Lonely Planet has teamed up with Intrepid Travel to launch
Lonely Planet Experiences, a series of tours designed to positively impact
local communities.
The experiences, which Lonely Planet says will bring its
guidebooks to life for the first time, include 200 day-tours operated by Intrepid’s
day-tour company, Urban Adventures, and more than 130 multi-day tours focused
on walking, cycling, food, festivals, family and more.
Lonely Planet said
the experiences are designed to have “a low environmental footprint while
having a positive impact on local communities.”
All tours will have a maximum of 16 travelers and be led by
a local leader, use local transportation, support locally owned-businesses and
like all Intrepid Travel trips, be 100% carbon-neutral.
The collaboration marks the first time since in its four
decades ago that Lonely Planet has worked with a tour operator. The company
said that the launch is part of a strategy to maximize adjacent business
opportunities under the recently appointed CEO, Luis Cabrera, who stated, “This
is an exciting innovation and evolution for the Lonely Planet brand.”
The tours will run on six continents and in 65 countries,
ranging from 2 hours to 22 days. Day tours include an insider's trip through
the most famous fish market in Tokyo and an evening stroll through Sydney’s
emerging small bar scene, while multiday destinations feature a Vietnam tour
that will “uncover the best in backstreets, canals, the countryside and island
beaches,” and a Mexico tour offering “enthralling adventure from Mexico City to
Playa Del Carmen.”
Participants will get discounts on Lonely Planet guidebooks
and free access to Lonely Planet’s Guides app, plus Lonely Planet insight
throughout the tours.