With a travel schedule encompassing all seven continents (hello, Antarctica!) this year, Bruce Poon Tip, CEO of G Adventures, officially qualifies as an Extremely Busy Man. Theme was lucky enough to catch the most well-traveled individual we’ve ever interviewed for a quick 30 minutes.
The Canadian entrepreneur has had a penchant for connecting the dots since childhood, when he ran his first successful business in a rather unorthodox way: “I had multiple newspaper delivery routes, and I was subcontracting [the actual deliveries] out to other kids,” he remembers, with a rueful laugh. “Catering to kids who couldn’t qualify yet for paper routes because they weren’t old enough.”
In his early twenties Poon Tip found a similar way to enact that philosophy--connecting the underprivileged with profits—on a much grander scale, and one that’s a hell of a lot more fun: G Adventures. The concept of G Adventures is simple: Offer adventurous people unusual trips to far-flung locales for a reasonable price. The traveler gets an off-the-beaten-path adventure, and the formerly-remote locals get access to tourist dollars they’d not had before. No large groups and hotel blocks, no tourist buses whizzing past landmarks, no sterile souvenir shops.
Formed in 1990 and funded entirely by credit cards, G Adventures is now the largest travel adventure company in the world, with 60,000 travelers a year choosing from 1,000 different trips to 100 countries on yes, all seven continents. Even more impressively, G Adventures is recognized as the world leader in eco-tourism, espousing the philosophy that travel should--and fully can--be supportive, not destructive, and help the residents of the destination country, rather than relegating them to the backgrounds of inconsiderately taken photographs. As Poon Tip and G Adventures fully believe, “Travel is a privilege, not a right.”
Theme: Where did the name G Adventures come from?
BPT: I got the concept when I went backpacking through Asia, in 1989, on a $50-a-day budget, staying with local people and traveling on local transportation. Back then the options were you had to go to a resort, take a coach tour, or backpack. The name of G Adventures came from the G Adventures in the market between mainstream and backpacking; there was nothing in existence then for someone who wanted a kind of grassroots cultural experience.
photo
In a pre-internet time, how did you set up a trip like that?
It’s very difficult for people today to really understand--there was no internet research, not even faxes yet. So I was on the telex and I remember having to write letters. Back then you had to make hotel reservations by post! It was a different world compared to now. I was completely inspired and motivated when I came back, and put together a philosophy of what I wanted to do. At that time there were some companies calling themselves “Adventure Companies,” but none that had the cultural-immersion-type programmes I wanted that would really put travelers in touch with local people and communities. I wanted to get people not only active and outdoors, but using local transport and family-run kinds of accommodations.
Another big thing for G Adventures is your “small groups” philosophy.
We wanted to have the smallest groups in the world, starting at 12 passengers per group, which people thought was crazy because most travel companies don’t make money until 15 people have signed up. But smaller groups are more manageable when you’re getting on buses, trains, rickshaws, et cetera. Then there’s also the impact to consider, because we were going into fairly remote, fragile communities and areas. I felt groups any bigger than that would have a [negative] cultural impact on the areas.
What were some of these early destinations?
Mostly Latin America--Ecuador, Belize, Guatemala, Galapagos, and Venezuela were some of our first tours. Then went into Peru, Patagonia, Brazil, then over to Asia, then Africa.
photo
We’re curious--would an adventure-seeking, crunchy backpacker and the CEO of a huge travel company say the same thing about the merits of travel?
I do believe travel can change people’s lives in a profound way that can’t be changed in any other way. I believe the best education someone can have is by taking yourself out of your comfort zone. The more remote and the more unique, I think, the more impact it has on your life.
Something else that impressed us is that we’ve heard you say, quite frankly, that your trips are not for everyone.
