Sorry, we didn’t buy a Greek Island. But now we’re going to.

We’re sorry.

A week ago we announced that Travel Massive had bought an Island in Greece. The article contained a few clues that should have alerted readers to the date of publishing – such as a ridiculously cheap €500,000 price tag (for an entire Island), a German nudist beach named Traveldudes, and an albino octopus.

That’s right, it was an April fools joke.

But, the idea literally took off.

The article achieved more likes and shares than anything we’ve ever published. It created dozens of comments on my own Facebook account and hundreds of shares. Traffic on our server soared as thousands of people came to read our article.

Word spread like wild-fire. 

Our team members were inundated with emails and even at our events congratulating us on purchasing the island. Even our partners helped spread the word.

Soon after publishing, Dylan Lowe (who we’d named as a co-Governer of the island) created a Facebook event for the first meetup on the island and within 5 minutes 70 people had joined. We even created an island chapter on our platform for the new community.

The buzz and excitement then spread to our friends and family who were all caught by surprise that we’d just acquired a Greek Island. And then a real Greek island (the island of Ios) got word of our announcement and invited us to visit them!

For an entire day, our community owned an island.

In our dreams, yes.

But collectively the inspiration and excitement between hundreds of people (fooled or not) made the feeling pretty close to real. And so in living up to our name of Travel Massive, here comes a proposal.

Why don’t we actually buy an island?

No. SERIOUSLY!

Just think.

An island to inspire new innovation and big ideas for the travel industry. A global hub for travel leaders and experts to collaborate and share their knowledge. A destination for the world’s best travel conferences and events. A live in space for travel startups and travel content creators to learn and be inspired. An island to showcase the best in sustainable tourism. A place to connect with the community.

By bringing people together, who knows that amazing things might happen?

How can we buy an Island?

A quick Google search indicates there are tens of thousands of islands in the world. And the Wall Street Journal suggests that with only a few million Euros you could be the owner of your very own island. Of course, finding an inhabitable island that can be developed and is easy to travel is another thing. Perhaps we could just rent an island. And we’ll need some partners on board to support us and share our vision. Perhaps Tribe Wanted (this idea is similar but different) want to help?

Next, we’ll need funding. And since (seriously) we are a very small startup, perhaps we should reach out to some big friends of ours in the travel industry to get involved. A few hundred thousand Euros here and there might add up to what we need to buy or lease and develop our island.

We also need a plan. This is where the community comes in. Our community has knowledge of everything from hotels, transportation, tours, activities, marketing, and hospitality. Whatever we don’t know – Travel Massive has the network to find someone who does. With leading tourism experts and input from our community we can build some great ideas and plans for the island.

So what next?

So let’s make this real. I’m going to be first person to pledge. I’ll put $50,000 USD towards our island. Who else is in?

Next, join our Travel Massive Island Chapter to show your support. We’ll keep the chapter updated with any news and announcements as we progress with our plans.

In the meantime, we’ll be hosting virtual meetups from our (virtual) Island and raising support for this initiative. We might be closer than we think. Thanks to everyone who’s got behind this idea.

We’ve also created a special email address for anyone to get involved, just contact us at island@travelmassive.com with ideas, funding or ways you can help.

See you on Travel Massive Island soon! – Ian Cumming (Founder, Travel Massive).