Change Makers agent incentive to be hosted during global event

  This September, Peru will play host to the inaugural GX summit - a travel convention unlike any the world has seen before. Agents, suppliers, media and travellers will gather together from around the globe to experience firsthand what an incredible impact community tourism can have on a destination.   The multi-day, mega-event runs from September 22-28, 2023. Each group will have its own dedicated itinerary, and the event will culminate with the first World Community Tourism Summit, to be hosted on World Tourism Day, September 27, 2023. This day will feature a line-up of inspiring speakers and entertainment, which will soon be announced.   Presented by G Adventures, in support of its non-profit partner, Planeterra, GX will be hosted in Peru, a country which has struggled with its return to pre-pandemic tourism numbers due to recent civil unrest. Planeterra will be celebrating its 20th anniversary at the event, and G Adventures will recognise its belated 30th anniversary, which was postponed three years by the pandemic.   GX will be invitation-only, but agents have a chance to be in attendance with the announcement that the 2023 Change Makers event - revealed last month - will be hosted as part of GX. Here, 65 agents who have played their role in changing lives through travel will be brought together from different regions.   Bruce Poon Tip, the founder of G Adventures, says GX will be an event unlike any the travel industry has seen before; a feel-good celebration that has the potential to drive change and make a huge difference to the lives of local people through its concurrent fundraising efforts for Planeterra’s 20th anniversary.   “We’ve thrown lots of great parties and events in our 33 years of operation, but this will be the biggest yet. With Planeterra's 20th and our 30th anniversaries, it needs to be something special and never-done before. Most importantly, I’m looking forward to recognising 20 years of Planeterra, the great work that has been done, and to help raise money to continue the great work they are doing to change lives in the communities we visit.   “There's no better way to show our travel community first-hand how tourism has the power to drive positive change than through experience. We’ve been showcasing the beautiful concept of community tourism to our travellers for years, but wanted to open it up to the industry to experience as well.   “In true G Adventures style, we’re continuing to innovate with GX, which will be a groundbreaking event in travel - it really will be the first of its kind,” says Poon Tip.   Change Makers is live now and runs until June 30, 2023*. The campaign incentivises agents to focus on changing people's lives through travel by booking G Adventures trips. Agents who successfully earn a place at Change Makers will see firsthand how their work directly impacts local communities in the destinations G Adventures takes its travellers to.   Agents can visit: https://sherpa.gadventures.com/change-makers/ and log into Sherpa, or speak to their regional global purpose specialist for more information.   More details on GX and the World Community Tourism Day will be revealed in the coming weeks. For more information on GX, please visit: https://gx.gadventures.com/.

G Adventures is set to restart Peru tours next week. It relaunches trips from 1 March 2023 after several challenging months in the country. "Our team has been monitoring the situation, including the reopening of Machu Picchu and the Inca Trail," says Sarah Miginiac, G Adventures' GM for Latin America. There will be some itinerary changes in areas such as Puno but most of the itineraries will run as normal. Peru tours include Amazon Riverboat in Depth which includes a night time boat ride through the Pacaya Samira National Reserve. The Inca Journey  features cooking classes in Cusco, hot springs, and the ancient citadel of Machu Picchu spanning ten days. The Inca Trail  is celebrated as one of the world's most iconic hikes starting and ending in Cusco.

G Adventures has established a new holding company It will bring existing and new brand acquisitions under the same parent brand, called G Travel Community (GTC). The purpose of GTC is to create a community of travel companies that have 'community-led growth'. The current brands joining GTC are G Touring and TruTravels, both based in the UK. Planeterra, G Adventures' non-profit partner, will also benefit from this 'shared services' model. All brands will be supported from a centralised admin standpoint. Each brand retains its own sales and marketing function, customer services, product development and tour operations. The launch of GTC also marks a number of senior leadership changes. G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip becomes chairman. COO Jeff Russill will be the chief executive officer of GTC, overseeing the G Adventures, TruTravels and G Touring brands. Ben Perlo, currently MD for G Adventures in the US, will take on the role of president and CEO for the G Adventures brand, in addition to his current role in the short-term. Perlo will remain based in Boston. "GTC the travel community signifies a sense of community, so it's exciting to see this be fully embraced internally.” Poon Tip said "Everything we do is about having a greater impact.” The GTC holding company is now fully operational.

