I recently had the opportunity to speak with Chris Ronneseth of Trek Holidays (see interview preview) who gave me a good overview of adventure travel, an area of travel that I would definitely like to explore sooner rather than later…
1. Tell us how you got into the adventure travel business.
I grew up around travel. My father, Allan Ronneseth, founded the company in 1972 and with a passion to see the world in a different way than the norm, we had the opportunity to travel to countries that were considered exotic at the time and to some extent still are. today. Venturing to travel on my own while attending college, I became increasingly passionate about the world beyond North America. With a marketing degree, I ventured first to New York and then to Toronto working in sales and marketing for tech companies during the tech boom. Having learned the skill of sales in an industry outside of travel, but supported by an education rooted in adventure travel, I progressed to lead sales in Eastern Canada for the family business where I now support our network of travel agents throughout the east. Canada, as well as compiling our monthly newsletter on adventure travel trends.
2. What countries have you traveled to?
Africa: Namibia, South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia, Egypt, Morocco
Europe: UK, Greenland, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria
Asia: Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Hong Kong
South Pacific: Australia, Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji
Americas: Canadian High Arctic, USA, Mexico, Jamaica, Cayman Islands,
Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia
3. Share with us your three best travel memories of all time.
A. Peru – The last descent to Machu Picchu on the famous Inca Trail from Puerta del Sol after watching the sunrise over the site, being the first to enter the site at sunrise and having a feeling of peace, harmony and strong magic in the air.
B. Vietnam – Traveling through the Vietnam countryside on a motorcycle and stumbling upon a hidden and rarely visited Buddhist monastery, resulting in a three hour tour with a young Buddhist monk learning and understanding the ways of others.
C. Namibia: Skydiving at sunset in Swakopmund, on the coast where the Atlantic Ocean meets the blood-red sand dunes as far as the eye can see. One of the most peaceful moments of my life.
4. What is adventure tourism and how has it evolved in recent decades?
Adventure travel used to mean great adventure when the company was founded in the 1970s, it was a time when the “hippie trail” was all the rage and buses used to travel across Asia from London to Kathmandu with itineraries that in much of it was invented along the way. Today is all about the small group experience and experiencing a destination rather than just seeing it. It is about participation and understanding of cultures, history and customs and being able to bring that experience as an enrichment to your daily life.
5. Who participates in your adventure trips and why? What is the age, gender, nationality and income level of the people taking your tours?
Adventure travel is largely based on a passion for doing it. For this reason, it crosses borders of age, gender and income since the common objective of travelers is the experience regardless of their life at home. However, the largest demographic for us and the most important growth demographic is baby boomers who have experienced the traditional beach vacation multiple times and now have the time and income available to travel to more exotic destinations. Nationality is generally made up of largely English-speaking nations with the composition in order of numbers being British, Australian, Canadian, New Zealander, American, some from continental Europe, some Latin American countries, and the odd Asian traveller.
We offer more than 120 countries around the world, usually almost everywhere. However, countries currently considered unsafe to travel to (eg Iraq, Afghanistan) are not included, but we hope they will be in the coming years as the situation stabilizes.
7. What type of accommodation is offered?
Generally speaking, we offer anything from cheap 2-star accommodation to 6-star accommodation experiences in Africa and everything in between. However, what is common to all the places we stay is that they must be clean, comfortable, centrally located, and most importantly, have a character that reflects the destination.
8. How do these tours for individual travelers work? Do you offer a travel companion search service? What if I prefer individual accommodation?
Our tours are designed with individual travelers in mind. In fact, 50% of all our travelers come alone. We unite people of the same sex and age to share and avoid charging them a supplement. If clients prefer their own room, we can do that on about 60% of tours, usually the most exclusive, but at a fair and affordable price.
9. What about meals?
Depending on the trip, we usually include breakfast and some dinner, but almost never lunch, as many people like to be out at noon making their own discoveries. However, when we go trekking or in the countryside or where there are no alternatives, we will always include meals.
10. What are the unique benefits of adventure tours compared to other types of travel?
A sense of accomplishment, quality of experience, traveling with a small group of just ten people on average, generally better value than comparable bus tours, camaraderie with people who share a passion for this type of travel.
11. What kind of activities are offered on your tours?
Sightseeing is an important part of every tour, but beyond that, we want to include as many cultural experiences as possible, like staying with local families, visiting villages, etc. We also have many optional activities available such as rafting, sailing, jeep safaris, day hikes etc.
12. Are there adventure tours for families?
We now have tours created especially for families traveling with other families where children are six years and older. There is a large demographic of ‘late start’ families who never had children until their 30s. Many of these folks traveled with us in their 20s or backpacked independently and now want to give that experience to their children. They are not interested in introducing you to the ubiquitous ‘coca-cola’ culture in today’s society. These have been met with great success.
13. Share with us some practical advice for someone who has never tried adventure travel.
Security is a state of mind. Most people who choose not to travel to exotic destinations do so out of fear for their safety while at the destination. If you listen to your tour leader’s advice and are practical, almost any destination in the world can provide you with a safe and memorable experience. When we have had problems with safety, it has almost always been a lack of respect for common sense and advice. Don’t be afraid to experience other cultures, you will almost always find that your curiosity will be the best guide through it all and that same curiosity will be reciprocated by the people we meet along the way. It is about learning and understanding other people as much as they need to understand us. It really shrinks the world. Our second biggest problem would be dehydration, when traveling to hot and dry countries or when it comes to activities like hiking, make sure you drink plenty of water!
14. How long do you travel these days?
Generally 5 or 6 weeks a year. It is imperative to my sales knowledge and experience and I owe it to my clients to be the expert at what we do! All of our employees have wonderful travel opportunities, which goes directly to our company motto: Insider Tips From Those Who’ve Been There!
15. Where do you go next?
I plan this year to tag along on a return trip to Egypt in April, to South Africa in May to experience some of our new properties we work with and hopefully make an additional trip to Mozambique. Later in the year I plan to go to Turkey and the Patagonian outdoors in Chile and Argentina.
Thank you Chris for all your information and have fun on your travels!