TORONTO — Adventure travel had top billing at G Adventures’ ‘Special Agent G’ training program last weekend, where 30 Transat Distribution Canada owners and agents across Canada participated in product training sessions.

Taking place at G’s Toronto headquarters, the program aimed to cultivate adventure specialists and provide opportunities for agents to grow their programs, said Bruce Poon Tip, CEO of G Adventures.

“It was a revolutionary idea to take training to another level and we could not have done it without the support of such a great partnership,” he said, adding that TDC has been one of G’s greatest partners in Canada. “Thank you to all of our present and past graduates who inspire us to do great things every day. Without you, we’re nothing!”

The weekend included three morning sessions: ‘What is Adventure Travel’, ‘G Product Training’ and ‘Planeterra’, the non-profit arm and G for Good projects.

TDC owners and agents also learned how to build their business through social media, private groups and storytelling, and participated in role-playing exercises during which members of the G or TDC team provided coaching on how to overcome objections and sell strategies.

Capping off the weekend was a surprise hour-long talk by Poon Tip about the importance of travel agents. Each agent walked away with an Adventure Specialist certificate to display to their clients. They also created business plans and left them with TDC management and their G Adventures BDM to help make sure they happen.

Calling the training “highly effective, Nathalie Boyer, General Manager, TDC, said: “TDC conducts literally thousands of training opportunities throughout the year and this one is clearly one of the best. We applaud G Adventures for creating such an innovative approach.”