Luxury Colombia and Peru DMC FAQ
WhereNext DMC is a luxury destination management company (DMC) specializing in tailor-made travel in Colombia and Peru. We partner with luxury travel advisors, tour operators, hospitality brands, and experience-led travel companies that need exceptional on-the-ground execution. We operate through locally registered companies in Colombia and Peru and a growing network of vetted affiliate DMCs across Latin America.
Unlike many DMCs that run Latin America remotely through subcontractors, we build journeys on real regional presence, long-term local relationships, and teams employed in the destinations where trips take place. That means faster communication, better pricing access, stronger quality control, and more accountability.
We design trips with WhereNext OS, our own AI tech stack that allows us to create a Lookbook your guests can dream over, a Quote you can start at any point in the sales process, and a Trip Guide delivered before departure. A Trip Designer stays in the loop throughout. See how it works
Below are the questions advisors and tour operators ask us most often.
On this page
Choosing a DMC
How do I choose a DMC in Peru or Colombia?
Choose on evidence you can check. Ask every DMC for:
- its legal company name and tourism registration number in each country, and check them in the official registry, the RNT in Colombia and the MINCETUR directory in Peru;
- a current certificate of insurance;
- which services it operates itself and which it subcontracts;
- who answers an emergency and how;
- a written quote with each service on its own line, the rates and the terms;
- its published reply times.
For WhereNext DMC, registration and insurance are in the Vendor file, reply times and emergency support in our service standards, and quote structure in Pricing and terms.
Does tourism law require a DMC to be locally registered?
Yes. In Colombia, Ley 300 de 1996, as amended by Ley 2068 de 2020, requires every tourism provider, including travel agencies and operators, to hold a Registro Nacional de Turismo number before it sells services. In Peru, Ley 29408 and the agency regulation, DS 005-2020-MINCETUR, require agencies to be listed in the national directory of qualified tourism providers. Both countries apply these rules to foreign companies too.
A registered local company has a legal entity, pays local taxes, and employs local staff under local labor law. A company that sells and operates trips in Colombia or Peru from foreign territory, without a local registration, is not a local DMC and is operating illegally.
Check before you book. Ask for the registration number and confirm it with the registry. WhereNext DMC's Colombia and Peru companies are registered, and you can check each one in the Vendor file.
Colombia: Registro Nacional de Turismo · Decreto 1836 de 2021
Peru: Register a travel agency, MINCETUR · DS 005-2020-MINCETUR
What is the difference between a DMC and a tour operator?
A DMC is the local company that designs, books and runs a trip on the ground in its country. A tour operator typically packages and sells set itineraries; a DMC builds each journey to the brief and operates it locally.
How do I verify a DMC is licensed and insured?
Check the company's tourism registration in the official registry for its country (the RNT in Colombia, the MINCETUR directory in Peru) and ask for a current certificate of insurance. Ours are listed with their dates in the Vendor file.
About WhereNext DMC
What is WhereNext DMC?
WhereNext DMC is a luxury Latin America Destination Management Company (DMC) specializing in custom journeys throughout Colombia, Peru and the broader region, operating through locally registered companies.
Who founded WhereNext DMC?
Gregg Bleakney, Founder and CEO, started WhereNext in 2000 as a personalized digital travel guide for mobile travelers. After that company closed in 2001, he rode his bicycle from Alaska to Argentina between 2005 and 2007, then built a visual storytelling business that became WhereNext, Inc., a creative agency for tourism brands, incorporated August 24, 2018. He launched WhereNext DMC Colombia with Angelika Köhler on March 24, 2021, and Fiorella Freyre launched WhereNext DMC Peru with WhereNext, Inc. on June 12, 2025.
What destinations does WhereNext DMC operate in?
Two established companies, each locally led and locally registered:
| Colombia | WhereNext Travel Colombia SAS, led by Angelika Köhler, with more than 15 years in luxury travel and destination management. |
|---|---|
| Peru | WhereNext Travel Peru SAC, led by Fiorella Freyre, with more than 25 years across tourism, hospitality and business administration. |
Our established operating companies are in Colombia and Peru. In Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Panama, vetted affiliate DMC partners work to our standards.
How we work with advisors and tour operators
Who does WhereNext DMC work with?
