But when Wayne Perks explains to me why he chose to take up the offer to succeed Kevin O’Regan as Ramble Worldwide’s new managing director, I find myself hanging on his every word.
Not only is Perks is a keen walker having scaled Kilimanjaro with travel entrepreneurs Steve Bath and Steve Endacott in 2014, but he also has an altruistic streak.
Explaining his decision to join Ramble Worldwide, Perks says: “I’m here to grow the business, but any profit goes to good causes. I’m not aware of any other travel business that does that.
"I really felt like this was a good opportunity when I saw it.”
Since 2000, Ramble Worldwide has invested more than £5 million in surplus profits to promote the benefit of walking activities to people from all communities though the Ramble Worldwide Outdoor Trust, the operator’s charitable division.
Despite Ramble Worldwide’s “for-purpose” ethos – Perks is not a fan of the term “not-for-profit” – Perks believes he can see a clear pathway to higher profit margins.
Currently, around 90% of Ramble Worldwide’s business is direct, but Perks, who has spent more than 25 years in the UK travel industry, plans to woo the trade in a big way to deliver greater profits for the company and its trust.
"The trade represents a huge opportunity for Ramble Worldwide,” Perks insists. “We will look at different ways of targeting agents."
Perks is initially reluctant to share the finer details of his trade plans. He is, after all, just two days into the job when we catch up. However, when I push him a bit later in our 30-minute chat, he lifts the lid a little.
On several occasions during our conversation, Perks talks about Ramble Worldwide’s 250-strong group of tour leaders, some of whom are trained at the company’s Hassness House at Lake Buttermere.
It soon becomes clear that he plans to use these leaders to help agents understand everything the business stands for. "We want agents to meet our tour leaders so they can walk the talk,” Perks explains as he outlines the potential for Ramble to host fam trips at Hassness House.
"This is a great way to get agents out and see the countryside. It will be a combination of us approaching agents and them coming to us. We will get agents out to see the product.”
Perks plans to confirm his overall trade strategy within the next three to six months, but admits he has already contacted several agents who he believes would jump at the chance to sell Ramble Worldwide’s 300 itineraries, which span six continents.
’At this stage, we’re all ears’
Prior to joining Ramble Worldwide, Perks held a range of commercial and product roles at brands including British Airways, Thomas Cook and Virgin Atlantic.
"I have started to make connections with people who I have worked with before,” says Perks. “I worked with the trade at Virgin Atlantic for 13 years.
"At this stage, we’re all ears. I put out a few feelers before I started. But maybe the agents I worked with before are not the right ones?”
Besides expanding Ramble Worldwide’s agent database, Perks also plans to target Gen X customers. “I want to work with agents that sell to Gen X,” he says.
“In the next three to six months, I want to put some commercial deals in place. I want to get agents round a table. I believe that the 50-plus market is the sweet spot. Walking is a good way to get back into exercise.”
Ramble Worldwide, previously Ramblers Walking Holidays, operates four collections – classic, discover, adagio and self-guided tours. It is its self-guided tours Perks believes will appeal to the “sweet spot” 50-plus market.
These are independent walking holidays with accommodation, route planning and baggage handling managed by Ramble Worldwide.
He nonetheless stresses: "Guided hikes, led by our highly qualified and informed leaders, remain our core business and continue to grow. However, we’re also seeing growth in self-guided trips as customers’ confidence and interest in exploring places for themselves increases."
The other collections feature tour leaders. "Leaders also have an outdoor first aid certificate and language skills where necessary, but most important of all are the people skills," says Perks.
’There are things that make us different’
Intriguingly, O’Regan trained to become a tour leader before leaving Ramble Worldwide and setting off on his travels. Prior to leaving his managing director role, O’Regan said: “I’ve had an amazing journey over the past six at Ramble Worldwide.
“Having negotiated a path through the pandemic, and got the business back to profitability, the recent rebranding work has set the business up well for the future.
“Along the way I trained as a tour leader, and worked alongside our wonderful volunteer leaders, so I would like to thank them, as well as our staff and board of directors, for making my time with Ramble Worldwide so enjoyable.”
Perks, who says he had crossed paths with O’Regan during his 25-year travel industry career, is noticeably upbeat about stealing a march on rival operators like On Foot Holidays, G Touring, Inntravel and HF Holidays.
“We’ve got a number of things that make us different,” he adds. “We’re working on that at the moment. All these things, we’re going to put in place as part of our distribution.”
And as before when Perks outlined his reasons for becoming managing director at Ramble Worldwide, it’s difficult not to get excited about the trail ahead for this specialist operator.
