Quark Expeditions has addressed a number of concerns about polar adventure travel as part of its inaugural ‘This is Polar’ retreat on Wednesday.
The “immersive” conference in the Lake District brought together 51 of the line’s trade partners for a full day of training on everything from its small-scale ships to its polar-specific routes.
The venue in Ullswater also provided the ideal spot for tandem kayaking, canoeing, hiking and wild swimming, allowing agents to sample activities their clients can expect from an actual voyage.
A key part of the educational was its “myth-busting session”, which saw expeditions team leader Rose Brown address common misconceptions around adventure travel.
“A lot of people think you need to be super fit to go on an expedition, but that’s not necessarily true,” Nick Hindle, Quark Expeditions’ national business development manager for the UK and Ireland, told TTG Luxury.
The ex-Domes Resorts manager went on to explain that Quark caters to a wide range of fitness levels and can also adapt its itineraries to accommodate clients with reduced mobility.
The session also helped agents how to identify the “right client” for Quark’s unique product offering.
“We’re classed as a luxury expedition but we’re not about white-glove service and canapes on ice, that’s just not us,” Hindle explained. “We’re all about getting clients off the ship, so we’re probably not for your ‘traditional’ cruise client.”
Rather, Quark believes its product is best suited to “touring and adventure clients” who may be looking for their next off-grid experience. “For example, you may want to target a client who’d been on multiple safaris, because we’re very much like a safari on ice,” said Hindle.
Quark also worked with the conference venue, Macdonald Leeming House, to recreate the brand’s onboard experience, arranging welcome notes to be left in the agents’ rooms and a live sea shanty band to perform traditional maritime songs.
The operator showcased its ‘Tundra-to-table’ programme with an Inuit fusion-inspired menu of twice-baked souffle and smoked bacon-wrapped chicken, as well as plenty of Quark branding, including large cutouts of polar bears and penguins.
Hindle added that the event was hugely oversubscribed, with more than 120 agents applying to secure one of the 51 available places.
“We’d have loved to have all of them join, but we didn’t want to go too big too soon,” he admitted. “But we will definitely look into hosting something very similar next year and we’re looking to go bigger.”
Though it’s still too soon to see a return on investment, Hindle said that the response from agents so far has been “unbelievable.”
“We’ve had quite a few that have already said they understand now where their clients sit in our database, and we’ve had some who now want to take their own groups with them,” he said. “A lot have also said they enjoyed how immersive it was and felt they got a taste of expedition travel, as close as we could possibly get it at the Lake District.”
The agents were served Inuit fusion cuisine inspired by Quark's 'Tundra-to-table' culinary programme
This was echoed by James Pettitt, of Curated Escapes, who said: “The retreat was very informative and rewarding; it was great to meet in person and share your passion for all things Polar.” Meanwhile, Travel Counsellors’ Stacey McCourt praised the “mix of information, insider knowledge and personal stories”, as well as the “great fun” agents had on the lake.
“This retreat represents exactly what Quark Expeditions stands for – being truly polar obsessed and bringing people together through meaningful, shared experiences,” said Becky Francis, senior director at Quark Expeditions. “We know we can’t take every agent to the polar regions, so experiences like this allow us to bring the essence of expedition travel to them. As a people‑centric business, strong relationships with our partners are fundamental to our success. This retreat was a fantastic way to strengthen those connections.”
Travel Counsellors Lynsey Ridwell also won a Quark Expeditions trip for two to the Arctic in May 2026, offering the Belfast-based advisor the opportunity to experience the polar regions first‑hand.
