G Adventures kicks off 35th anniversary celebration at GX Jordan

GX Jordan officially got underway in Amman last night with a community marketplace featuring food and local projects supported by G Adventures’ non-profit partner, the Planeterra Foundation.

All participants on location for the weeklong celebration of the power of community tourism gathered to kickoff the third annual GX, previously held in Peru and India.

Meet the Canadian Change Makers

“First impressions, I’ll be honest, I had to stop, pause, as I started to cry. I was blown away. Two of the projects here I’ve been to personally. G Adventures is all about supporting local communities and to come here tonight and see the fantastic work that we’ve done to support these communities is breathtaking, I’m really proud,” David Green, managing director Canada at G Adventures, told TravelPressToday. “One of the big takeaways for me is that we are probably the only company that I’m aware of in the world that dares to bring their whole community together. Whether it’s travellers, our agents, our G staff, our suppliers or media friends, this is an opportunity to celebrate exactly how travel could be done better, celebrating the work that we’ve done and the opportunities we have ahead.”

Close to 700 travel industry representatives, including travel advisors from Canada on a track called Change Makers and key consortia members, will be experiencing some of the highlights of the destination this week like Petra, Wadi Rum and the Dead Sea, while also visiting Planeterra projects like Beit Khayrat Souf, a women-owned and managed café that was started with the purpose of combating women’s unemployment and building a strong community of women leaders.

The Canadian Change Makers track kicked off with a city tour 

G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip pointed out that this year’s GX marks a milestone anniversary for the tour operator.

“This year is super special because it is our 35th anniversary… I came to Jordan about year ago now and I just saw how beautiful this country is and they need tourism back behind the crosshairs of a lot of political things going on in the world right now. Tourism is down significantly. I love the power that we can use GX to bring tourism here,” he said. “The hero of GX is the destination. The hero is Jordan. We are excited to show you all Jordan and show you how beautiful this country is.”

Put on in partnership with Visit Jordan and Royal Jordanian Airlines, GX is not only a showcase of community tourism, but also of Jordan, which has witnessed a significant drop in tourism in recent years because of being located in a “noisy neighbourhood.”

“It’s a blessing that you are here. We’ve been working on this for over a year,” shared Malia Asfour, director of the Jordan Tourism Board in North America. “Community tourism is our office’s DNA. We are very excited that you are going to be visiting these communities. They’re part of our Meaningful Travel Map, they really understand how tourism can be a force for good and you all are making that happen. Please tell your family and friends what a great time you are having here — we need more people to come and experience this incredible country.”

The event culminates with the World Community Tourism Summit on World Tourism Day on Sept. 27, featuring speakers, panel discussions and engaging conversations on how tourism can benefit everyone involved.

“We’re here to celebrate tourism and how powerful tourism can be. You’re going to see the projects here, the work that we do through community development and community tourism, which is something we’ve been specializing in for 35 years now,” added Poon Tip. “It’s a bit of an emotional time for me as I started this company 35 years ago and this is to celebrate our birthday. This week is to celebrate G Adventures and the work that we’ve done for 35 years.”