G Adventures has promised it will not price its new tours in partnership with National Geographic out of the range of its regular customers.
The partnership was revealed this week as part of G Adventures’ 25th anniversary celebrations, when founder Bruce Poon Tip assured it made the National Geographic brand more accessible than ever before.
The tours, which launch on December 15, will be repurposed versions of the G Adventures’ 70 ‘Comfort’ brand tours, with signature National Geographic experiences included.
“As the tours have enhanced features, there will be a modest increase,” Poon Tip said. “But the idea is to keep them accessible.”
He continued: “We don’t want price to be the motivating factor because we’re about creating experiences. That said, National Geographic has been amazing at understanding our customer base, and the fact that we don’t offer tours that are exclusively for wealthy people.”
A 14-day trip to Costa Rica, priced from £1,429pp, will include a meeting with a researcher from the Sea Turtle Conservancy, co-founded by a National Geographic grantee.
Lynn Cutter, executive vice-president travel and licensing at National Geographic said it was they who decided to approach G Adventures: “We saw an opportunity to offer meaningful experiences that were accessibly priced from a trustworthy organization. We wanted to reach a larger, more global and younger market, with a partner who shares our philosophies, and we couldn’t think of a better partner than G Adventures.”
“I think National Geographic is one of those brands that resonates with every age,” added Poon Tip. “Our core market is 35-50, but we’ve been getting older and younger for the last 10 years. If we can be any assistance is getting National Geographic’s voice heard by a younger generation, we’d be honoured.”