Luxury travel advisors, boutique travel agencies, tour operators, hospitality brands, incentive travel planners, and curated group travel companies. Many partners treat us as an extension of their own travel design and operations team.
How quickly can you provide quotes and itineraries?
Fast turnaround is a core operating priority. We reply to an inquiry within 24 business hours, send a simple FIT proposal within 24 business hours of receiving your brief, and a complex FIT proposal within 2 business days. Groups and special-interest travel run on timelines set by project scope.
Do you offer transparent pricing?
Yes. We quote line by line, with a detailed breakdown of each service, so you can see where the value is created.
How do DMCs price for advisors?
We quote net rates: our wholesale price, with no commission added, so you set your guests' price. See Pricing and terms for how a quote is laid out.
Will you contact or market to my guests?
No. We respect your client relationship and your channel: we keep your guests' information in WhereNext OS only to plan and run their trip, never add it to a WhereNext guest database, and never send promotional material. On request we delete all of your guests' data from our systems.
Can advisors customize itineraries?
Yes. Every itinerary is tailor-made, and our sample journeys are there to spark ideas, not limit them. We shape each one around the traveler's personality, pace, culinary interests, wellness preferences, family dynamics, adventure level, and special access.
What support do guests receive while traveling?
High-touch concierge support before and during travel, in English, Spanish and German. Our teams in Colombia and Peru provide emergency assistance to active travelers 24/7.
What should I look for in a luxury DMC partner in Colombia and Peru?
Look for what you can check: a locally registered company, staff employed in the destination, a written quote with every service on its own line, and a named person who answers when something goes wrong. The checklist above covers each point, and for WhereNext DMC the evidence is in the Vendor file.
Operations, local expertise and trust
Is WhereNext DMC locally operated?
Yes. WhereNext DMC operates through locally led, locally registered companies in Colombia and Peru, with teams working on the ground every day. The people who design and run a journey live and are employed in the destination, keep long-term local relationships, and answer directly for the guest experience.
Why do advisors switch to WhereNext DMC?
Advisors tell us they come to WhereNext DMC after slow replies, generic itineraries, or uneven support when a different DMC handled each country. They also come for powerful original photography and video to help sell and market the products they develop, and for experiences their guests could not find on their own.
How is safety and risk managed?
Our local teams support active travelers in Colombia and Peru 24/7, and guests can reach us directly on the white-label support WhatsApp line or the local emergency line for each country. We keep scouting records on every supplier and audit them to confirm each company is current and compliant, and if safety requires it, we change an itinerary or replace a hotel with one of equal or better category.
Who handles permits, trains and charters?
Our local teams handle these directly: we book Machu Picchu tickets, Inca Trail permits, domestic flights and train seats in the traveler’s name and passport number, and we manage charters ourselves. Luxury trains and some other suppliers apply their own payment and cancellation policies, which we state in each quotation, and the vendor file sets out the terms.
Storytelling, media and itinerary design
Why does storytelling matter to WhereNext DMC?
Travel is more than logistics: it is an emotional connection, a shift in perspective, and access to the people behind a destination. We were not satisfied with the polished tourism-board version of Latin America, so we invest in films, editorial stories and immersive experiences that tell different stories, with chefs, conservationists, artisans, guides, entrepreneurs and community leaders. That shapes every itinerary we design.
What is ORIGIN?
ORIGIN is our ongoing film and portrait series on the guides, conservationists, chefs, artists, entrepreneurs and local partners who make the travel we design possible. It focuses on the people behind a destination, not only the destination.
Do you provide photography, films and marketing content to partners?
Yes. Active WhereNext DMC clients can use our original photography and video in email, websites, social media, trade shows, presentations and direct-to-client sales materials, under a rights-managed license.
How do you curate hotels, experiences and partners?
We keep a high bar. Our team travels Colombia and Peru constantly to visit properties, test experiences, spend time with local operators and guides, and judge how each one feels from a guest's side. Our STAY series shows many of our preferred hotels and lodges before we recommend them.
What makes your itineraries unique, and do you offer exclusive experiences?
Each itinerary is designed to unfold like a story, built on local relationships, operating expertise, and a creative approach shaped by our media background. Those relationships open access that mass-market providers struggle to match, such as private culinary experiences in the Sacred Valley, chef-led journeys in Lima, artisan workshops in Cartagena, conservation access in the Amazon, and cultural encounters in Barichara.
