Travel-way: What the network Terra Andina and how is it made?
William Wadoux (left in the picture): Terra Andina was born 15 years ago in Bolivia, where a group of friends made the bet that the travel would unfold and flourish online. The idea was to continue to function as a group of friends, helping each other to open their agency on a heart stroke destination they knew well. This worked very well (more than fifteen destinations covered now) and our group continues to grow. The common feature, apart from a friendly business climate is that everyone knows the country he intends to discover and ensures that its business had an equally extensive knowledge of the destination, committing them to travel a lot for learn more and more. It makes all the difference as I found out by talking to business working for other tour operators ...
V-A: Around what values and principles have you found?
WW: Around the values of sharing, sincerity and authenticity. Both of us in the direction of our customers. For example, unanimously reject the abuses of marketing and other abuses of language become habitual: "the most beautiful this", "the best that." That offers them on loan from travel or tailor, also explains sincerely as possible to our future customers what they can expect to live, what is possible, desirable and what is the not. And if one offers an authentic encounter with the people, it is no staging or artifice. Similarly we build on the environmental dimension of a given action if one has made a firm commitment to a specific program.
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V-A: At this point, Are your travel proposals hit the seal "responsible tourism"? Labeled in one way or another?
WW: No. We work all together in the spirit of a more responsible, sustainable, responsible tourism, but each manager to offer products that suit him, nothing is labeled or so official. It is a spontaneous process. That said, we work a lot with local communities. In most of the proposed circuits are included for stays of two or three days in a given community. For my part, I created an association 15 years ago in order to finance the projects of some Indian communities in the Amazon. And I try more and more to bring my two worlds (! Customers will have to do better than fruits and vegetables) as helping community visited by travelers strapping her garden to house wild animals, or helping another such community to rebuild its reception rooms. This is also the case for the majority of managers of Terra Andina.
V-A: What kinds of trips do you offer and what are their characteristics?
WW: It offers various trips but excelled primarily in the custom-made, true. It a month ago, a client asked us to discover the country only on the theme of trains. So we mounted a journey he was delighted. For what reasons ? This brings us to your second question: what characterizes us above all is our knowledge of the country, such a mastery of the destination that we can best combine a program that best meets the traveler's wishes (which always search a unique and personal experience) while integrating the practical and logistical data that will make the proposal a pleasant success every second and not a chore. This naturally involves upstream contact quality with the future traveler and our teams are trained there.
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V-A: What is your background and why you have created a travel agency?
WW: Initially, I'm an engineer Telecom. I came to Ecuador to work on a major project on behalf of Alcatel. When the mission was completed, the company wanted to send me away, but I had fallen in love of the country and one of his daughters. So I resigned, took care of a contemporary art gallery for two years and then came back to France where I reworked as an engineer before jumping at the chance to come here in 2007 to take care of the foundation Latitude on, which had received significant donations he had to manage until 2013. it was at that time the manager of Terra Andina Ecuador told me of his desire to live another adventure in Australia and asked me to resume later. Having a good knowledge of the country as the travel arrangements of the foundation, I said yes.
V-A: Do you work with tour operators or only live?
WW: Both. And in equitable proportions, almost 50/50. We intend for example, from our customers 'pros' of tour operators as Huwans or Unusual Continent.
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V-A: Which customers do you turn?
WW: Essentially to individuals and families. Proposals on medium and high-end, Ecuador is a destination that is not given. Large groups are not our specialty, but small groups looking for a thematic approach, no worries. We have just organized a great trip for a group of Canadian farmers who wanted, among other things, find a number of typical local farms.
What we discover with you that we would not approach necessarily in a classic trip?
