Why Wayfairer...

There's a saying ...

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

We started with three questions..

Q. What if we could turn tourism and travel on its head.. for the benefit of everyone?

Q. What if we looked at every aspect inside and out and asked how could this be done in a more sustainable and ultimately regenerative way?

Q. What if there's a way in which community, hosts and operators were at the centre of the tourism model for any given destination and they were the ultimate beneficiaries of capital and value generated from this solution to support environmental and social projects as determined by the community.

At Wayfairer, we started with these question from a simple insight and idea.. if there's in excess of $150mil + booking fees flowing off shore via international booking platforms what would it look like to create a locally owned cooperative platform enabling that capital to flow back to communities... and how might that happen.

We're now redesigning tourism so that it works for the benefit of everyone. It's our vision at Wayfairer.coop that members take an active part in building local communities and promoting sustainable and smart travel based on the needs of those communities.

Collectively we can leverage Australia’s spectacular tourism assets to foster regional growth. And our revenue sharing approach can deliver tangible social and environmental impact.

We're also acutely aware of the rapidly growing 'conscious traveller' market and recognise that this segment is looking for more sustainable and regenerative ways to travel. Recent research Wayfairer conducted (with support from Accenture Song and WWF Australia's Innovate to Regenerate program) confirmed this segment of the market is;

• Wanting to actively participate in regenerative activities
• Wanting clarity as to where and how their money is being spent
• Wanting to learn and connect more deeply with nature and community

So what does the future look like at Wayfairer...

We're a multi-stakeholder cooperative inviting anyone passionate about community, tourism and regeneration to join us. Our members are travellers, community members, hosts/operators, social enterprises, community media, foundations and organisations, venues, councils, government and regional tourism boards.

We will be conducting co-design labs with communities on how to best create value for members, establishing governance structures and designing technology solutions to support hosts/operators and community to deliver that value in each of the regions we launch.

Support our first region in Australia to launch - Gippsland - Become a founding member today (link below) and help us spread the word (like, follow, share). https://www.wayfairer.coop/gippsland-member-campaign/