G Adventures is offering up to 25% off on 2023 discounted holidays. The Great Adventure Sale is back and runs through 31 January 2023. The sale features hundreds of trips. It incorporates Classic, Active, Marine, Local Living and 18-to-Thirtysomethings trips. The Great Adventure Sale features new discounted holidays, including a seven-day Greek Island hopping adventure for young travellers. Great Adventure Sale trips include: The Inca Journey - Cooking classes in Cusco, ancient archaeological sites, indigenous weaving and caiman spotting in the Amazon. Sailing Thailand - Phuket to Phuket - National parks, deserted beaches and stunning snorkelling spots. Kruger in Depth - An eight-day safari trip including a visit to the Jane Goodall Institute's Chimp Eden

Adventure travel specialist G Adventures has made a significant financial investment in sustainable travel tech start-up, Reforest.  Reforest, based in Brisbane, is a digital platform connecting travellers with local communities, actively restoring their ecosystems through reforestation. This enables travellers to give back by having trees planted. Reforest has also been designed to help travel companies tackle environmental challenges through emission removal. Bruce Poon Tip, G Adventures founder, says it is an effective way to reverse climate change and support community tourism. "Travellers want to see natural beauty, so we need the world's most beautiful places to be around for as long as possible.” The Reforest platform will help us achieve that goal,” Poon Tip added. "At Reforest we are leading the conversion of hard climate data. A customer can see the trees a travel company is planting on their behalf,” said Daniel Walsh, co-founder of Reforest.  

G Adventures is welcoming its 'little red ship' - G Expedition - back to the water with bucket list trips this upcoming 2022 / 2023 Antarctic season.  It has been two and half years since the pandemic forced the ship out of service. Brian Young, managing director for G Adventures in EMEA, says the G Expedition, which is often referred to as the 'floating classroom', offers a high level of on-board education to travellers as they explore the Antarctica's landscape. "Travellers booking trips aboard our G Expedition are not only seeking a once in a lifetime adventure, but are also curious about the wildlife and ecosystems they encounter in the Antarctic region.” The ship's long-standing citizen science projects and education programme help them to make the most of their Antarctic expedition,” Young said. Travellers can save up to 20% on this season's expedition trips, when booked before September 29, 2022, for travel between October 22, 2022 and March 13, 2023. Example trips  include: Antarctica Classic - Passing huge icebergs to encounter huge whales, enormous rookeries of penguins, and stunning landscapes. This 11-day expedition showcases the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. Antarctica Classic In-Depth - Like the ‘Antarctica Classic’ tour, this 13-day expedition introduces guests to the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula, but adds on two additional days for more exploration.

The Kingdom of Bhutan next month reopens the historic Trans Bhutan Trail for the first time in 60 years.   The trail will be officially reopened in a formal ceremony in Bhutan on September 28, 2022. As an exclusive launch partner G Adventures will be the first operator to take travellers along the Trans Bhutan Trail when the inaugural, sold-out, departure leaves on October 02, 2022. G Adventures is also resuming trips to Australia and New Zealand this September. , says the operator is excited to be heading back to these three countries which are some of the last to reopen to foreign travellers, and to be bringing tourism dollars back into local communities, specifically in Bhutan. "We're honoured to be working with the Bhutan Canada Foundation and the Trans Bhutan Trail to launch this newly restored route, and we've been thrilled with how popular the new trips have been,” Yves Marceau, VP of Product at G Adventures There are two new active trekking itineraries available to book in Bhutan into 2023. There is an 11-day Camp the Trans Bhutan Trail trip which features camping and homestays, and a 12-day Highlights of the Trans Bhutan Trail itinerary. The two tours focus on trekking specially selected parts of the 403-km (250-mile) trail. The trail features camping spots and overnights in comfortable local homestays.  

Adventure operator, G Adventures has welcomed the first custom-built catamaran to its fleet of vessels in the Galapagos islands. The new Reina Silvia Voyager features 10 cabins split over two decks, including two dedicated solo cabins. Yves Marceau, global vice president of product at G Adventures says the addition of the Reina Silvia Voyager will allow G Adventures to cater to the rise in travellers seeking bigger-ticket adventures. “We’re seeing a very high demand for once-in-a-lifetime adventures such as the Galapagos as travellers commit to trips they’ve long dreamt about.” The Galapagos has ranked consistently among our top three most popular destinations for British travellers over the past six months,” Marceau said. Running across the central, east and west islands, the 103-foot Reina Silvia Voyager offers four itineraries, ranging from eight to ten days including Quito and will accommodate up to 16 passengers. Eight cabins accommodate twin or doubles with two solo cabins catering to individual travellers. Eight offer private balconies, while all rooms have panoramic windows for optimal ocean viewing, private bathrooms, and energy-saving LED lighting. Common areas on board will include an expansive third deck with lounge chairs for sunbathing, a covered cocktail bar, grill station and an outdoor jacuzzi tub. An indoor, air-conditioned salon with a large video screen will enable visual presentations from specially trained naturalists. The Reina Silvia Voyager has eight on-board kayaks and two zodiacs for guests’ guided use. Itineraries include the 10-day Galapagos - Central and East islands and 10-day Galapagos - West and Central islands.

