G Adventures has announced its popular agent incentive program, Change Makers, is returning for 2020 with even more agents earning their way to the global summit, which is today being revealed as India and Nepal from April 20 – 26, 2020.
The Change Makers challenge incentivises agents to focus on changing people’s lives through travel, and gives them the opportunity to showcase how they have given back to their own community via a social good submission category. Agents who successfully earn a place at the Change Makers Summit will see firsthand how their work directly impacts local communities in the destinations G Adventures goes.
Change Makers is live now and runs until January 31, 2019*. In total more than 150 makers of change from the UK & Ireland, continental Europe, Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and South Africa, will be brought together at the Change Makers Summit which will include members of G Adventures’ team of global purpose specialists and senior leaders from around the world.
The summit comprises of a week-long trip where agents will see their impact in action, with highlights including Planeterra projects such as Women on Wheels and the Delhi Youth City Walk in India, and the Sisterhood of Survivors and Panauti Community Homestay projects in Nepal. There will also be destination highlights to help agents build their product knowledge. The trips ends with a full-day, immersive G Adventures experience with guest speakers, and a special party night to remember.
To be eligible to earn a space, agents automatically receive one entry per ‘life changed’ (traveller booked). They can also enter via the ‘social good’ submission category, by submitting work they have done that gives back to their local community.
David Green, vice president, G Adventures, says G Adventures’ purpose as an organisation is to change lives through travel, and the Change Makers summit has demonstrated its success in reminding agents why they do the job they do.
“The feedback following our inaugural Change Makers Summit earlier this year was nothing short of phenomenal. At G Adventures, we change the lives of our travellers when they choose to explore the world with us and as leaders in community tourism we change the lives of people in the places we go. The natural next step for us was to extend this experience to our valued agency partners to help them remember their own purpose, and the positive impact they have with every booking they make,” says Green.
Adrian Piotto, Managing Director, G Adventures Oceania, says that part of the reason why the Summit and incentive was so well received in Australia and New Zealand, was because of its unique.
“This incentive really was the first of its kind, moving beyond just “sales” and instead looking at lives changed by the impact of travel. The enthusiasm and positive response that we’ve had from Aussie and Kiwi agents – both during the incentive period as well as at the summit itself – has been overwhelming, and further proves that travel agents are passionate about being a purpose-driven community, which truly can be a force for good.”
Piotto believes that the newly revealed Change Maker Summit destinations of India and Nepal brings added reason for agents to get involved in the incentive.
“India and Nepal are huge destinations for Aussies and Kiwis, we see continually strong traveller growth to these regions year on year. Witnessing the transformative power that responsible travel has had in these communities – from the Women on Wheels, to the inspiring Women of SASANE – is going to be an amazing experience for any purpose-driven agents partners.”
One of the 12 agents from Oceania chosen to attend the 2019 Change Makers Summit was Gerry T from STA Australia, who said that attending the Summit in Peru felt like a “privilege” that will have a flow-on effect for how he sells tours to the region.
“I feel so fortunate to have gone along on a truly amazing trip which not only will allow me to approach my future Peru bookings with intimate and first hand knowledge but ramp up how I normally explain and inform my clients of the Planeterra projects in the country.”
The 2020 Change Makers Challenge is live now and runs until January 31, 2020. Agents can visit www.gadventures.com/
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