Travel Grind - Traveling to See Art w/ Lisa Benshea

In this episode I’m talking to Lisa Benshea who runs the members’ travel program at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California. It’s a relatively rare affinity travel program that doesn’t just offer great destinations, but makes sure there’s always a strong art or architecture component in the itinerary to satisfy its travelers’ interests. And they must be doing it right, because the program is about to celebrate its 50th anniversary.

And even though art–-and museums in particular-–are a common part of so many visits to major cities whether it’s part of a group tour or individually planned, relatively few travelers book a trip specifically to see the art, or make it the main reason for choosing a destination.

I talk to Lisa about this, about who those travelers are, and about what makes the art worth traveling for. We get into well-known great destinations for art, like Italy, but she also comes through with some surprising recommendations that most of us wouldn’t think of as an art destination, and at least one that’s probably not on your travel radar at all.

We also talk a little bit about affinity travel in general, discover a task that all tour managers need to be able to pull off if the situation arises, and she drops a very tasty hint for anyone with a Nespresso machine.

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Lisa Benshea is the Travel and Special Programs Manager at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. SBMA’s Travel Program, which began in 1972, typically puts on around 18 international and domestic tours per year for museum members. Lisa was born and raised in Honolulu, where she worked as a T.A. at the art school of the Honolulu Art Museum and would volunteer at events put on by the museum, where her mom and grandmother had both worked. She attended Punahou School for 13 years and went abroad twice on school trips. She came to California to attend Occidental College, where she earned her B.A. in Art History and was given the opportunity to study in Italy for six months. During and after college, she worked at museums and as an event planner for an autism organization, before taking time off to volunteer in India. When she moved to Santa Barbara in 2007, she found her perfect job planning trips for SBMA members, a job that combines her love for people, travel, events, and art.

Check out the SBMA travel program at https://www.sbma.net/travel