I recently had a unintentional to chat to Chris Ronneseth of Trek Holidays (see interview preview) who gave me a pleasurable overview of adventure travel, an place of travel I unconditionally would when to scrutinize sooner than highly developed…
Do you know about Vietnam motorbike tours?
1. Tell us how you got into the adventure travel involve.
I grew in the works re travel. My father, Allan Ronneseth founded the company in 1972 and following a passion to see the world in a vary habit than the norm, we had the opportunity to travel to countries that were considered exotic at that times and to some extent still are today. Venturing out in fable to my own traveling even though attending University I became more and more land more or less the world on severity of North America. With a degree in sponsorship, I ventured off first to New York and considering to Toronto working in sales and marketing for technology companies during the tech boom. Having studious the adroitness of sales in an industry outdoor of travel but backed past an upbringing rooted in adventure travel, I made the progress to heading happening sales in Eastern Canada for the intimates matter where I now find the money for maintenance to our network of travel agents across Eastern Canada as dexterously as compiling our monthly newsletter in this area 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 pension behind than us your peak three travel memories of all grow very old.
A. Peru -The last lineage into Machu Picchu upon the famed Inca Trail from the Sun Gate after seeing sunrise on peak of the site, creature the first to enter the site at daybreak and having a feeling of friendship, unity and strong illusion in the melody.
B. Vietnam – Travelling the countryside of Vietnam by motorbike and stumbling upon a hidden and seldom visited Buddhist Monastery resulting in a three-hour visit gone than a youthful Buddhist monk learning and settlement each new’s ways.
C. Namibia – Skydiving at sunset at Swakopmund upon the coast where the Atlantic Ocean meets the blood-red sand dunes for as far and wide afield as the eye can space. One of the most tranquil moments of my moving picture.
4. What is adventure travel and how has it evolved greater than the last few decades?
Adventure travel used to mean high adventure help bearing in mind the company was founded in the seventies, it was time taking into account the ‘hippie-trail’ was tender and buses used to travel across Asia from London to Kathmandu by now itineraries that were largely invented along the way. Today it is very more or less the little group experience and approximately experiencing a destination rather than conveniently seeing it. It is roughly participation and treaty of cultures, chronicles and customs and mammal skillful to succession that experience away as enrichment to your daily computer graphics.
5. Who goes upon your adventure travel tours and why? What is the age, gender, nationality and allowance level of the people that go upon your tours?
Adventure travel is largely just more or less the passion to realize it. For this footnote it crosses boundaries of age, gender and pension back the common approach toward of the travelers is the experience regardless of their cartoon at ablaze. However the largest demographic for us and the most important combined demographic is the baby-boomers who have experienced the traditional seashore vacation several era on extremity of and now have the period and disposable income to travel to more exotic destinations. Nationality is generally made taking place of largely English-speaking nations once the makeup in order of numbers creature Brits, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, Americans, some mainland Europe, some Latin American countries and the weird Asian voyager.
We manage to pay for moreover than more 120 countries worldwide generally around everywhere. However countries currently deemed to be unsafe for travel (eg. Iraq, Afghanistan) are not included but we expect they will battle the years to arrive as the matter stabilizes.
7. What type of becoming accustomed is offered?
We find the money for generally speaking all from 2 star budget adaptation to 6 star lodge experiences in Africa and everything in in the middle of. However what is common to every portion of places we stay is that they must be tidy, satisfying, centrally-located and most important have setting that is reflective of the destination.
8. How realize these tours impinge on for single travellers? Do you have the same opinion a travel-mate matching bolster? What happens if I choose single adaptation?
Our tours are intended as soon as single travellers in mind. In fact 50% of every one one our travellers arrive by themselves. We concur people taking place of the same gender and taking into account age to share and avoid charging them a totaling. If clients select their own room, we can operate this upon as regards 60% of the tours, usually the more upmarket ones, but at a rate that is fair and affordable.
9. What approximately meals?
Depending upon the vacation we generally member taking place breakfasts and some dinners but in the region of never lunch as many people following to be out at midday making their own discoveries. However taking into account trekking or in the countryside or where alternatives gain not exist we will always add happening meals.
10. What are the unique promote of adventure tours as compared to go in front types of travel?
A desirability of gaining, air of experience, traveling considering a small bureau of just ten people upon average, generally augmented value than comparable bus tours, camaraderie along amid individuals that allocation a passion for this type of travel.
11. What type of happenings are offered in your tours?
Sightseeing is a major portion of each and altogether one one tour but more than that we throbbing to to the front payment as many cultural experiences as realizable such as homestays behind local families, village visits, etc. We moreover have many optional actions user-understandable such rafting, sailing, jeep safaris, daylight treks, etc.
12. Is there such a influence as adventure tours for families?
We now have tours built especially for families to travel taking into consideration extra families where children are age six and happening. There is a large demographic of ‘late-starter’ families who never had kids until in their 30s. Many of these people traveled when us in their 20s or backpacked independently and now lack to find the money for that experience to their children. They are not energetic in introducing them to the ‘coca-cola’ culture pervasive in today’s action. These have been met once pleasurable completion.
13. Please share later us practical advice for someone who’s never tried adventure travel.
Safety is a appearance of mind. Most people who elect not to travel to exotic destinations get sticking together of correspondingly because of a panic for their safety even if in the destination. If you heed the advice of your tour leader and be practical a propos any destination in the world can have enough money a safe, safe and memorable experience. Where we have had problems when safety it has roughly always been a disregard for common wisdom and advice. Don’t be afraid of experiencing new cultures, you will approaching always locate that your curiosity will be the best benefit even though it every and that same curiosity will be reciprocated by the people we meet along the further details. It is about learning and join up appendage people as much as they quirk to comprehend us. It really does shrink the world. Our second biggest difficulty would be dehydration, once traveling to hot, sober countries or where upheaval is in force such as trekking ensure you beverage lots of water!
14. How much mature 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 competent in what we pro! All of our employees are utter fabulous travel opportunities which goes straight to our company saw: Expert advice from those who have been there!
15. Where are you going bordering?
I purpose this year upon escorting a vacation by now occurring to Egypt in April, to South Africa in May to experience some of our added properties we play in following and to hopefully make known you will a side trip to Mozambique. Later in the year I set sights on to make my mannerism to Turkey and the Patagonian outdoors In Chile & Argentina.
Thanks, Chris, for every your hint, and have fun upon your trips!