whl.travel

whl.travel is a global online local-travel-booking franchise network. It is the springboard for independent consumers headed off the beaten path and yearning to book accommodation, tours and other activities from local businesses, no matter how small, and especially those making socially responsible and sustainable decisions about their destinations, often in the developing world. whl.travel trades in fun, authentic and responsible travel experiences that are, today, what tourism will be tomorrow: experiential, conscientious and sustainable. whl.travel was launched in 2002 as WorldHotel-Link.com, a pilot project of the International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank Group). After a series of very successful trials, whl.travel was spun off as a private company in March 2006. In search of new avenues by which local travel products and services could be brought to global markets, whl.travel pursued new strategic partnerships that resulted in the creation of the WHL Group (http://www.linkedin.com/e/vgh/2734861/), as well as new sister WHL Group companies, which now include Urban Adventures, WHL Consulting and Green Apple Transfers. As of mid-February 2010, whl.travel local partners provide bookings for accommodation, tours and activities in 196 destinations in 84 countries, with further expansion into about 90 destinations (including 10 new countries) in the months ahead.