G Adventures? Founder Challenges Women's Day Anti-Travel Agent Article Jul 24th 2013, 18:03
G Adventures Founder Bruce Poon Tip joined the fray set off by the Women’s Day article “Nine Things Travel Agents Won’t Tell You,” which called into question not only the competence of travel agents, but their integrity. The article said that agents might misdirect clients just to make more money and might even “fib” to them just to close a sale.
Poon Tip went public with his disagreement because, according to a statement, “the company’s Agent of Change movement recognizes agents’ pivotal role in what he sees as travel and travelers ability to change the world.”
Poon Tip founded G Adventures (as GAP adventures) 24 years ago. The company specializes in adventurous expeditions to exotic destinations, cultural interaction with local residents and sustainable tourism that helps rather than hurts the destinations. The company has its own foundation, Planeterra, to provide charitable contributions at the destinations it conducts tours to. The company’s high-minded credentials in sustainable tourism and customer and employee relations are not characteristic of a company that aligns itself with fibbers who send clients the wrong direction just to pocket a few extra dollars.
Poon Tip addressed his objections to Women’s Day. “As the founder of the world's largest adventure travel company,” he said, “I can honestly say that our growth for the past 24 years would not have been possible without the outstanding partnerships we have with the global travel agent community. It's unfortunate that this article casts a shadow on all of the hard-working and valuable agents out there. Such a gross generalization and an unbalanced article is actually a grave disservice to your readers. Our company operates on five core values, one of which is ‘we love changing people's lives.’ We see travel agents as a pivotal partner in changing those lives -- they don't just offer up travel opportunities, they make suggestions and plan routes and offer advice that changes lives.”
According to Poon Tip, “Travel agents make possible things like that cherished family vacation to the Canadian Rockies, those moments of awakenings for college graduates who want to explore the wonders of hiking the Inca Trail, and that trip to Antarctica for a couple's 25th wedding anniversary. For the vast majority of travel agents, it is not about commissions or ‘getting you to spend more than necessary to up their take-home pay.’ For most agents, they entered the travel industry to engage people in our world and to open doors that travelers may otherwise ignore. I, for one, herald the agents in our lives and hope we all begin to show a bit more appreciation for the wonders they help us experience.”
YOUR COMMENT
