Ask Us Anything

Cristina Carl, Founder and CEO of Ediphi , is our guest this episode. Ediphi develops tech-led training solutions for the hospitality industry. Their training and talent development modules use virtual reality and AI to close the gap between aspiration and achievement for learners… and improve quality and satisfaction for educators and employers.   In this conversation, Cristina explains Ediphi’s...

Our guest this episode is Simon Douthett, Group Director of Operations for Lub d hostels. Lub d is part of the Narai Hospitality Group and operates seven lifestyle hostels in Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines. Lub d’s “all together” concept is attractive to independent travellers looking for immersive, community-rooted cultural experiences and a social atmosphere for trying and learning new t...

This episode of Ask Us Anything is dedicated to WYSTC, the annual event of WYSE Travel Confederation bringing together leading brands specialised in international travel and tourism for young people. Our guest is David Chapman, Director General of WYSE Travel Confederation and 19-year veteran of WYSTC. We put David to the test with a series of rapid-fire questions about WYSTC in this episode. The...

We hear from Tim Alpe, Managing Director of Lylo, in this episode of Ask Us Anything. LyLo is a new brand of experience-led hostels operating in cities throughout New Zealand and Australia - and soon to be in London. Tim talks about LyLo’s expansion plans and new product development for 2025 and into 2026. He also discusses the LyLo brand DNA and the most useful tools and tactics for a new brand t...

Our guest this episode is comedian and content creator, Derek Mitchell. Derek is known for his live comedy shows and short-form character sketches. He regularly performs on comedy and theatre stages in the Netherlands, the US and the UK, including Edinburgh Fringe Festival. You might be familiar with his stage shows titled Double Dutch and Goblin, or his ‘Lets double Dutch’ Instagram and TikTok vi...

In this episode we meet Eduardo Heidemann, Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of Travelmate , a student travel agency in Brazil.   Eduardo shares the origin story of Travelmate, which goes back to his college years in the mid 90s and meeting his good friend and co-founder Alex. He also talks about current student travel market demand in Brazil and some of the factors that influence Brazilian s...

Joakim Malm, owner and operator of Stockholm Adventures is our guest for this episode of Ask Us Anything.   Stockholm Adventures specialises in guided group tours and outdoor activities in and around the city of Stockholm. Originally started in 2007 as ICEguide and offering ice skating tours of Stockholm, Joakim has expanded the company to include a variety of outdoor activities for the entire yea...

Phakamile Hlazo, Founder of Zulu Nomad, talks about the power of authenticity, backpackers and cultural exchange for tourism in emerging destinations in this episode of Ask Us Anything. Her journey as a Rotary Ambassador, Chinese government scholarship grantee and now tourism innovator has helped other young Black South Africans to embrace their freedom to travel and power to establish their narra...

In this episode we meet Ari Charlestein, Owner and “Evil Genius” of Competitours, the only company in the world to offer full-scale international team travel competition trips. Competitours trips combine travel with creative, competitive fun - and a mystery itinerary.   Ari explains the unique aspects of mystery travel and the Competitours experience, not only from the consumer perspective, but fr...

In this episode we talk to João Cortes, two-time volunteer of the World Youth and Student Travel Conference (WYSTC). Most likely João welcomed you to the trade hall or an educational session at a recent edition of WYSTC in Lisbon, Portugal but now he finds himself in Spain doing a seven-month internship with a major international hotel chain. João has an eye and appreciation for the opportunity to...

Haydn Marriner, Chairperson of the Backpacker Youth Adventure Tourism Association (BYTA) of New Zealand discusses the country's losses in international youth arrivals in the latest episode of the WYSE Ask Us Anything podcast. You'll discover the economic value and ripple effect of the backpacker and working holiday markets for New Zealand and what BYATA is doing to recover their losses a...

Professor Konstantina Zerva is our guest for this episode of Ask Us Anything, she is  Professor of Marketing and Market Investigation at the Faculty of Tourism, University of Girona in Spain.   Professor Zerva’s research is related to niche tourism market segments, gender and mobility, social marketing and theories of social exchange. She is the coordinator of the special interest group on ‘dark t...

