Exodus Adventure Travels Talks Trends and Savings with TMR Canada

Exodus Adventure Travels wants travellers to discover Europe like never before with their “Fall in Love with Europe” promotion starting today through Feb. 28, with 20% savings on European tours departing March 1 through Oct. 31, 2025.

In an exclusive interview Friday (31) afternoon, Travel Market Report Canada spoke with Sasha Andrews, head of industry relations for North America at Exodus Adventure Travels, and Ontario and Manitoba BDM Krista Rothfuchs.

“Small group guided hiking and cycling is really at the core of what we do and we do consider ourselves the specialist leaders in travel,” said Andrews.

“Hiking in particular for North Americans is hugely popular. Walking and hiking in Europe with expert guides is our biggest segment with about 10% of our business going to the Amalfi Coast, where our top selling walking tour is,” Andrews continued. “We see people really wanting to get out and experience things on two feet or two wheels.”

Andrews says they’re seeing a few trends that the company expects to continue in 2025.  One big one is female travel, which accounts for about six in ten travellers.

“We’re seeing some trends that are similar across the industry which are great for our company and brand because they are reflective of what we already do. Female travel has always been a huge one for us and solo female travellers are our biggest demographic,” Andrews said. “We do find particularly with small groups that women aren’t necessarily comfortable travelling on their own, so having a local guide and the security of a group, helps that.  Solo travel accounts for 50% of our travellers, overall.”

Andrews notes a growing trend of tourists seeking “off the beaten track” destinations, away from larger, more popular tourist areas.

“We’re seeing so much in the press about over-tourism in areas like Venice and Barcelona. But then you go to these little villages in the middle of Sicily and they absolutely want tourists. Those areas are the kinds of places we can bring travellers to, some of smaller ones you can only get to by walking or by bike.

When tourism is done in a responsible and sustainable way, it can be such a positive force.”

Rothfuchs said three weeks ago they released a new training program and that it’s been fun to watch agents more deeply discover Exodus.

“We’re doing more one-on-one trainings in addition to our group trainings and webinars,” Rothfuchs told us. “These are more focused trainings so that it’s interactive and agents can ask questions as we go through the training. It’s nice to have that one-on-one interaction; not only getting to know your BDM but also getting to ask questions while you’re in the process of learning.”

Rothfuchs says BDMs have a variety of tools that agents need to be aware of and stressed the importance of following social media groups to stay up to date on the latest happenings such as the AGENT RESOURCE SITE (webinar sign ups, meet virtually with your BDM, marketing tools), AGENT FACEBOOK GROUP and AGENT NEWSLETTER SIGN UP. To register for upcoming webinars, agents can contact their BDM directly or email agents@exodustravels.com.

Exodus Adventure Travels is also B Corp certified, which in a nutshell means they are dedicated to responsible and sustainable tourism.

“For example, we just partnered most recently with our hiking and cycling operator in Portugal and we helped fund ecosystem restoration after the 2017 fires in Portugal,” explained Andrews.

“It’s those little kinds of things around the world, working with our network of partners and people that really allow us to get in there and have a positive impact on everywhere we travel.”