Nat'l Geo Adventure Mag Chooses Top Outfitters
For the second year in a row, National Geographic Adventure magazine has undertaken a rigorous and wide-ranging assessment of the adventure travel landscape, surveying more than 240 outfitters and talking to their clients to determine the most highly evaluated adventure travel companies.
Here’s how compilers Costas Christ and Claire Martin describe their methodology and goal: “Using National Geographic Adventure’s global outfitter database and with assistance from Sustainable Travel International, The Adventure Travel Trade Association, The International Ecotourism Society, and other travel and tourism organizations, we reached out to hundreds of tour companies around the world. We contacted companies that lead 85,000 people a year and those that cater to a hundred. We surveyed paddling outfitters, trekking guides, safari specialists, and the ones that do it all. We evaluated companies that will take you places you’ve only dreamed of (the Tibetan Plateau, the Serengeti on foot) and those that specialize in your own backyard (the Grand Canyon, the Grand Tetons).
“The outfitters were asked to complete a comprehensive, 30-question survey. Each survey was scored from 1-100 in each of the following categories: Education, Sustainability, Quality of Service, and Spirit of Adventure. Researchers then randomly interviewed client references for every company based on the same categories and generated a fifth score, also between 1 and 100. Each outfitter’s overall score represents the average of these five scores. A team of Adventure editors and travel experts then vetted those with overall scores of 85 and above. From this pool of candidates, we identified the best adventure travel companies.”
The magazine’s findings are published in its February issue. Happily, a number of the Adventure Collection’s members made the Adventure list. Here they are, by category, with the “score” the magazine assigned:
DO-IT-ALL
Operate on at least three continents and offer a wide range of outdoor adventure activities.
Natural Habitat Adventures 94.77
HIKING & TREKKING
Operate on multiple continents and specialize in trekking.
RIVER & SEA
Operate on multiple continents and specialize in flat- and whitewater padding.
O.A.R.S. 96.1
LUXURY
Operate on multiple continents and deliver adventures with first-class services and amenities.
Geographic Expeditions 93.65
BIKING
Operate in multiple countries and specialize in road cycling and/or mountain biking.
Backroads 93.7
ADVENTURE SPECIALISTS
Small-Ship Expeditions: Lindblad Expeditions 95
Heli-Adventures: Canadian Mountain Holidays 94
SAFARI
Operate in one or more African countries and specialize in wildlife viewing excursions.
Micato Safaris 93.43
Congratulations to all the companies that made the list. This inspiring assemblage is an evocative reminder of just how wide and deep the adventure travel world is -- there's something for virtually everyone. Peruse the February issue and let it stoke your wanderlust!
