G Adventures Announces 2018 Ambassadors of Change

G Adventures recently announced their newest Ambassadors of Change.

Following the successful launch of the program last year, seven new winners were announced on G Adventures’ agent-only Facebook page after a three-month-long, nationwide search.

“Our years of experience bringing travelers into local communities, supporting social enterprises and studying customer feedback have illustrated just how well travel and tourism can be transformative forces for good”, said national sales manager for G Adventures, Jeremy Brady. “There’s still more we can do, though, to bring this message to the masses. “That’s why our agent partners are such key voices in this vision; they help educate travelers about the power of their purchases.”

The new agents’ mission will be to change people’s lives through travel. The group will work with the company’s 10 regional sales leads, also known as global purpose specialists, to help spread the word about tourism as a force for global good.

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G Adventures’ newly-appointed 2018 Ambassadors of Change are:

—Janelle Cook with Women’s Travel Company, an independent agency in Washington state

—Cassandra Harris of Accent on Travel agency and Travel Leaders, located in Virginia

—Sarah Nelson from A World of Travel agency and Travel Leaders, based in Arizona

—Nick Salmen of Remarkable Journeys agency and Travel Leaders, based in Minnesota

—Angela Shah with Gwin’s Travel and the Signature Travel Network in Missouri

—Julia Slatcher from Inspire World Travel agency and Virtuoso, located in Michigan

—Nicole Thibault of Magical Storybook Travels, based in New York state

Candidates were able to submit applications between November 1 and December 31, 2017, and answered three questions online at GAdventures.com/ambassador. From there, G Adventures’ staff selected 11 semi-finalists in a blind review process.

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Each candidate then recorded answers to several more questions making their best pitch to become an Ambassador of Change.

“The candidates we shortlisted and ultimately selected embody the core values we look for in our Ambassadors: charisma, passion and an understanding of the importance of G Adventures’ competitive advantages”, said Jennifer Stevens, senior trade marketing specialist and lead for the Ambassadors of Change program.

The final seven were selected by a panel of judges that included the inaugural class of agent ambassadors. They reviewed and debated the finalists’ applications, before agreeing on six travel agents to represent G Adventures this year. G Adventures staff then made an additional seventh pick.

“Some came prepared with visual aids, including a custom-made “G” crown that was worn during a video interview, while others radiated a contagious, positive energy that beamed through the screen,” Stevens added. “It was no easy task narrowing these selections, but we are confident we now have a fantastic group to help communicate our vision.”

The Ambassadors of Change program began in late 2016 with the idea of building on the company’s commitment to social entrepreneurship, sustainability and responsible tourism for local and global benefit.

The seven new ambassadors will promote the life-changing benefits of travel to their customers, local media, and peer communities while educating consumers about G Adventures’ diverse products and learning tools.

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U.S. marketing director for G Adventures Steve Lima thanked the 2017 ambassador-judges for their time, passion and expertise.

“We really couldn’t have asked for a better group of like-minded professionals to help us launch and prove our concept last year,” said Lima. “My colleagues and I learned a lot from them, and feel very grateful we had the opportunity to team up. We will absolutely apply these new insights to our trade marketing and sales campaigns in future.”

The 2018 Ambassadors of Change will be awarded a series of benefits to incentivize and support their efforts, including but not limited to marketing funds to host educational customer events or fundraisers in support of the Planeterra Foundation; a custom G Adventures communications toolkit; a G Adventures’ gift bag filled with branded wearables and travel accessories; plus travel on one of seven all-expense-paid trips that include visits to a G Adventures for Good social enterprise.