The company specialises in short and long-haul itineraries currently drawn from a range of around 25 specialists, with a diverse offering that includes the Isle of Man, Greenland, an Everest Base Camp trek and the Galapagos.
Chief executive Chris Roche said the brand had until now operated almost like an OTA. “We work with lots of small operators very similar to DMCs and we have been acting as agents for them," he explained. "Some were exclusive to us, so unbeknown to us, all the people on the trips were our customers.
“Many of the tours we sold were effectively being operated by us already, so creating our own operation allows us to work directly with the trade.”
Roche said the brand would pare back the partners it worked with to develop more of its own tours.
Current partners include Haggis Adventures, Hotelplan UK’s Explore brand and TTC Tour Brands’ youth-focused Contiki brand.
“We no longer believe aggregating in this space really works – curation does,” he said.
The initial trade portfolio includes more than 40 itineraries, featuring youth-focused journeys, family holidays and classic tours. The brand’s top sellers are Thailand, Australia and Peru.
Agents can now register to access The Adventure People’s dedicated online booking platform, which permits ground arrangements and flights to be paired.
Roche said The Adventure People was open to working with any agents already signed with a consortium. Jamie Rudland has been appointed as trade development manager.
The operator, which carries just under 10,000 clients, promises “competitive commissions”.
Roche said any repeat bookings that came direct following an initial agent sale would earn 50% commission.
The Adventure People hopes to run 2025 fam trips to Everest Base Camp, as well as Sri Lanka, Croatia and Kilimanjaro.
Roche said he believed a fam to Everest would be an industry first.