In this episode of the WYSE Ask Us Anything podcast we hear from Catherine Gilvarry, Head of Supply at Hostelworld, an OTA specialised in serving the hostel market.  As a member of Hostelworld’s ESG Steering Committee, Catherine discusses Hostelworld’s new “Stairway to Sustainability” programme, a framework for hostels to assess and communicate their sustainability initiatives. You’ll also hear ab...

Guests for this Ask Us Anything conversation are Kevin Morgan and Randy LeGrant, co-founders of Academic Language Solutions . The company specialises in English language proficiency testing, and offers a range of tests under the brand iTEP.  There are iTEP tests to assess conversational or business English, as well as career-specific tests for hospitality or child care. There are also academic tes...

What’s one of the most important aspects of developing a new hostel brand in the post-pandemic travel space? Staffing? Tech? TikTok? And what about the bed? Comfort? Cool? Cheap?  This Ask Us Anything conversation with Louise Garner, Commercial Director of Kabannas, a new hostel brand in the UK, offers some opinions and insights on the question. Louise discusses the development of tech specificall...

CEO and Co-founder of India’s vibrant new brand Olive Living  is our guest on this episode of the Ask Us Anything podcast: Kahraman Yigit.  Kahraman talks about experience-driven travel and Olive Living's ambition to become the first members club for millennials and gen z. Having launched Olive just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Kahraman also reflects on some of the big l...

In this episode of Ask Us Anything you’ll meet two outstanding female founders in international educational and volunteer travel: Justine Trembicki of Freepackers and Agustina Gutiérrez of Tingua Intercultural Experiences.  Together, Justine and Agustina recently won the very first Global Youth Travel WYSTC Partnership Award.  This award recognizes an outstanding collaboration between two organisa...

Hear the origin story of Welcome to Travel from co-founder Darryl Newby in the latest episode of Ask Us Anything.  Based in Melbourne, Australia, Welcome to Travel caters to the orientation needs of backpackers arriving in Australia with working holidaymaker visas. Darryl reflects on some of the product and marketing experimentations that have propelled the company’s sales and growth, what’s speci...

We talk to Greg Bows of African Impact about the evolution of international volunteer travel and winning this year’s Global Youth Travel Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  You’ll hear how African Impact works with the SDGs and Greg’s personal story of how he ended up in a career in volunteer travel. Plus, Greg shares his views on the where things are h...

Meet Christina Beckmann in the latest episode of WYSE Travel Confederation's Ask Us Anything podcast.  Christina is one of the creators of Tomorrow’s Air, a sustainable travel venture of the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA). Tomorrow’s Air is a global collective of travel organizations investing in carbon removal technology. The collective connects travel businesses and travellers to...

In this episode of Ask Us Anything, we talk to Sascha Dimitriewicz and Raphaela Boeck, a father-daughter team at Wombat’s City Hostels, about the past and future of youth travel. Sascha is co-founder of Wombat’s and his daughter Raphaela is currently head of sales for the hostel’s four properties located in Vienna, London, Budapest and Munich.  The Wombat’s philosophy is based on the belief that h...

In February 2023, we talked with Patricia Brunner, Managing Director of the International Au Pair Association – “IAPA”. Patricia is based in Munich, Germany and has been working in cultural exchange and travel for many years. Before taking on her current role with IAPA, she operated her own au pair agency in Munich.  IAPA and WYSE Travel Confederation together host the annual Work Experience Trave...

What does study abroad look like post-COVID? Hear about some of the changes in this episode of Ask Us Anything by WYSE Travel Confederation . In this conversation, you’ll hear Terri Hamilton of Brigham Young University in the United States discuss post-COVID study abroad programmes. Terri explains what she’ll be looking for at the World Youth and Student Travel Conference ( WYSTC ) this year and w...

Hear from the largest youth and student travel agency in northern Europe in this episode of Ask Us Anything by WYSE Travel Confederation . In this conversation, you’ll hear from Clare Weston, long-time international product manager at KILROY and ten-year veteran of the World Youth and Student Travel Conference ( WYSTC ). Clare explains what she’ll be looking for at WYSTC this year and why the conf...

Find out what’s going on in the student travel market of Uruguay in this interview with Fabiana Martilotta, Director General and CEO of Viajeros Sin Fronteras. Fabiana discusses the most popular experiences and destinations for high school and university students in Uruguay, visa challenges and the international youth traveller’s view on safety and gun violence in the USA. Also, in this edition of...