New Catalogs Feature Several “Firsts” for Award-Winning Adventure Travel Company
It’s a whirlwind of activity at Austin Adventures in Billings, Montana. For months, the team has been designing two new 2015 catalogs that showcase more than 75 adventure vacations to some of the world’s most distinctive and enticing destinations.
For the first time in the history of the company, which has more than 40 years of experience in the adventure travel industry, the decision was made to go from producing one annual catalog to publishing two.
“Even though it meant more work for us, we decided that taking the singular catalog model and splitting it into two catalogs—one for adults and one for families—would make it easier for guests to “shop” our trips and be wowed by their ideal itinerary,” said Dan Austin, President and Founder of Austin Adventures (http://www.austinadventures.com/).
The Adult Adventure Vacations catalog is 69 pages and includes trips and small ship cruises that take guests to all seven continents—also a first for Austin Adventures.
“We've been waiting for the opportune time to add Asia to our roster, and this is the year! We've had such great success with our Amazon River cruise trips, so when our partners there launched a new cruise that visits Cambodia and Vietnam, we knew we had to be a part of it,” explained Austin.
Other adult vacations that are being offered for the first time include Death Valley (California), Provence (France), South Tyrol & the Dolomites (Italy), Nairobito Masai Mara (Kenya), Best of the Serengeti (Tanzania), the Great Wilderness Journey (Botswana), Galapagos Islands Luxury (Ecuador), and the Chobe River (Botswana).
The Family Adventure Vacations catalog is 56 pages and includes new itineraries that go to Arizona,Croatia,Montana,Namibia,Peru and Scotland. Austin Adventures has always offered family trips, but unlike others in the industry, the company doesn't believe in taking adult itineraries and adding kids to make them kid-friendly. Every family itinerary detail is chosen with children front of mind.
Family vacations are something that the company has always excelled at. In September 2012 Travel + Leisure ranked Austin Adventures the #1 Family Tour Operator in the World and in 2014, Kasey Austin, Vice President of Operations, was named the World’s Top Family Guide by Outside Magazine.
The new Death Valley and Grand Canyon trips are made possible with the help of Xanterra Parks & Resorts®, the industry-leading hospitality company that acquired Austin Adventures in 2013. Xanterra has properties at many of Austin Adventures’ domestic destinations and guests reap the benefits from the close relationship between the two companies.
The exciting news for foreign trips is that for the first time, the bike tours in Europe have been redesigned as multisport tours to keep up with the demand from travelers looking for a variety of active experiences and adventures.
In addition to appearing in the catalogs, all of the new trips can be seen at http://www.austinadventures.com/new-trips-for-2015/.
“The focus for our 2015 trips was providing value, and we accomplished our goal of being able to maintain, and in many cases, lower trip prices,” said Austin.
Although some trip prices did increase, the company is running an early bird promotion where guests who book by Nov.1, 2014 can receive 2014 prices on 2015 trips. Additional incentives include $100 off for first-time Austin Adventures’ travelers who book a trip within 45 days of receiving a catalog, and an alumni referral award that saves alumni $150 on their next trip when someone they refer books a trip.