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Description
#VanLife is a long-time, up and coming lifestyle movement on social media centered around the process of leaving the traditional nine-to-five work week for a life on the road in a camper van. While the ‘hippie-esque’ vagabond lifestyle has its humble roots long before the turn of the century, the inception of social media platforms such as Instagram and Pinterest have fueled the more recent popularization of a full-time life on the road. #VanLifers often freelance on the road, work part time jobs, or gain sponsorships to help fund their traveling and humble lifestyle.
As the #VanLife craze continues to grow, new businesses are finding ways to meet the demand in the market. For #Vanlifers who own and operate their own camper vans, specialized companies like GoWesty, Vanagain, and Boxeer offer a full range of parts, upgrades, and custom mechanical and systems conversion kits to keep these vans on the road as OE manufacturers discontinue production on these parts. For those who have an itch to try out the #VanLife for a shorter period and without the financial commitment, companies like Roamerica, TontoTrails, and adventureRIGS offer nightly and weekly rental opportunities on fully-outfitted campervans ready to hit the road.
For my Honors Project I wrote a complete analysis on the history, development, and modernization of the #VanLife movement. With plans to take to the road for an extended period of time after graduation, I also developed a complete financial plan for a one-year #VanLife experience. The financial plan includes a comprehensive set of budgets that scrutinize the start-up an operational costs of the #VanLife and associated travel.
As the #VanLife craze continues to grow, new businesses are finding ways to meet the demand in the market. For #Vanlifers who own and operate their own camper vans, specialized companies like GoWesty, Vanagain, and Boxeer offer a full range of parts, upgrades, and custom mechanical and systems conversion kits to keep these vans on the road as OE manufacturers discontinue production on these parts. For those who have an itch to try out the #VanLife for a shorter period and without the financial commitment, companies like Roamerica, TontoTrails, and adventureRIGS offer nightly and weekly rental opportunities on fully-outfitted campervans ready to hit the road.
For my Honors Project I wrote a complete analysis on the history, development, and modernization of the #VanLife movement. With plans to take to the road for an extended period of time after graduation, I also developed a complete financial plan for a one-year #VanLife experience. The financial plan includes a comprehensive set of budgets that scrutinize the start-up an operational costs of the #VanLife and associated travel.
ContributorsRischitelli, Noah Gary (Author) / Garverick, Michael (Thesis director) / Dawson, Gregory (Committee member) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
DescriptionA comprehensive business model aimed at providing young travelers with authentic local experiences while reducing the financial burden of travel by leveraging users primary and extended networks.
ContributorsAskin, Christian Edward (Author) / Miller, Duane (Thesis director) / Peck, Sidnee (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
Recon International Adventures is an online adventure travel community that provides guide operators and adventure seekers a central communication platform. This platform gives adventure seekers all the tools they need to plan their trips and allows guide operators to better communicate the value that they can provide by creating a virtual preview of their trips. This platform will serve as an ideal place for endemic advertising thus increasing bookings for guide operators listed on the site and giving outdoor gear and clothing companies exposure to their target market. Recon will operate on a lean business model and test our minimal viable product with consumers before scaling.
ContributorsTsonis, Nicholas Ramsey (Author) / Miller, Duane (Thesis director) / Ostrom, Lonnie (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor)
Created2015-05
Description
In the fall of 2012 I had the incredible experience of studying abroad in Rome, Italy. While there I was able to travel to several different European countries and experience the local lifestyle from a student's perspective. During my travels I found it difficult to find a succinct weekend travel guide for the city that I was in. Travel books are expensive and burdensome for backpackers, and wireless internet connection is rather scarce in European cities. I often found myself looking at a church or historical monument and not knowing why I was surrounded by tons of tourists. The entire semester I had hoped for a detailed, easy to read, itinerary for major European cities. I thought it would be even better to gear it towards young independent travelers. A guide for backpackers made by backpackers so to speak. No longer will student travelers feel the need to buy a $40 travel book for a country that they may only be spending a few days in. This guide will contain everything one needs to know such as where to sleep, what to eat and drink, and how much it will all cost. No longer will a young traveler be staring at a famous memorial and not know one piece of information about it. No longer will backpackers wanting to experience nightlife have to wander around a city until they find a tourist filled pub. "The European Explorer" will be the must have guide for all future backpackers. Much of my research is from personal experience. I was able to see firsthand what students enjoy, and what they do not enjoy while traveling. Based off of my itineraries I will use the internet and travel books to pull the most vital information and transform it into one itinerary. It is up to the user what he or she wants to do or see. There will be options for various interests such as art, religion, architecture etc. The itinerary as a whole is meant to be a grand trip of Europe, but can be divided up to the users liking. My sources vary from travel blogs and forums to history websites to travel books. I will be using approximately 2-3 resources for each destination. A forward to my thesis will include general vital information such as how to ride the rail, safety tips, and hostel information. This information is best to be read by the user before travel has started. Another addition will be an analysis of travel guides, including the history of them, the profitability of the guides, and the future of travel guides.
