Idea 81 of 500. Cluster 4: The experience economy
Hot air balloon rides
The mechanism, from the book
An app that tells people what is happening tonight converts a day visit into a 2-night stay.
Every idea in cluster 4 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Before buying anything, ask the aviation authority what a balloon operation needs, and write down the answer. In the same week, offer a sunrise balloon ride at a stated price to villa guests and wedding planners, and collect refundable deposits. The deposits prove demand; the authority's answer tells you the cost of meeting it.
- Who pays first
- Honeymooners and visitors celebrating something, who want a sunrise over the ancient sites from the air.
- What leaves today
- A balloon ride is a premium morning that visitors buy on other trips; offered here, it adds a morning and a night to the stay.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. FiveThe Most Photographed Rock in the World
What a day visit needs in order to become 2 nights
More from cluster 4
- 71Evening cultural performances on a fixed nightly schedule
- 72Moonlit storytelling: the legends, the kings, the histories
- 73Royal feast dinners recreating historical menus
- 74Costume and photography experiences
- 75Archaeology-themed treasure hunts for children
- 76Private guided tours led by historians and archaeologists
Idea 81 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.