The 5 New Tour Operators That Travel Advisors Should Know

If you work in the travel industry, you’re likely familiar with the "Big Guys" — tour giants that have built their reputations as top-notch operators over decades in business. And while there’s no question they are solid choices when booking escorted tours, the demand for off-the-beaten-path experiences and niche-specific offerings has attracted a whole new set of specialists to the industry.

The tour operators in this story — our “New Guys,” if you will — are young, independent companies that, within a short period of time, have established success within their respective markets. And despite their age (all companies are under 5 years old, with the exception of one that celebrated its sixth birthday last month), we think these savvy businesses are on the fast track for even more growth.

Australia- and New Zealand-based Eclipse Travel has caught the attention of the U.S. market, thanks in large part to its popular line of Solar Eclipse tours (which, by the way, will take your intrepid clients to Argentina, Chile and Antarctica between 2019 and 2021).

Co-founder Matt McMillan and his business partner, Tim Farquhar, met while working for another tour company. Their mutual frustration with the tour industry — that existing operators either “lacked the knowledge to be true destination specialists, or didn’t provide their clients with the level of service or quality of product we felt they could,” according to McMillan — led them to launch their own venture, with a focus on excursions throughout Latin America and Africa, along with a roster of polar expedition cruises.

Six years later, Eclipse Travel has established itself as a high-quality choice for travelers and travel advisors alike. The company currently has 402 five-star ratings on international reviewing website TrustPilot, and sales have increased 25 percent each year since its founding.

A part of this rapid growth stems from the company’s commitment to nurturing relationships within the travel agent community. McMillan recalls an especially memorable $130,000 booking that took place in 2017, when an advisor approached the Eclipse team with an unusual request: He wanted to book a series of conservation-focused tours, starring his friend — an Australia-based television star — as the lead guide.

“This particular celebrity had successfully run tours in the past but wanted to expand his horizons to new, more adventurous areas,” McMillan said. “We managed to secure space on an expedition cruise to the Arctic for 20 people. It sold out and was a huge success.”

Agent Advocate

These guys will never steal your clients — seriously. When advisors book with Eclipse, they’ll provide net pricing and the guarantee that they’ll never contact a client directly (unless an advisor requests it). They also host fam trips; McMillan most recently accompanied a group to Patagonia.

“The main challenge was convincing clients and agents to trust us with their business,” he said. “Over time, we feel we have achieved this by providing a high level of service and quality experiences, which has resulted in exceptional customer feedback.”

www.eclipsetravel.com

Five years ago, Nicki Bruckmann found herself stuck: A recent divorcee, she felt burned-out from a career in corporate America and craved a vacation that would push her out of her comfort zone while satiating her appetite for adrenaline.

“I was out a travel buddy, and I felt completely at a loss,” she recalled. “But one evening, I had an epiphany: I couldn’t possibly be the only woman in this predicament.”

So, fueled by a late-night bottle of wine — what Bruckmann calls “the genesis of all brilliant ideas” — Explorer Chick was born. After an initial stall in selling her first trips, Bruckmann set off across the globe to gather new ideas, jumping from waterfalls, hiking mountains and meeting like-minded female travelers along the way. She returned with refreshed vigor and set to work.

Explorer Chick’s portfolio is vast and varied, but clients who join these trips are guaranteed to indulge in challenging, bucket-list-worthy experiences, from camping across U.S. national parks to whitewater rafting near Machu Picchu in Peru or glacier trekking in Norway’s icy fjords.

“The biggest hurdle was defining Explorer Chick in the travel space,” she said. “Being exposed to other operators through conferences and research, and just being in the industry, I have come to realize that travelers are often treated as dollar signs, not humans. I have 36 years of experience being a customer, and I had zero years of experience in the travel industry when I launched Explorer Chick. But I created a travel company that, as a traveler, I would want to join and book.”

And one promise Bruckmann makes to her clients? You won’t find any bland itineraries, large group sizes, low-quality customer service or run-of-the-mill experiences on her trips.

Word to the Wise

The demand for female travel is booming; tour ops big and small are increasingly introducing their own women-only product lines. But Bruckmann cautions advisors to heavily qualify their clients for Explorer Chick, as the company’s products are not one-size-fits-all.

“Agents should be aware that we are not for every woman,” she said. “So we ask that advisors only book women who are genuinely ready to embark on something new and challenging. Our itineraries are more of a half-marathon than a 5K race; new clients should be able to meet the stated physical demands or have a training plan in place.”

www.explorerchick.com

Rudy Maxa, the creator of Maxa Tours, may very well be the newest kid on the tour operator block.