ContributorsTaubman, Daniel Jordan (Author) / Bruhn, Karen (Thesis director) / Piper, Erin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
This is a book proposal for a Study Abroad Survival Guide entitled "A Guide to Conquering Study Abroad: My Experience in Western Europe." It includes both a proposal and manuscript. The proposal is directed at Avalon Travel, a large publisher. The manuscript follows the book proposal and would also be sent to the publisher. My book highlights key things that students must know about going abroad before they go, while they are there, and when they get back. This information will be presented in a hard copy and an eBook. This book's purpose is to encourage students to study abroad and help prepare them for the adventures ahead. While studying abroad in Rome for a semester, I realized I wanted to help persuade students that studying abroad is an unbelievable opportunity, and wanted to help answer their questions that arise before and along the way. Distribution for this book will begin locally at Arizona State University before moving to other college campuses. The marketing focus will be on other Pac-12 Universities. Scouring the internet and library databases reveals no book that fills this niche of advising college students thinking about, or already studying abroad. Part of the reason I am the best person to write a study abroad survival guide is because I went abroad and had a very successful trip.
ContributorsPfeiffer, Ryan Edward (Author) / deLusé, Stephanie (Thesis director) / Foy, Joseph (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Social media has evolved so quickly in the past two decades and continues to grow and change at a rapid pace. This way of connecting and communicating with others has become so ingrained in daily life and can have a major influence on people's actions. Social media and social networking look vastly different today than it did in the past, and will continue to change for the future. The sports and travel industries are no exception to the integration of social media. Both entities understand the importance of being prominent in the online domain and connecting to the Millennial generation. It is crucial for young people to learn how to positively use social media in the classroom and in the workplace as their lives become consumed by this digital world. The emphasis on social media in different facets of society can bring both positive and negative connotations along with it, depending on how, when, and why people decide to use it. Social media is not meant to replace all interactions and forms of contact, but rather enhance these relationships. By analyzing the history of social media, current trends and effects, this project seeks to forecast the impact that social media will continue to have in the future. In the fast paced world today, social media and other forms of electronic communication will only continue to increase and be intensified. This project explores how social media has impacted society, most importantly, the travel industry and the sports industry. Social media will continue to expand knowledge, connect people all over the world, and enhance experiences as it inevitably becomes even more integrated into everyday life.
ContributorsHomes, Taylor (Co-author) / Larkin, Anna (Co-author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / McIntosh, Daniel (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / WPC Graduate Programs (Contributor) / School of Accountancy (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
Humans have traveled since the dawn of humanity over 200,000 years ago. As time progressed and technology increased, so too did human motivations and drivers for travel. This thesis aims to understand these human motivations and drivers, ultimately answering the question, "Why Travel?" To answer this question, this research starts from the earliest of humans, classifying groups of individuals across time into respective buckets based on a similar motivation. In doing so, four traveler segments were identified: the Survivors, the Inventors, the Adventurers, and the Colonists. Each segment describes an era in time of a specific group of humans, each distinctly aligning with a specific reason for travel. In the early 1800s, the advent of commercial travel altered the future of travel. This began with the invention of the locomotive and was followed by the airplane and automobile. With this onset of commercial travel, transportation arrives to its current state in 2018 with a new type of traveler: the Modern Traveler. This is a turning point in the history of travel, as prior to commercial travel, groups of individuals could be grouped under one specific reason. Post commercial travel, human motivations and drivers become diverse and discrete, with no two individuals sharing the same motivations. To further understand this human desire for travel in a modern sense, a survey was administered to uncover these drivers. The findings revealed one broad reason: humans travel for the experience. With this overarching view of travel, five drivers were also apparent. First, humans travel to visit friends and family. Secondly, family vacations are an important factor in the motivation to travel. Third, humans desire the ability to experience a culture different than their own. Fourth, humans are intrigued by new places and can be motivated to travel by the ability to have new experiences. Fifth and finally, rest and relaxation are a key driver in human travel. With a greater understanding as to "why humans travel," and the drivers behind the "experience" individuals seek through travel, such understandings could be used to segment these individuals into distinct traveler profiles. These segments, the Backpacker, the Solo-Traveler, the Groupie, the Cultural Traveler and the Party Lover, were used to better group motivations for travel. One conclusion can be drawn from this research: travel is diverse and so are travelers. One reason cannot define the motivations of a modern traveler, rather today's traveler is bound by multiple. However, segmenting an individual provides valuable insights into their own diverse traveler persona.
