Austin-Lehman Adventures Press Releases

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April 2010 - ALA Sees Burgeoning Growth in Custom-Designed “All-Generation Active Vacations” For Extended Families

Apr 05 2010
By Rebecca Werner

Multisport travel company offers active twist on family vacations

Billings, Montana – April 2010 – In contrast with years ago when family members lived in the same city or region all of their lives, today’s extended families are separated by the miles, conflicting schedules and stressful lifestyles. The need to reconnect, coupled with the fact that grandparents and baby-boomers are living longer and being more active, has spurred the dramatic rise in popularity of multi-generational adventure travel.

Active tour operator Austin-Lehman Adventures (ALA - http://www.austinlehman.com/), with a 35-year legacy in the industry, has seen this portion of their business steadily increase by 10 percent each year over the past five years, with a 25% rise just this year. To respond to the increase in active family travel and the growing interest in customized adventures, ALA has created “All-Generation Active Vacations” to directly address the preferences of this market and to complement its menu of organized family trips (http://www.austinlehman.com/pages/family_adventure/190.php).

These custom-designed adventure travel programs are devoted to creating fun, fitness-based excursions for the entire family. Each personalized trip is created by dedicated ALA staffers, who carefully orchestrate flexible itineraries to satisfy every individual need…from the 10-year-old who wants to raft to the 70 year-old who wishes to fish.

“In designing a trip for ten to 20 members of an extended family, we ask about each individual’s physical capabilities, interests and personality,” said Dan Austin, director of ALA. “This helps us develop a program that will satisfy the needs and preferences of every traveler. Our programs are about the luxury of learning, stimulating activity and the attention we bestow on our guests." The company's six-guests-to-one-guide ratio has set an industry standard that makes these immersive trips personally rewarding.

ALA’s custom adventure travel vacations have included a wide range of agendas and aspirations. As examples, for a passionate grandfather who wanted to share a once-in-a-lifetime national park experience with his grandchildren, ALA created an eight-day trip featuring six national parks, a private plane and two guide teams alternately leading this multi-generational trip. ALA also transformed a Bar Mitzvah celebration for twins into an extended family holiday to Israel, culminating with the traditional ceremony and festivities on the last day of the trip. A multi-generational group -- grandparents, their adult children and grandchildren -- are planning a multi-sport adventure in the Black Hills of South Dakota; their ALA-customized itinerary will include activities that appeal to everyone, from exploring Mt Rushmore and other iconic destinations, to blazing new trails on mountain bikes.

Among the key factors that make ALA’s multi-generational trips successful:

· ALA always provides the extras…additional guide, van transportation and special equipment, and separate activities for children so adults can savor the opportunity for down time.

· All-Generation Active Vacations embody inter-generational activity, and a carefully crafted balance of adventure, relaxation and comfort to satisfy all ages and inclinations.

· To keep tweens, teens and adults happy, ALA brings on a third guide to be the “bridge” between these kids and their parents, someone who possesses a cool/hip factor that keeps everyone fulfilled and connected. On its organized trips, ALA also works diligently to match families with similar aged kids; creating peer companions is important to this age group and makes the trip more satisfying to them.

Organized Family Trips Remain Popular

In addition customized adventures, Austin-Lehman Adventures remains one of the leading providers of organized active trips for families. The company features 12 different family vacations to a wide range of destinations, from Yellowstone/Teton, to Alaska and the Canadian Rockies, and a range of departures to appeal to diverse summer travel schedules.

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