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Innovation... Making it work! Adventure Engine |
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Adventure Engine: One-stop adventure shopping
The second fastest growing Internet industry behind banking and finance is travel. Surfers seeking travel deals on the ‘Net check one-stop supermarkets like Expedia for conventional vacation packages and services. However, there is a huge market of people wanting to experience something different: more active, spiritual, cultural, somewhere off the beaten path: trekking in Nepal, a canoe trip in the Yukon, backcountry skiing in the Kootenays, or an African wildlife safari. Surfing for those opportunities takes hours of trial and error, and it is difficult for tour operators to reach their target market.
The notion of packaging ‘adventure travel’ products into a single, convenient database occurred to Amber Hayes three years ago. The system would allow tour operators to market and sell adventure travel to consumers online, worldwide in real-time, creating a marketplace for travelers and agents to search, compare and buy adventure products.
Translating that idea into reality has been a roller coaster ride for Hayes, business partner Kelly Acheson and the Adventure Engine team. However the Engine – www.adventureengine.com - is now running on all cylinders, fuelled with a wide variety of adventures in places as varied as Nepal, the Americas, Africa, Canada and B.C. Big-ticket partners like WestJet are also jumping on board.
“We knew we had an incredible idea, but the challenges were enormous,” said Hayes. “Getting our name out there, the financing issues, the technical aspects of creating the system, selling potential suppliers on the idea, and the people issues in creating a team of eight people, all bringing their specific skills.”
“Having a well-documented plan has been key to our success,” Acheson added. “It’s tougher in a small town, but living here is an adventure itself, and that inspires us.”
Adventure Engine Contact Information -Amber Hayes, CEO
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