WW: I want to say: real encounters. With the locals, but also, quite simply, the dream trip that we cherish. The "rendering" we offer from this "journey dream" stickiness maximum to the wishes of the people who come to us. Because we, what we want above all is that our customers are happy. We live with this obsession and then it causes a lot of touches. We had noticed for example that most customers were excited by the abundance of exotic local fruit species, often unknown elsewhere. Then distributes each a triptych on which are represented all the strange fruit that can be discovered. I also spent six months on a map of the volcanoes of such countries one sees them from the Pan-American highway: as rounded top, such a significant figure correspond to a particular volcano. We also just write a document containing all the good practices and attitudes to meet during his trip. And this will be extended to all network agencies. We try to have fun, but also to instruct and facilitate rapprochement between the people.
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V-A: Why is it called Ecuador "the country of 4 worlds"?
WW: All simply because it has 4 very different regions: the Amazon, the Andes highlands located on the other side and finally in the middle of the ocean, the Galapagos. A record diversity. Thanks! I missed that. No, seriously, I spoke earlier of the abuse of superlatives in tourism marketing, but since it is us, you still have to know that Ecuador has the biggest biodiversity in the world (in relation to its cut). And cumulative number of records Impressions: greater diversity of bird species, orchids, ecosystems (72), etc. From this point of view, exploring the Galapagos remains a unique experience. You can still approach the animals as close as unaccustomed to humans, they are not afraid. That alone is fascinating.
V-A: What, for a traveler discovering Ecuador, the major assets of this country?
WW: First, ease now that there is to travel from one end to the other. Enriched by oil, Ecuador has adopted a few years of the best road networks of the two American continents. We can absolutely discover this country, no security problem, family, freedom and driving his car, ... 15 days! Backpacking or passing of a 3 * to 4 * choice. At the nuance, as I mentioned, that Ecuador is passed to the US dollar (the dollar so), life is not given. But beyond this first major logistic asset, the population - which continue for most numerous ethnic component to bear the traditional dress - are a tremendous asset. And the nature, of course. We just find a place on the coast the highest density of manta rays in the world (another superlative, sorry, but it is right). It is very impressive. 1h30 from Quito, you deemed an observatory to birds and Amazon remain here very protected. After 1:30 of domestic flight, you find yourself in the middle otters, crocodiles, freshwater dolphins and monkeys thousands.
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V-A: According to the returns you get, what appeals most to travelers leaving with you?
WW: Our guides. We know how the fact of having a knowledgeable guide and passionate account transmission in one trip. Critics as praises are also often centered on them. We, our customers incense our guides for their choice of accommodation, activity, people met, their capacity to respond to unforeseen or just what they bring to the people they accompany. We are very proud of our guides.
V-A: What more does it bring to have a network of partner agencies throughout Latin America?
WW: The network strength is manifested among other course in the combined countries we organize. This also allows to propose associations that make sense, because unlike the administrative logic that countries such stops there and another begins here, it exists in the real world a natural continuity, cultural, etc. that mocks borders invented by bureaucrats. Thus we can offer a product on the Haciendas reducing you from those of Ecuador than in Colombia. Journey would not be complete without one or the other approach. I still think of this exceptional handset Galapagos-Ecuador-Santiago-Easter Island bringing together two of the most legendary islands. We have, we, an agency in each country to better organize the trip, but the client himself has only one contact. So when people have a little time and want to go to Latin America, we become automatically their ideal partner.
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V-A: You deal thus, in addition, an NGO. Can you tell us a few words?
WW: In 2005, I created in France with a friend, an association proposing to help the Amazonian populations. And I have since created here a structure that allows to implement various conservation projects or development. We handle such a boat that offers cruises undertaken in Peru. Or, Ecuador, a reforestation program to prevent the extinction of endemic species. Moreover funded program, this one, by Good Planet, the Yann Arthus-Bertrand Foundation. And then, of course, customers are trying to raise awareness and offer their often during their journey, to go through this or that solidarity box. To them to answer the prompt. Or not.
Links to Terra Andina Ecuador travel deals
http://www.voyageons-autrement.com/voyage-terra-andina-ecuador/equateur
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