For many travelers, booking an adventurous trip to a destination they aren’t familiar with can be intimidating. This leads people to look to tour operators for a comfortable, safe option. When it comes to small group tours that support local communities, G Adventures prevails in this department. And what better way to learn more about this company and how it got started than by talking to its founder? In the following Q&A, we hear from entrepreneur, leader, philanthropist and founder of G Adventures, Bruce Poon Tip.
Q: Can you tell me a bit about your career path and how you got started in the travel industry?
A: I started G Adventures when I was 23 back in 1990. After traveling through Asia on a $10 a day budget, I had my eureka moment about how travel could be more than what mainstream travel was delivering. I came home and used all of my credit cards (maxed them out) to start G Adventures. I really didn’t have another job prior to that other than a weekend job working in a deli to help pay rent!
Q: What was your driving force behind starting G Adventures?
A: Bridging the gap between the mainstream holiday and the backpacker. I was an entrepreneur as a kid growing up in the 80's. We just didn’t have a word for it at the time. I had started three businesses before I turned 16, so G Adventures was really my fourth company, and I was committed to creating a transformational company that could change the world. Travel was ultimately the vehicle I chose to do that. At first I was going to start a record label, but then Nirvana came out and disrupted everything!
Q: What is one of your favorite G Adventure tours?
A: I would have to say Galapagos and Tibet are my two favorite places and programs. Galapagos because it's the most remote and one of the most gorgeous places on earth but you can also learn about Darwin's research on evolution … and the study of how life came out of lava rock islands. Tibet is also remote, starkly beautiful and it's one of the most spiritual places on the planet.
Q: Can you tell us about the Planeterra Foundation?
A: The Planeterra Foundation is a non-profit we started over 20 years ago to impact communities in a positive way when they intersect with tourism. Tourism can be the greatest form of wealth distribution that the world has ever seen if done right, and Planeterra lives that by example every day with hundreds of partnerships around the world.
Q: Do you have any advice for travel advisors interested in selling adventure travel?
A: There is no better opportunity than now to sell travel. People are more curious and more purposeful than ever before coming out of COVID. What we do is very high touch, and you need a travel professional to help you book and prepare for an adventure holiday. You don’t need help buying capacity on a ship or compound resort. That is a commodity where the destination isn’t relevant. Remember why all of us got into the travel industry — that passion, purpose and happiness you want others to feel when they get out and see the world.
Q: What is something from your career you are most proud of?
A: I would have to say my family first as it related to my career, but being more specific, I think it is our 34 years (of) work defining and owning community tourism. That is how we started, and that is what we do better than anyone else in the world. Many people have tried and are trying to mimic what we do but don’t go as deep in our dialogue and commitment to communities.
What’s in Bruce’s Carry-On?
A: Well I always travel with candy lol. Wine gums to be more specific. I also carry disinfectant wipes for cleaning the area around my seat and screen on a plane. But also noise cancelling headphones, business magazines, my Calm app for meditation and melatonin.
This article originally appeared in the Summer 2024 issue of The Compass magazine.
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