Finding gluten free products in Russia or organising a ten day tour through Mongolia, Sally Broom, founder of Your Safe Planet does it for anyone who wants to travel internationally with a local perspective.

For those of you unfamiliar with YSP, the concept is simple. You register on the site and tell them where you want to go on holiday and they then tee you up with a local friend or fixer who will help you out with any of their travel arrangements.  The key to Sally's success has been building up a trusted network of local contacts, who are all vetted, and paying them a fair fee for their services. As Sally says:

"The aim is to save the traveller time, money and hassle while ensuring they craft their own unique travel adventure. YSP means more money is spent locally and travellers can get below the skin of the culture rather than simply skimming over the top. 

A keen traveller herself. Sally started the business straight out of university. The money that she had been saving towards her post-graduate law degree was diverted, a business plan was written and thus YSP was born. Two years later, it has grown from strength to strength.



2009 looks to be an exciting time for Sally, who is looking to grow YSP internationally. After 6 months on the funding trail, there are some interesting prospects on the horizon. Watch this space.

This article was written by Anna Colclough, co-founder, with her husband, of Tourdust – a website dedicated to promoting authentic tours and accommodation. She writes guest posts for The NextWomen about travel companies and trends.