TruTravels, the British-based youth travel and social adventure specialist that was purchased by Toronto-based G Adventures in 2018, has launched trade sales in Canada for the first time, offering an expanded trip range and new ways to travel designed to meet post-pandemic demand for active trips and private accommodation.

The move to sell via the trade in Canada – previously sales were limited to the UK and Australia – comes as the small group operator aims to make it easier for agents to connect travellers to the right trip by categorizing its collection into four styles of travel targeting millennial and Gen Z travellers: Classic, FitVentures, SailVentures, and Flashpacker.

TruTravel co-founder Mark Pope says the pause in international travel caused by the pandemic gave the company the opportunity to rethink its product positioning in terms of changing traveller needs and wants, and how they could make its portfolio more agent-friendly as travel consultants become more important for consumer peace of mind.

“We’re thrilled to be bringing our super fun range of trips to Canadian agents to sell to a younger market of travellers. Our itineraries have a high level of structure and plenty of inclusions, making them an easy and economical solution for both time-poor young professionals and independent backpackers who are looking for an added social element as part of a bigger adventure,” says Pope, who started the company in 2012 with partner Joe Fallon after an “epic backpacking trip” that made them quickly realize corporate office life wasn’t for them.

To that end, the pair launched TruTravels, embracing a youthful, laid back and fun-filled approach to group travel “designed to make travellers feel like they are on holiday with a bunch of mates, where one of them ‘just happens to know where they are going.’”

The company is also committed to using travel as a force for good to benefit all involved – their customers, local communities, suppliers, and the ‘TruCrew’ team of staff and tour guides.

With first post-pandemic departures slated for Bali and Thailand in October, the new TruTravel tour styles include traditional “Classic,” offering itineraries in Vietnam, Thailand, Bali, Mexico, Sri Lanka and Colombia, as a well as three new categories:

• ‘FitVentures’ caters to travellers seeking fitness-focused and wellbeing experiences such as beach-based bootcamps. Tours include “Bali Energise” and “Thailand Energise,” the latter a nine-day adventure that offers morning Muay Thai classes, bike rides around Koh Phangan, beach HIIT classes in Koh Tao, hikes, temple visits, sunset paddleboarding, Thai massage, and more.

• The ‘SailVentures’ style enables travellers to combine exploration and action with ‘floatilla’ parties in Greece and Croatia throughout summer 2021. The eight-day island “Croatia Sailing Adventure” island hops along Croatia’s coastline, visiting Split, Mljet National Park, Dubrovnik, Brac island, and Plitvice Lakes, with travellers sleeping and sunbathing on their own private yacht before stepping ashore to explore historic towns, sip cocktails on the beach, and visit the party-central hotspot, Zrce Beach on Pag Island.

• ‘Flashpacker’ is a natural progression from a backpacker and epitomizes the popular term coined for those travellers who are looking to ‘keep it real,’ but with a splash of style and private accommodation. Along with a tour in Thailand, “Bali Bliss” flashpackers will visit beach clubs, sip cocktails on cliff tops, learn to cook traditional Balinese cuisine, ride the waves in a surf lesson, lounge by blue lagoons, and paddleboard through mangroves, while also enjoying nights out on the town.

All small group adventures offered by TruTravels’ are led by a tour guide – dubbed a “TruNinja” – who also acts as a kind of ‘social director’ making sure the group has a fun time travelling together as they hit all the highlights of the destination.

For info, email agents@trutravels.com or visit HERE.