympic skier Andrew Weibrecht, for example, is available as an exclusive ski guide on the slopes of Whiteface Mountain to hotel guests at Mirror Lake Inn Resort & Spa in the 1980 Winter Olympic resort of Lake Placid, New York.

Ultra-sporting members club Somerton – a network of professional athletes and coaches offering members bespoke experiences – matches travellers to some of the world’s top athletes. Examples include exploring California’s Yosemite National Park with climber Alex Honnold – star of the movie Free Solo – and cycling around Manchester Velodrome, the training ground of the British cycling team, with six-time Olympic champion Jason Kenny.

Or you could really test your limits, such as on Responsible Travel’s 10-day “desert island survival” trip to a small coral atoll in Tonga in the South Pacific. From shelter building and fishing to making fire and finding water, you and a small band of other castaways will take a few days learning necessary skills before spending three days and nights (in hammocks) fending for yourself – until the rescue boats arrive to whisk you away to a hot shower and champagne breakfast.

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