But that’s not to suggest he’s an industry newbie. Maxa has visited hundreds of destinations throughout his life, and his decades of experience as a well-known travel journalist have made him a household name. In addition to being the on-air host and executive producer of the Emmy award-winning series “Rudy Maxa’s World” — which is broadcast on public television and overseas on Travel Channel International — he’s also at the helm of America’s most widely syndicated radio travel show, "RMWorldTravel with Rudy Maxa and Robert & Mary Carey."

Last month, Maxa debuted his newest venture, Maxa Tours, at the Los Angeles Travel and Adventure Show, showcasing a line of luxury itineraries for groups of 20 or fewer across European destinations such as Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Monaco, Switzerland and Scandinavia.

It may have been his star power (or perhaps beginner’s luck), but by the end of that two-day event, Maxa Tours sold about $100,000 in product.

“The biggest hurdle is to make sure we get our name known,” Maxa said. “And since we literally just launched Maxa Tours at that event, it was a delight to be received so well and so quickly.”

Old Dog, New Tricks

After more than 15 years and dozens of episodes showcasing destinations as a journalist, Maxa says he was often asked by friends and fans alike to help plan trips.

“But the idea of starting my own tour business was not really on my immediate radar," he said. "I connected with a business partner who had experience putting together trips in Europe, and he helped me realize that, together, we could develop tours at a price lower than larger, luxury competitors.”

Note: Be sure to let your Travel Channel International-obsessed clients know that Maxa will join each tour in 2019.

www.maxatours.com

With offices in each Central American country, Pure Central America has spent the past three years distinguishing itself as an expert in crafting single- and multi-country itineraries within the region.

Not to be confused with Pure Travel Group (which operates tours in South America), Pure Central America's origin is a case study in cross-border collaboration: Pure’s seven “owners” are each former independent DMCs from Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama and Nicaragua. After initially meeting at a travel trade show, they decided to merge — under a unified set of standards and operational practices — to create a reliable, one-stop solution for selling Central America to the travel trade, according to Victor Gomez, sales manager for Pure.

“We wanted to join our strengths in promoting the region as a whole, given its similarities in cultural and natural richness,” Gomez said. “Our full-time staff are experts who live in and are from each country they represent.”

Advisors can choose between approximately three itineraries per destination for single-country tours, or tours that explore the highlights of several countries at once.

A Unified Force

The seven branches of Pure include separate departments for marketing, sales and administration, and the team remains in contact through bimonthly Skype meetings to increase cross-country communication and effectiveness. When advisors book single-country itineraries, they will be directed to one local expert within that respective Pure branch; for multi-country itineraries, they will work with the company’s head office in El Salvador.

“We want to greatly increase our service within the U.S., and our entire purpose is to make the lives of busy travel agents easy and simple by making them stars in the eyes of their clients,” Gomez said. “We’ll do that by being the benchmark of quality against other newcomers in the future, and by providing local expertise, care and courtesy throughout each client’s journey.”

www.pure.tours

Ashley Blake, the founder of Traverse Journeys, believes in the transformational power of travel.

But while she hopes her tours are enriching for clients, she’s also interested in giving back to the locals in the communities that she visits. Because of this, Traverse was created around promoting eco-friendly, social-impact tourism.

“We want to be leaders in an industry that is overwhelmingly moving in a direction toward responsible, transformative and immersive travel,” she said. “Across every branch of the industry, we see the demand, and it’s apparent that the need for this kind of travel is key to a more peaceful world.”

Clients booking with Traverse Journeys have access to a variety of unique activities across several destinations. Itineraries may be focused toward specific types of travelers — families, hikers and yogis, for example — or around a theme, such as history, cultural immersion or nature. But Blake and her business partner, Laura Hamm, tie these offerings together with an underlying focus on cultural education.

“In Ireland, we learn about heritage seed saving; in Morocco, we partner with a Berber women’s textile co-op; and in Peru, we learn about Quechua language preservation,” Blake said. “So, we want to provide a grounding connection to local culture and history in each location, along with an opportunity for travelers to engage with residents in a meaningful way.”

Next-Level Giving

Advisors can be assured that each hotel, restaurant and guide across the 20 countries in which Traverse operates has been vetted extensively, and that profits directly benefit the surrounding community. All itineraries also include a “community partner” organization that will receive a 5 percent donation from the trip's total sales. An added bonus? Agents can experience Traverse tours for themselves, at a 35 percent discounted rate.

“As a travel agent, you have a vested interest in the travel experience your client receives, and we take our part in providing that experience very seriously,” Blake said.

www.traversejourneys.com