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| Discover Adventures by Suzanne Wright Forty-year old Tom McManners, founder and president of Discover Adventures (headquartered in his Virginia-Highlands home), looks exactly how the owner of a soft adventure company should look: fit and handsome in an unfussy way, with boundless enthusiasm. McManners and his wife, Lyn, both former medical instruments salespeople, started the company in late 2001, after two years of research and a number of trips with family and friends. Their first full slate of excursions for the public was offered in 2002 and this year’s snappy, four-color catalog would make you think they’d been in business for years. "We had a strong history of arranging tours and making travel arrangements for our friends,” says McManners of the hobby that has become a business. “After looking at the competition, we realized no one was offering soft adventure tours with a Southeastern focus, so that’s our niche.” In fact, the company has just rolled out a Georgia Wine Country fall weekend getaway for under $1000. McManners says producers in the region are beginning to garner gold medals in national wine tasting events. “There’s a new wine country right in our backyard and you can tour it on bike and by foot.” Discover Adventures seeks to capture a share of the lucrative and growing travel market where high-end, intimate accommodations (mostly bed and breakfasts) are combined with activities such as hiking, biking and kayaking in one all-inclusive (save tips and alcohol) price. Trips include long weekends, called excursions and domestic or international adventures of seven to nine days. McManners is focusing his marketing increasingly in his home base here in Atlanta, which currently accounts for 50% of bookings. “A good chunk of our business also comes from Florida. They love to visit the North Carolina mountains.” The average age is generally 30-50 years. Just how fit do you have to be for a soft adventure vacation? “Just because you are sedentary or even overweight doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy active travel,” he says. “People ages 25-45 are generally in good shape. You don’t have to do any special training to take one of our trips.” Stateside, McManners especially likes the Biltmore and Blue Ridge tour and the Penobscot Bay, Maine, trip and often recommends the Low Country excursion as a good entry point for folks. 'My favorite international destination is Cork and Kerry, Ireland, because I’m passionate about my heritage, and the land lends itself well to the activities. The Loire Valley is also great, with flat terrain similar to the South Carolina coast.” One woman was so charged up after recently taking the Maine trip, she decided to lose weight and run her first marathon (she finished). The confidence gained on trips like these often breeds lifestyle changes, according to McManners. Interestingly, 50% of Discover Adventure’s clients are women. Next year, McManners, who has a toddler and one on the way, is adding six family tours that will incorporate family, couple and children’s activities, along with free time for the couple — and a teenage guide to accompany the youngsters. Discover Adventures is adamant about the 6:1 guest/guide ratio and guides are designed to become travel companions — a bonus if you are a single guest. A comprehensive trip planner is mailed to all clients, complete with tour details, packing lists, discounts for clothing and gear, even local recipes to whet your appetite. All your equipment is provided, and McManners boasts that “we like to arrive at our accommodations via an activity.” In Maine, guests kayak to the arrival harbor of the waterfront B&B. “You sweat on our trips, but there are plenty of attractions along the way. Our routes are stimulating, and I find they create a sense of accomplishment among our clients.” Next year, Discover Adventures will add “distinguished guests” to some tours. Two life coaches will be a part of the Biltmore trip and Joel Attunes, chef/owner of Joel, will accompany a culinary-focused trip to Dordogne, France, in June. “He’s a pretty fast cyclist,” laughs McManners. McManners has big plans for a family-run business that employs just two others fulltime. Although he’s yet to turn a profit (“I think we will next year”), he’s upbeat, even with the myriad challenges of a recession, international travel jitters related to the recent war in Iraq and SARS, and anti-French sentiment (he had to cancel his French trips this year). In addition to adding trips closer to home, the strategy includes offering high-quality vacations at about 80% of the price of his more established competitors such as Butterfield & Robinson or Austin-Lehman, even though multi-sport tours are inherently more expensive than single sport tours. "My mission is to be the premier tour operator in the Southeast,” says McManners. I want to create an awareness that there are great active trips within driving distance of Atlanta.” Not to mention up the Eastern Seaboard and across the pond. For information, visit www.discoveradventures.com. |
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| Click above for more info on Discover Adventures and their upcoming trips with local chefs! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
