Presenting: Chris Ronneseth – Adventure Travel Expert!

I lately had an opportunity to speak to Chris Ronneseth of Trek Holidays (see interview preview) who gave me a great overview of journey journey, an space of journey I positively wish to discover prior to later…

1. Inform us how you bought into the journey journey enterprise.

I grew up round journey. My father, Allan Ronneseth based the corporate in 1972 and with a ardour to see the world another way than the norm, we had the chance to journey to nations that have been thought-about unique at the moment and to some extent nonetheless are immediately. Venturing out by myself touring whereas attending College I turned increasingly passionate in regards to the world past North America. With a level in advertising and marketing, I ventured off first to New York and later to Toronto working in gross sales and advertising and marketing for know-how corporations throughout the tech growth. Having realized the ability of gross sales in an business exterior of journey however backed with an upbringing rooted in journey journey, I made the development to heading up gross sales in Japanese Canada for the household enterprise the place I now present help to our community of journey brokers throughout Japanese Canada in addition to compiling our month-to-month e-newsletter on journey journey tendencies.

2. What nations have you ever 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, Prepare dinner Islands, Tonga, Fiji

Americas: Canadian Excessive Arctic, USA, Mexico, Jamaica, Cayman Islands,

Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia

3. Please share with us your high three journey recollections of all occasions.

A. Peru -The final descent into Machu Picchu on the famed Inca Path from the Solar Gate after seeing dawn over the location, being the primary to enter the location at dawn and having a sense of peace, concord and robust magic within the air.

B. Vietnam – Travelling the countryside of Vietnam by bike and stumbling upon a hidden and rarely visited Buddhist Monastery leading to a three-hour go to with a younger Buddhist monk studying and understanding one another’s methods.

C. Namibia – Skydiving at sundown at Swakopmund on the coast the place the Atlantic Ocean meets the blood-red sand dunes for so far as the attention can see. One of the vital tranquil moments of my life.

4. What’s journey journey and the way has it developed over the previous few a long time?

Journey journey used to imply excessive journey again when the corporate was based within the seventies, it was time when the ‘hippie-trail’ was scorching and buses used to journey throughout Asia from London to Kathmandu with itineraries that have been largely invented alongside the best way. At the moment it’s in regards to the small group expertise and about experiencing a vacation spot quite than merely seeing it. It’s about participation and understanding of cultures, historical past and customs and having the ability to take that have away as enrichment to your each day life.

5. Who goes in your journey journey excursions and why? What’s the age, gender, nationality and revenue degree of the those who go in your excursions?

Journey journey is essentially in regards to the ardour to do it. For that reason it crosses boundaries of age, gender and revenue for the reason that frequent purpose of the vacationers is the expertise no matter their life at dwelling. Nonetheless the biggest demographic for us and a very powerful progress demographic is the baby-boomers who’ve skilled the normal seashore trip a number of occasions over and now have the time and disposable revenue to journey to extra unique locations. Nationality is mostly made up of largely English-speaking nations with the make-up so as of numbers being Brits, Australians, Canadians, New Zealanders, Individuals, some mainland Europe, some Latin American nations and the odd Asian traveler.

We provide greater than 120 nations worldwide typically nearly in all places. Nonetheless nations presently deemed to be unsafe for journey (eg. Iraq, Afghanistan) aren’t included however we anticipate they are going to be within the years to return because the state of affairs stabilizes.

7. What sort of lodging is obtainable?

We provide typically talking something from 2 star funds lodging to six star lodge experiences in Africa and the whole lot in between. Nonetheless what’s frequent to all locations we keep is that they should be clear, comfy, centrally-located and most vital have character that’s reflective of the vacation spot.

8. How do these excursions work for single travellers? Do you present a travel-mate matching service? What occurs if I choose single lodging?

Our excursions are designed with single travellers in thoughts. In actual fact 50% of all our travellers come by themselves. We match individuals up of the identical gender and like age to share and keep away from charging them a complement. If purchasers choose their very own room, we are able to do that on roughly 60% of the excursions, normally the extra upmarket ones, however at a price that’s truthful and reasonably priced.

9. What about meals?

Relying on the journey we typically embody breakfasts and a few dinners however virtually by no means lunch as many individuals wish to be out at noon making their very own discoveries. Nonetheless when trekking or within the countryside or the place alternate options don’t exist we’ll all the time embody meals.

10. What are the distinctive advantages of journey excursions as in comparison with different varieties of journey?

A way of accomplishment, high quality of expertise, touring with a small group of simply ten individuals on common, typically higher worth than comparable bus excursions, camaraderie with people that share a ardour for such a journey.

11. What sort of actions are provided in your excursions?

Sightseeing is a significant a part of each tour however past that we need to embody as many cultural experiences as doable similar to homestays with native households, village visits, and so forth. We even have many non-obligatory actions accessible such rafting, crusing, jeep safaris, day treks, and so forth.

12. Is there such a factor as journey excursions for households?

We now have excursions constructed particularly for households to journey with different households the place kids are age six and up. There’s a giant demographic of ‘late-starter’ households who by no means had kids till of their 30s. Many of those individuals traveled with us of their 20s or backpacked independently and now need to give that have to their kids. They don’t seem to be occupied with introducing them to the ‘coca-cola’ tradition pervasive in immediately’s society. These have been met with nice success.

13. Please share with us sensible recommendation for somebody who’s by no means tried journey journey.

Security is a frame of mind. Most individuals who elect to not journey to unique locations accomplish that due to a worry for his or her security whereas within the vacation spot. In case you heed the recommendation of your tour chief and be sensible virtually any vacation spot on the planet can present a protected, safe and memorable expertise. The place we’ve had issues with security it has virtually all the time been a disregard for frequent sense and recommendation. Do not be afraid of experiencing different cultures, you’ll virtually all the time discover that your curiosity would be the greatest information although all of it and that very same curiosity can be reciprocated by the individuals we meet alongside the best way. It’s about studying and understanding different individuals as a lot as they should perceive us. It actually does shrink the world. Our second greatest drawback could be dehydration, when touring to scorching, dry nations or the place exercise is concerned similar to trekking make sure you drink a number of water!

14. How a lot time do you journey your self nowadays?

Typically 5 or 6 weeks a yr. It’s crucial to my gross sales information and expertise and I owe it to my prospects to be the skilled in what we do! All of our workers are given great journey alternatives which matches straight to our firm motto: Professional recommendation from those that have been there!

15. The place are you going subsequent?

I plan this yr on escorting a visit again to Egypt in April, to South Africa in Might to expertise a few of our new properties we work with and to hopefully take a aspect journey to Mozambique. Later within the yr I plan to make my approach to Turkey and the Patagonian outside In Chile & Argentina.

Thanks, Chris, for all of your data, and have enjoyable in your journeys!

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