Formerly | Gap Adventures |
---|---|
Company type | Tour operator |
Industry | Tourism |
Founded | 1990 |
Founder | Bruce Poon Tip |
Headquarters | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Products | Escorted tours |
Number of employees | 400+ |
Website | gadventures |
G Adventures is an operator of small-group escorted tours. [1] It is based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada with 28 offices worldwide.
The company has a focus on travel and partners with the National Geographic Society, creating a program of 80 tours called National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures. [2] [3]
The company was co-founded as Gap Adventures in 1990 by Anita Voth and Bruce Poon Tip who met while working at the Toronto office of Australian tour operator, Worldwide Adventures. [4] The letters in the name Gap Adventures stood for "Great Adventure People" and "bridging the gap" between backpacking and other types of travel, respectively.
In February 1991, the company operated its first tour - an excursion to Ecuador with 6 participants.
The ship MV Explorer sank in the Bransfield Strait on a 19-day Antarctic cruise called the Spirit of Shackleton, run by the company, then known as Gap Adventures. [5] The ship sank after hitting an iceberg on the 13th of November; all 154 passengers and crew members were rescued and no injuries were reported.
In 2008, the company was sued by Gap Inc. for use of the "Gap" name. In 2011, the company was required to change its name by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, which deemed the name was an infringement on the clothing brand and caused legitimate confusion and dilution. The company then changed its name to G Adventures. [6]
In January 2017, the company acquired British travel brands Travelsphere and Just You, based in Market Harborough. [7]
In June 2019, the company opened a headquarters in Boston. [8] [9]
In March 2020, the company started a severe retrenchment process due to the recent outbreak of the Coronavirus disease with many of its employees being impacted.
In 2018, the company was recognized as one of the World's Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company and was honoured at the Edison Awards for Social Impact. [10]
In 2011, G Adventures partnered with Global Exploration for Educators Organization (GEEO) with the goal of helping more teachers explore the world and then bring their experiences back into their classrooms. Since then, over 2,000 teachers have traveled through the program.[ citation needed ]
In 2013, G Adventures entered into a $1.3 million partnership with the Multilateral Investment Fund, a member of the Inter-American Development Bank, the largest source of development funding for Latin America and the Caribbean. [11]
In 2015, G Adventures announced a partnership with the National Geographic Society to create the National Geographic Journeys with G Adventures tour. [2]
In 2016, on World Tourism Day, G Adventures announced a partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute. The Jane Goodall Collection by G Adventures is a program of 20 itineraries aimed at raising the awareness of animal welfare and wildlife-friendly tourism, endorsed by primatologist Dr. Jane Goodall. [12]
Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity only", as people "travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure and not less than 24 hours, business and other purposes". Tourism can be domestic or international, and international tourism has both incoming and outgoing implications on a country's balance of payments.
Adventure travel is a type of tourism, involving exploration or travel with a certain degree of risk, and which may require special skills and physical exertion. In the United States, adventure tourism has seen growth in late 20th and early 21st century as tourists seek out-of-the-ordinary or "roads less traveled" vacations, but lack of a clear operational definition has hampered measurement of market size and growth. According to the U.S.-based Adventure Travel Trade Association, adventure travel may be any tourist activity that includes physical activity, a cultural exchange, and connection with outdoor activities and nature.
Great Rail Journeys, based in York, United Kingdom, is a tour operator that offers escorted worldwide rail tour holidays. The company is Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA) and Air Travel Organisers' Licensing (ATOL)-bonded and is a member of the Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO).
Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social, and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists' experiences and addressing the needs of host communities. Sustainable tourism should embrace concerns for environmental protection, social equity, and the quality of life, cultural diversity, and a dynamic, viable economy delivering jobs and prosperity for all. It has its roots in sustainable development and there can be some confusion as to what "sustainable tourism" means. There is now broad consensus that tourism should be sustainable. In fact, all forms of tourism have the potential to be sustainable if planned, developed and managed properly. Tourist development organizations are promoting sustainable tourism practices in order to mitigate negative effects caused by the growing impact of tourism, for example its environmental impacts.
The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) is a forum for the travel and tourism industry. It is made up of members from the global business community and works with governments to raise awareness about the travel and tourism industry. It is known for being the only forum to represent the private sector in all parts of the industry worldwide. Its activities include research on the economic and social impact of the industry and its organisation of global and regional summits focused on issues and developments relevant to the industry.
Kuoni Travel is a tourism company, operating various services including charter and scheduled passenger airlines, package holidays, cruise lines, and hotels in destinations around the world across nine different geographic regions.
The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a membership association working to promote the responsible development of travel and tourism in the Asia Pacific region.
Intrepid Travel is a small group adventure travel company. The company offers more than 1,100 escorted tours worldwide with an average of 10 travellers per tour. Intrepid is a B Corporation, certified to meet the standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. Intrepid Foundation has raised more than A$12 million to support communities where it travels.
Wilderness Scotland is a tour operator specialising in active and nature based travel throughout Scotland, Ireland and North of England.
Quark Expeditions is a travel company that offers polar region expeditions aboard expedition ships and icebreakers.
AITO – The Specialist Travel Association, is a British-based travel industry trade association established in 1976 that represents around 120 specialist and independent tour operators.
Tauck is an operator of guided tours and cruises based in Wilton, Connecticut. Founded in 1925, the company offers guided land journeys, small-ship ocean cruises, European river cruises, safaris, and family travel experiences. These tours take place in 70 countries and on all seven continents.
Mandip Singh Soin is a prominent Indian mountaineer, explorer, adventure travel expert, environmentalist, speaker and a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He has spent over forty years in the field of adventure, having gone on expeditions to all the seven continents of the world. His mountaineering ascents and explorations include several Indian “firsts” like the first Indian ascent of Mount Meru in 1986 in the Himalayas as well as several first Indian ascents in the French and Swiss Alps, Italian Dolomites, Wales and Scotland. He is a strong advocate of responsible tourism and the Founder President of the Ecotourism Society of India.
Australian Pacific Touring (APT) is an Australian tour and river cruising operator with worldwide reach.
Bruce Poon Tip is a Canadian businessman and the founder of G Adventures, an adventure-travel company. He is an author of the book Looptail: How One Company Changed the World by Reinventing Business.
National Geographic Partners, LLC is a joint venture between The Walt Disney Company and the namesake non-profit scientific organization National Geographic Society. The company oversees all commercial activities related to the Society, including magazine publications and television channels. The company's board of managers is evenly divided between the Society and Disney.
TourRadar is a privately held global company headquartered in Vienna, Austria that operates an online marketplace and internet booking engine specializing in multi-day tours.
Audley Travel is a tour operator based in the UK in Witney, Oxfordshire, with offices in London and Boston. The company covers over 90 destinations worldwide, providing tailor-made travel. According to the Financial Times, Audley is the largest operator in this market.
World Expeditions is an adventure travel and ecotourism company that offers trekking and adventure holidays.
Lindblad Expeditions is an expedition travel company headquartered in New York, NY. The company currently offers expedition cruises to destinations on all seven continents aboard 15 ships with capacities ranging from 28 to 150 guests.
This article needs additional or more specific categories .(September 2021) |