Small-group adventure travel specialist, G Adventures is launching its largest brand campaign across the UK’s transport systems. The month-long campaign has been designed to target would-be-travellers along their commuting journeys with emotive ads. It runs across out of home, digital, social media, audio, and print media throughout June and early July. The campaign timings takes into account planned tube strikes and targets travellers of all ages, highlighting the joys of group travel. Popular commuter routes will feature fun, lively artworks, across trains and railways stations. London Victoria’s ticket barriers will be transformed into a gallery of epic travel moments while location-targeted Spotify ads and paid media runs across key commuter hotspots during peak hours. G Adventures marketing director, Ant Stone, says the campaign has been designed to stop commuters in their tracks. “With London office workers quickly returning to our capital. Being a travel brand that specialises in taking travellers out of their comfort zones, we recognised we had the perfect antidote,” said Stone.

G Adventures has released its July departures, representing the highest number of trips operating since the start of the pandemic There are more than 1,300 trips to over 50 countries departing throughout the month. The small group operator already has over 1,000 trips running in June and the increase in departures heralds a welcome return to tourism. July will see the return of departures in popular destinations such as Laos, which also marks the milestone reopening of G Adventures’ popular ‘Indochina loop’ experiences in Asia, taking travellers to Cambodia, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam in a single trip. Travellers able can save 20% on trips departing before July 31, 2022 when booked up to July 5 Brian Young, managing director for G Adventures in EMEA, says the return of Asia is a turning point for UK bookings. “While many countries have opened up since the start of the year, all eyes have been on Asia, and particularly the four big players that make up the Indochina circuit.” This route is incredibly popular among our youth travel styles and we’re excited to welcome the first departures of our Roamies tours later this year,” Young added.

Adventure operator G Adventures welcomed Jen Watson to its team of UK Global Purpose Specialists (GPS). Glasgow-based Watson brings over 16 years travel industry experience, and will support G agents across the north of England, Ireland and Scotland. “Our GPS team play a pivotal role in supporting agents in everything from training to marketing and Jen’s experience and people skills make her the perfect person,” said Stu Darnley, national sales manager at G Adventures. “We’re seeing increased demand from agents wanting more in-person meetings and our GPS team are now back on the road.” She started her career with Thomas Cook, working overseas in Portugal, Tenerife and Cyprus before taking a role at Walt Disney’s EPCOT theme park as a cultural representative. She worked across worldwide sales, product and commercial for Travel2 before moving to Hays Tour Operations to manage the product development for the Middle East and Africa,. “I’m delighted to step into a business whose values I respect and am excited to share these, along with the many incredible travel experiences on offer, with the travel agents in my region,” Watson said.

G Adventures has partnered with Heygo, a travel-specific livestreaming platform, to launch a new series of live tours in destinations around the world. Hosted by a G Adventures’ Chief Experience Officer, the tours will take the virtual audience around iconic destinations, offering a local insider’s view and the opportunity to interact live. After the tour, participants will have the option to donate via the platform, with 60% of donations going to G Adventures’ non-profit partner, Planeterra. With the borders reopening to travellers from the UK this month, the live tours will kick off in Morocco with the G Adventures Morocco Roadtrip Series, running throughout February and March on Heygo.com. Virtual travellers and agents will join Chief Experience Officer, Mustapha, as he takes them on a live journey of some of Morocco’s most iconic locations.. Ant Stone, Director of Marketing at G Adventures says this new partnership provides a great opportunity for agents to upskill in a fun way. “With the borders reopening and over 30 departures on offer in April alone, Morocco was the obvious choice to kick off our tours. Mustapha is an incredible CEO, with a real passion for his country and we’re excited for him to share his in-depth knowledge with our agents and travellers,”