HOW I CARRY ON
MEET G ADVENTURES ’ BRUCE POON TIP
The tour operator ’ s founder shares how a transformational backpacking trip inspired a new business endeavor .
WORDS / CODIE LIERMANN / PHOTOGRAPHY BY G ADVENTURES , INC .
I had started three businesses before I turned 16 , so G Adventures was really my fourth company , and I was committed to creating a transformational company that could change the world . Travel was ultimately the vehicle I chose to do that . At first I was going to start a record label , but then Nirvana came out and disrupted everything !
Q : What is one of your favorite G Adventures tours ? A : I would have to say Galapagos and Tibet are my two favorite places and programs . Galapagos because it ’ s the most remote and one of the most gorgeous places on earth but you can also learn about Darwin ’ s research on evolution … and the study of how life came out of lava rock islands . Tibet is also remote , starkly beautiful and it ’ s one of the most spiritual places on the planet .
For many travelers , booking an adventurous trip to a destination they aren ’ t familiar with can be intimidating . This leads people to look to tour operators for a comfortable , safe option . When it comes to small group tours that support local communities , G Adventures prevails in this department . And what better way to learn more about this company and how it got started than by talking to its founder ? In the following Q & A , we hear from entrepreneur , leader , philanthropist and founder of G Adventures , Bruce Poon Tip .
Q : Can you tell us a bit about your career path and how you got started in the travel industry ?
Poon Tip poses in front of the Taj Mahal .
A : I started G Adventures when I was 23 back in 1990 . After traveling through Asia on a $ 10 a day budget , I had my eureka moment about how travel could be more than what mainstream travel was delivering . I came home and used all of my credit cards ( maxed them out ) to start G Adventures . I really didn ’ t have another job prior to that other than a weekend job working in a deli to help pay rent !
Q : What was your driving force behind starting G Adventures ? A : Bridging the gap between the mainstream holiday and the backpacker . I was an entrepreneur as a kid growing up in the 80 ’ s . We just didn ’ t have a word for it at the time .
Q : Can you tell us about the Planeterra Foundation ? A : The Planeterra Foundation is a nonprofit we started over 20 years ago to impact communities in a positive way when they intersect with tourism . Tourism can be the greatest form of wealth distribution that the world has ever seen if done right , and Planeterra lives that by example every day with hundreds of partnerships around the world .
Q : Do you have any advice for travel advisors interested in selling adventure travel ? A : There is no better opportunity than now to sell travel . People are more curious and more purposeful than ever before coming out of COVID . What we do is very high touch , and you need a travel professional to help you book and prepare for an adventure
22 / THE COMPASS / SUMMER 2024 vaxvacationaccess . com / thecompass