The small group adventure specialist’s Change Makers Challenge incentivises agents to focus on “changing people’s lives’ through travel”, and invites them to “rediscover their purpose [and] why they love selling travel in the process”.
The week-long Change Makers Summit in June 2019 will feature more than 100 agents from the UK & Ireland, Central Europe, Canada, the United States, and Australia and New Zealand taking part.
There will be 15 spots for UK and Irish agents to earn during the Change Makers Challenge which runs until March 31, 2019.
Revealing the campaign onstage in London last night (October 15) Rachel Coffey, director of sales, UK & Ireland said the event was based around G Adventure’s own Connection Camps which are held annually and aim to “build meaningful connections” between staff from different parts of the business.
“This is not a fam trip – this is all about connecting and seeing the impact of what we do,” she said.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re from a small independent or a large agency; there are lots of ways for you to get involved. We want this experience to be as inclusive as possible.
“This is going to be something very, very special.”
Ten places will be based on sales performance, three will be awarded based on an agent’s purpose submission – where they will talk about their work in their local community - and there will also be two wildcard spots.
As well as seeing the positive impact of responsible travel on the regions within which G Adventures works, agents will also visit destination highlights to help build their product knowledge.
At the end of the trip, agents will have an immersive G Adventures experience day where they will meet the company’s founder, Bruce Poon Tip “and be treated to a party night to remember”.
Brian Young, managing director EMEA, said he believed the Change Makers Summit would allow agents to form "meaningful connections with travel agents from across the world".
"It will be massively beneficial from your perspective selling G Adventures," he added.
Agents will automatically receive one entry per trip sold and G Adventures will be giving out "random act of G" swag packs and vouchers throughout the incentive.
Agents can also look out for surprise challenges/awards along the way, which could help them secure an extra entry to attend.
Travel consultants should visit www.gadventures.com/agents/ or speak to their regional Global Purpose Specialist (GPS) for more information.
Earlier in the evening, Young also revealed a host of technology updates from the operator, including plans to introduce “ontour Wi-Fi” on itineraries from January, an in-app chat function to allow customers to get to know each other pre-tour and a “cheat sheet” for airports.
He also announced a “visa and vaccinations” microsite inside its Sherpa trade platform for agents to advise clients on essentials before they travelled and help “eliminate any pre-trip anxiety”.
In addition, Young unveiled the G Adventures Gear Shop where customers can buy equipment needed for their trips.
Turning to new tours, Ant Stone, director of marketing, UKMEA, revealed G Adventures would be launching eight new itineraries as part of its programme with National Geographic range, including the Northern Peru Explorer.
The operator will also run its first trip in Taiwan next year.
G Adventures’ Your Moments ontour experiences range had also been “totally reimagined”, Stone said, with activities split into eight categories, including food, wellness and ‘big night out’.
