The 2006 editions of the Britain, U.S.A and Canadian Travel Industry Guides to Canada have named two Great Excursions Co. Ltd. vacation packages among the top five Canadian learning holidays.
The guides, which are distributed to 72,000 travel agents, tour operators, meeting planners and industry professionals throughout the U.S.A., Britain and Canada are influential publications in the tourism trade.
Great Excursions Founder and CEO Claude-Jean Harel expressed how pleased he was with this recognition:
"More than anything, the tourism adventures we stage are about enriching the life of our guests while contributing to the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the communities in which we operate. Obviously, we are delighted to figure in the Guides not only once, but twice. What distinguishes us as a receptive operator is the way we call upon resource experts to bring out the authentic character of destinations and products-and in how we communicate that to the consumer."
The Canadian Travel Industry Guides describe learning travel as "the hottest trend for the new millennium vacationer." This popularity can be attributed partly to changes in the reasons why people travel and seek new types of leisure activities.
The soft adventures and walking tours proposed by Great Excursions are indicative of consumers' increasing level of sophistication. "Great Excursions' Regina Old Warehouse District Tours by night sold out within days last year," Harel points out, "because of their production value but also because of the educational opportunity they provided."
The tour company's Back Alley Safaris, Un-Ghost Tours, 1912 Tornado Tours and 1912 Union Station Redux experiences are all rooted in internationally recognized academic research.
"Our success depends on our willingness to seek new insight as tourism practitioners," Harel explained. "We believe in doing business in a way that helps transform our society into a better one. For instance, ethical issues and the impact of our activities when we engage into aboriginal tourism are always at the forefront. "When we partner with an aboriginal operator, we ensure proper protocols are followed. How we handle other people's culture and heritage is always of great concern to us."
This likely explains why Great Excursions was recently admitted as a Partner Institution to the University of Central Lancashire-based Dark Tourism Forum in the United Kingdom.
"Dark tourism is a field that involves travel to sites associated with death and suffering," according to Harel. "There are many issues to consider when one organizes tours of cemeteries or of places where massacres and other tragic events have occurred. We want to address them appropriately. It could be said that our approach to tourism is very much anthropological. This influences us profoundly, but it doesn't prevent our products from being entertaining. In the end, a holiday has to cater to guests' leisure needs as well."
The two experiences named among the Top Five Canadian Learning Holidays are a guest ranch stay at the Historic Reesor Ranch in the Cypress Hills and a women-only canoeing adventure on the Churchill River offered in partnership with the Canoeski Discovery Company in Saskatoon.
Great Excursions Company Ltd. was established in 1998 as Saskatchewan's leading receptive tour operator with provincial, national and international markets, working with suppliers who share an appreciation for authenticity, quality and responsible tourism practices.
To find our more about Great Excursions, visit: www.greatexcursions.com
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