ContributorsCheney, Elizabeth Marie (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Mokwa, Michael (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of Film, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This research examines the impact of social media influencers on Millennial and Gen Z consumers’ vacation decisions. It reveals why and under what conditions influencers’ posts may trigger young adult consumers’ desire to vacation in the same destination. In a pre-test and one experiment, I demonstrate that seeing a post that is perceived by followers as credible increases influencers’ likeability and therefore leads to higher likelihood to vacation in the same place. However, seeing a post about a similar influencer, such as a student who is an influencer from the same university, decrease influencers’ likeability and leads to a decrease in young adults’ likelihood to vacation in the same place. Moreover, similarity and credibility do not have an interaction effect, which is that when seeing a post by a similar influencer, credibility will not have a stronger effect on young adults’ likelihood to vacation in the same destination.
ContributorsZhang, Xiaohan (Author) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis director) / Lisjak, Monika (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
For my Barrett The Honors College thesis creative project, I created a website called Destination Arizona. In short, it is a log of every “destination” I have visited in the state of Arizona. These destinations include hikes, drives, trails, mountain peaks, waterfalls, caves, lakes, arches and more. In total, the site features 182 destinations, which is a number that surprised me greatly. I was stunned to find out I had been to that many places in the state. To log all these destinations in a way that completed the project and was useful for people to potentially use, I created an Airtable that is filterable based on numerous parameters of each destination. For example, Camelback Mountain is a peak in Phoenix that is a short but hard hike at 2.5 miles round trip. It requires a car to get to as the road is paved. In the Airtable, you can search based on all of those descriptors. Another example would be the Barnhardt Trail. It is a trail located near Payson that is long in terms of mileage (13.1 round trip) and hard in terms of difficulty. The road to get there is dirt, and therefore requires an SUV, but not a truck or jeep, to get to. This is another example of how refined the search on Destination Arizona can be. Let’s say you want to go to a lake that is near Prescott. You can find all of them via The Chart. Or a cave that is out in the East Valley of Phoenix. You can find that as well. Accompanying The Chart is the The Maps tab, which is simply a visual of everything that is on The Chart. If you’re wondering where exactly something on The Chart is located in the state of Arizona, chances are it is on one of the maps. Two maps exist on The Maps tab. One is a log of everything on The Chart that is not just simply a drive. It is the top one. The second map is a log of almost every destination on The Chart that is just simply a drive, hence the blue routes you will see when clicking on it. There are a couple on the chart that are not on the second map, as Google Maps only allows for 10 layers – or in this case drives – to be shown on a given map. I tried to pick the 10 best/most important for the second map, though. Additionally, three other tabs exist on the website. One of them is the Secret Spots tab, which has six places I am not permitted to put on the chart for various reasons. I was able to show the images of them to help assist some in finding them, but it’s as much help as you will get from me. Additionally, some of the spots, one will simply not find. They are just too hidden. Another tab is the Bucket List tab. While I have 6-7 pages worth of Google Docs of places I’ve still yet to go to in the state, I was able to narrow down that list to 10 places that are very much worth sharing. If I complete anything on the Bucket List tab, it would probably be one of the best days of my life. Finally, I included the Disclaimer tab. While The Chart does its best to prepare people for what they may expect when traveling to a destination (what the drive is like, what kind of car is needed, how long and hard the hike is, etc), I wasn’t able to go into great detail on each destination. Additionally, very few of the articles posted on the website to accompany featured destinations mention what wildlife one may encounter when traveling to a destination. The Disclaimer tab gives a good summary of all of these things, but most notably the wildlife aspect. Remember, in Arizona, if you’re not in bear country, and then you’re probably in rattlesnake country, and if you’re not in rattlesnake country, then you’re probably in bear country. Don’t that let trip you, though. There are very few places in the state that are not considered rattlesnake country.
ContributorsHippel, Hunter (Author) / Shaeffer, Duncan (Thesis director) / Young, Robert (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Comm (Contributor)
Created2022-05
Description
This thesis explores the transformative impact of travel on personal growth, fulfillment, and happiness. Drawing inspiration from Eat, Pray, Love, the project explores the psychological aspects of finding purpose and meaning from any of our surroundings, investigating the modern travel trends towards immersive experiences, ranging from cultural travel, holistic travel, volunteer travel, and student travel. The aim for this thesis is to shed light on how diverse immersive experiences from all corners of the world can contribute to our overall sense of purpose.
ContributorsThompson, Jennifer (Author) / Sturgess, Jessica (Thesis director) / Kappes, Janelle (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2024-05