Do you specialize in culinary travel?
Yes. Culinary travel is a core specialty in Colombia and Peru. We work with chefs, food writers, farmers and artisans, and with James Beard-nominated journalist Nicholas Gill on culinary programming in both countries. We go beyond restaurant reservations to the people, traditions and ingredients behind the cuisine.
Industry leadership, sustainability and advisors
Has WhereNext DMC worked on major tourism media projects?
Yes. We helped bring a 60 Minutes story on birdwatching tourism in Colombia, with Anderson Cooper, to air. It aired twice on CBS. From 2016 to 2022 the wider WhereNext organization also developed tourism campaigns for the Colombian Ministry of Tourism on cycling, biodiversity and birdwatching, and in Peru worked on gastronomy and adventure campaigns with PROMPERÚ, REI and LATAM Airlines.
Is WhereNext DMC involved in sustainable tourism development?
Yes. The wider WhereNext organization served as a local implementation partner on a major USAID-funded sustainable tourism initiative in Latin America, covering destination strategy, conservation and community-based economic growth.
Who advises WhereNext DMC?
Strategic advisors and industry experts help shape our long-term direction. They advise on areas such as insurance and risk, technology and AI, gastronomy and product, and U.S. sales and partnerships. Who they are, and what each one advises on, is on the About page.
Technology
How does WhereNext DMC use technology to improve the travel experience?
We built WhereNext OS, our own set of tools, so we can help you get tangible, visually engaging proposals in front of your guests quickly. Behind it, we use AI and workflow tools to speed up itinerary development, communication, visual design, and coordination. Our Trip Designers are always in the loop.
- Lookbook. Let guests dream about the trip before it exists. A visual itinerary built from our own product catalog and guided by your brief. Send feedback to your Trip Designer and change whatever you like.
- Quote. Start it at any moment in the sales process. It comes back faster than manual quoting and is easier to understand.
- Trip Guide. We plan the trip together. The story is theirs to live. A personalized PDF guidebook, written by expert journalists and delivered before departure, with your guests' names on the cover.
- Guest web app. A custom web app, white-labeled for you, that your guests use before they leave and while they travel. It holds every itinerary detail and the critical information they need, in one place on their phone.
- Trip file. The same trip as data, in the format your system already uses: text, CSV, Excel, JSON, or an API built with your technical team.
The aim is to improve the human side of luxury travel, not replace it, so service stays personal while replies and operations stay fast.
One network, many countries
Can WhereNext DMC manage a journey across several Latin American countries?
Yes. We connect Colombia and Peru in one program, for example Bogotá to Cusco, through our two local companies, and our vetted affiliate DMC partners in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Panama work to our standards for trips that go further.
Will I deal with a different team in every country?
No. You work with one lead Trip Designer, the one you prefer or the one assigned when you send your brief. You receive one Quote and one invoice, even when the trip crosses countries. Each country's own team runs its part of the trip.
How do you keep service standards consistent across local companies?
Supplier relationships, destination knowledge, operations and people are local to each country. The service expectations, proposal process, communication model, WhereNext OS, quality standards and advisor experience are the same everywhere. We run Colombia and Peru with our own local teams, and our vetted affiliate DMC partners in Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador and Panama work to the same standards.
Who manages a multi-country itinerary?
One lead Trip Designer builds and manages a single itinerary in WhereNext OS. The other country's Trip Designer is copied on it, and each country's team delivers its part.
How are problems handled when a trip crosses countries?
Guests can reach the local team in each country through its white-label support WhatsApp line, 24/7 for active travelers, and you can contact us through whichever channel you prefer. If something changes, the lead Trip Designer updates the one itinerary and the other country's Trip Designer is copied.
Do local companies use the same systems?
Yes. Itineraries and Quotes are built in WhereNext OS, and the proposal process and communication model are the same in every country.
Looking for a luxury Latin America DMC partner?
Planning a custom FIT itinerary in the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu, a luxury group departure in Cartagena, a gastronomy-focused journey in Lima, or a multi-country program from Bogotá to Cusco? Submit a proposal request and a member of our team will respond.