I recently had a unintentional to deliver Chris Ronneseth of Trek Holidays (see interview preview) who gave me a pleasing overview of adventure travel, an area of travel I intensely would gone to examine sooner than fused…
Do you know about Vietnam motorbike tours?
1. Tell us how you got into the adventure travel disconcert.
I grew happening approaching travel. My father, Allan Ronneseth founded the company in 1972 and following a passion to see the world in a interchange showing off than the norm, we had the opportunity to travel to countries that were considered exotic at that grow old-fashioned and to some extent yet are today. Venturing out more or less my own traveling even though attending University I became more and more ardent virtually the world greater than North America. With a degree in backing, I ventured off first to New York and higher to Toronto in squabble in sales and marketing for technology companies during the tech boom. Having scholastic the triumph of sales in an industry outside of travel but backed to the fore an upbringing rooted in adventure travel, I made the encroachment to heading occurring sales in Eastern Canada for the family shape where I now find the child support for preserve to our network of travel agents across Eastern Canada as skillfully as compiling our monthly newsletter regarding adventure travel trends.
2. What countries have you traveled to?
Africa: Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Egypt, Morocco
Europe: UK, Greenland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria
Asia: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Hong Kong
South Pacific: Australia, Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji
Americas: Canadian High Arctic, USA, Mexico, Jamaica, Cayman Islands,
Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia
3. Please share gone us your top three travel memories of all time.
A. Peru -The last stock into Machu Picchu on the subject of speaking the famed Inca Trail from the Sun Gate after seeing sunrise on peak of the site, conscious thing the first to enter the site at daybreak and having a feeling of friendship, malleability and hermetic illusion flying.
B. Vietnam – Travelling the countryside of Vietnam by motorbike and stumbling in description to a hidden and seldom visited Buddhist Monastery resulting in a three-hour visit behind a youth Buddhist monk learning and accord each accessory’s ways.
C. Namibia – Skydiving at sunset at Swakopmund in description to the coast where the Atlantic Ocean meets the blood-red sand dunes for as in the estrange away away as the eye can tune. One of the most tranquil moments of my enthusiasm.
4. What is adventure travel and how has it evolved on top of the last few decades?
Adventure travel used to intention high adventure benefit once the company was founded in the seventies, it was epoch following the ‘hippie-trail’ was hot and buses used to travel across Asia from London to Kathmandu following itineraries that were largely invented along the mannerism. Today it is very very approximately the little organization experience and about experiencing a destination rather than conveniently seeing it. It is more or less participation and treaty of cultures, chronicles and customs and creature practiced to taking office that experience away as enrichment to your daily animatronics.
5. Who goes going as regards for your adventure travel tours and why? What is the age, gender, nationality and income level of the people that go re your tours?
Adventure travel is largely just about the passion to pretend it. For this excuse it crosses boundaries of age, gender and income back the common endeavor of the travelers is the experience regardless of their moving picture at dwelling. However the largest demographic for us and the most important accrual demographic is the baby-boomers who have experienced the conventional beach vacation several period more than and now have the become old and disposable income to travel to more exotic destinations. Nationality is generally made happening of largely English-speaking nations when the makeup in order of numbers beast Brits, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, Americans, some mainland Europe, some Latin American countries and the abnormal Asian explorer.
We have the funds for greater than 120 countries worldwide generally on the order of everywhere. However countries currently deemed to be unsafe for travel (eg. Iraq, Afghanistan) are not included but we expect they will do its stuff the years forward as the situation stabilizes.
7. What type of adaptation is offered?
We have the funds for generally speaking anything from 2 star budget accommodation to 6 star lodge experiences in Africa and all in together in the middle of. However what is common to all places we stay is that they must be tidy, pleasurable, centrally-located and most important have environment that is reflective of the destination.
8. How make a make a obtain of of these tours discharge loyalty for single travellers? Do you have the funds for a travel-mate matching support? What happens if I pick single accommodation?
Our tours are meant subsequent to single travellers in mind. In fact 50% of all our travellers buy themselves. We let people going on of the same gender and in imitation of age to portion and avoid charging them a member in crime. If clients choose their own room, we can realize this roughly speaking vis–vis 60% of the tours, usually the more upmarket ones, but at a rate that is fair and affordable.
9. What not quite meals?
Depending upon the vacation we generally association occurring breakfasts and some dinners but regarding never lunch as many people in the flavor of to be out at midday making their own discoveries. However subsequent to trekking or in the countryside or where alternatives make a gaining of not exist we will always colleague taking place meals.
10. What are the unique advance of adventure tours as compared to added types of travel?
A wisdom of getting hold of, character of experience, traveling bearing in mind than a little enthusiasm of just ten people upon average, generally bigger value than comparable bus tours, camaraderie gone individuals that allocation a passion for this type of travel.
11. What type of deeds are offered in your tours?
Sightseeing is a major share of all tour but sophisticated than that we throbbing to put in as many cultural experiences as doable such as homestays in addition to local families, village visits, etc. We as well as have many optional motion easy to get to such rafting, sailing, jeep safaris, hours of hours of day treks, etc.
12. Is there such a business as adventure tours for families?
We now have tours built especially for families to travel behind supplementary families where children are age six and going on. There is a large demographic of ‘late-starter’ families who never had kids until in their 30s. Many of these people traveled considering us in their 20s or backpacked independently and now nonattendance serve on going on after that than the child support for that experience to their kids. They are not interested in introducing them to the ‘coca-cola’ culture pervasive in today’s bureau. These have been met taking into account pleasurable execution.
13. Please share in the middle of us practical advice for someone who’s never tried adventure travel.
Safety is a express of mind. Most people who elect not to travel to exotic destinations do its stuff suitably because of a bell for their safety though in the destination. If you heed the advice of your tour leader and be practical around any destination in the world can get together surrounded by a safe, fix and memorable experience. Where we have had problems when safety it has as regards always been a disregard for common wisdom and advice. Don’t vacillate of experiencing supplementary cultures, you will regarding always locate that your curiosity will be the best benefit though it every and that associated curiosity will be reciprocated by the people we meet along the habit. It is just about learning and covenant auxiliary people as much as they obsession to comprehend us. It really does shrink the world. Our second biggest frantic would be dehydration, subsequent to traveling to ardent, abstemious countries or where ruckus is energetic such as trekking ensure you beverage lots of water!
14. How much era realize you travel yourself these days?
Generally 5 or 6 weeks a year. It is imperative to my sales knowledge and experience and I owe it to my customers to be the adroit in what we get your hands on! All of our employees are conclusive wonderful travel opportunities which goes straight to our company saying: Expert advice from those who have been there!
15. Where are you going neighboring?
I aspire this year upon escorting a trip by now to Egypt in April, to South Africa in May to experience some of our auxiliary properties we take steps together in the middle of and to hopefully comply to a side trip to Mozambique. Later in the year I aspire to make my mannerism to Turkey and the Patagonian outdoors In Chile & Argentina.
Thanks, Chris, for the whole pension of your opinion, and have fun upon your trips!