Yesterday I was speaking with a famous travel advisor from New York and in a few minutes I was trying to explain what Via Nissa is about. Today I wrote a quick note and part of it I will share here:
Just a quick comment. You had mentioned yesterday billionaires. It isnt the billionaire that seeks Via Nissa. It is the overworked American lawyer in DC or wherever who needs to reconnect with real people and real life after spending too much of their lives juggling airplanes, telephones, kids and stress in a world which runs too fast.
It isn’t about doing what money can buy, but what money cannot; it is a small relief from their overstressed life, a chance to see another persons unknown life (which is very different) up close and personal. Not about separating themselves from the world with their financial resources, but of coming back into the world where people judge them on their smile, not their position in the company. Where they get to relax not because they are at a luxurious spa with people like them, but because they are with people who are not like them and who look at the world with a refreshing vantage point. Via Nissa is about giving them instant access to the real people of this other world. The mayor who will sit down for lunch and share a few bottles of wine and stories. The Muslim family who invites them into their home to share their experiences of living in a country where everyone hates them. The African refugee who tells them their story of just having crossed the sea and why they left their country and what they believe they can find in the future. The French lawyer who shares with them how the law works on the other side of the pond. The three Bishops who have chosen to live in the forest. Its this connection to something different, a different life which Via Nissa provides.