Organizing a vacation puts you on display. If it happens that you should be the person organizing the trip the things will fall in your responsibility and you will have to handle details, and most of all, people.
Whether you travel with family, friends or an organized group, the travel stress can eventually turn into conflict. The key to keeping a happy group is to establish good communication methods, identify the conflicts on time and find a creative compromise.
Here are the logical steps you should follow:
Talk with all the members of the group about what is their opinion regarding the trip and try to approach different situations that may generate conflicts. Develop together certain rules based on the matters under discussion. Stuff like being on time at the rendezvous point, avoiding gossiping and agreeing on an itinerary are just a few matters that should come into discussion.
Discuss the basic strategy of keeping communication channels open before the conflicts appear. Each group member must know that he or she can express their opinion without the rest of the group becoming judgmental.
When conflicts arise try finding the solution in the middle. Each of us tends to prioritize our own opinions. However when on the road, especially if in a foreign country, the compromise is the right way to go.
Keep a tight schedule and make sure you know where each ember of the group goes. It may seem too much but it really isn’t. Many panicky and upsetting moments can be avoided by a well thought-out program.
No matter if the group is made of kids or adults, when conflicts appear it is better to separate the group, solve the issue and then reunite. Doing so the sides will have the time to cool off and analyze the situation more clearly.
The good solution is to always hear out all opinions. The larger the group the more are the issues related to food, tourist objects that need to be seen, means of transportation used, places reserved for accommodation, etc.
When traveling abroad the group leader is usually the person knowing all the details. If you consider it an easy task, you better think again. Mapping the trip and making hotel and flight reservations is just the beginning. Passports and visas are next and after them a lot of other details have to be covered – simplest being the food, and the most complex: the embassy contact.
The age difference must be considered. So keep this in mind if the group contains children, adults and elders.