They’re not for everyone, because in order to do one of our trips, in order to achieve life-changing experiences when you travel, you have to be open to it. You have to be someone who is ready for an adventure, someone with an open mind and a good sense of humor. If you take someone out of Manhattan and drop them in Mongolia, there’s two reactions to that. One person will not get it and will want out as quickly as possible. Then there’s the other person whose mind is able to embrace and really see a beautiful part of the world, meet a unique group of people, and have a real kind of cultural exchange. It can give you a greater appreciation for the world and what you have—your family, your friends, where you live, everything.
What trips have you taken that have had a big impact on you?
Tibet was a big one for me--a country where their whole way of life is based around spirituality. When you think about what was going on in the rest of the world in 1957, when the Dalai Lama left, and Tibet still had no cars or guns. And today it’s amazing. The Amazon, I think, strikes anyone who goes. Beyond learning about the struggle that goes on to make a life in a rainforest, there’s the educational component that comes from experiencing really remote, unique communities that don’t have any contact with the Western world. Then there’s the first time anyone goes on an African safari--you can’t replace that experience. When you grow up seeing animals in zoos, circuses, or marine shows, then see these huge animals just roaming free in the Serengeti...it’s unbelievable.
Are there any countries you’ve wanted G Adventures to offer that you’ve not been able to get?
I love Columbia, but it’s got such a bad media rap that no one would go. Burma is a great country, but not without its problems, so we pulled out this year. Initially the Chinese government wouldn’t allow us to run what we needed to run in China, they wanted us to use a government-sanctioned tour operator that we’d pay--and then they’d pay their people slave wages. We just refused to do that until we could open our own office in Beijing. We finally made it happen.
Let’s talk about eco-tourism. Concretely, and beyond mere tourist dollars, how do you give back to the communities G Adventures visits?
Some examples are, we have a streets kids home in Cuzco; we have a woman’s weaving co-op in Ecuador; we’re running a Tibetan eye camp in April where we’re going to restore the vision of 250 Tibetans. As a sustainable tourism company, giving back has always been part of our philosophy, but it has evolved and changed quite dramatically in the last two years.
Changed?
Recently a lot of people view sustainability as tackling global warming, and our travelers are asking us to take a stance on carbon emissions and climate change. So now we plant a tree for every traveler that travels with us through our Book a Trip, Plant a Tree programme. When you book a trip with us, a tree gets planted in one of the reforestation projects in the continent that you’re traveling to. We’re also in the process of planting a million trees of our own in the next 18 months to offset the carbon emissions of the company given off by staff travel. We resisted it at first, saying that we’ve always been a company that defines sustainability around social causes and people; but the world has changed, so we’ve had to make changes on how we view things as well. Rather than planting trees we could easily be a carbon-offset company (buying credits), but these companies are sometimes a bit dubious. So we’re willing to go the long and hard way and do it ourselves.
Look into a trip at G Adventures.
Bruce’s Travel Tips
• Lots of countries have fantastic food...and lots have crap food! Tibet is one of my favorite destinations, but the food is horrible! Don’t be afraid to travel with your favorite snacks; people think that part of experiencing a new culture is only eating local food and I disagree. Food is so connected with people having a good time, so it’s really important. When I go to Tibet, I’m packed up on PowerBars and I bring my own peanut butter.
• Beyond the obvious--pack light, pack everything you need, then take out half--pack the right clothes, dress for the weather. Too many people hear “summer” and pack the wrong clothes; summer in a high-altitude place, like Cuzco, means it’s the dry season, but you’re still in an altitude where it’s cold. Nothing’s worse than being on a trip and cold the whole time!
• Don’t be afraid to do laundry along the way. People are always afraid of this, I don’t know why. They’re going away for 20 days, so they bring 20 pairs of socks and underwear, which is just crazy. Be prepared to utilize laundry facilities/services, or do your own in the hotel/hostel bathroom. You can travel much lighter.
• Bring biodegradable soaps and detergents. Some are multi-purpose, you can get soap that will clean both clothes and bodies. Go chemical-free, so you’re not leaving an environmental footprint when elements of your holiday have camping or you’re staying in wooded areas.