TORONTO — G Adventures’ founder Bruce Poon Tip has been named one of Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, adding yet another career milestone to his long list of achievements.
Now in its 11th year, Fast Company’s list honours influential leaders from a range of global industries including technology, design, entertainment, healthcare, media, government, non-profit, sports and travel.
Poon Tip was praised for his innovative thinking behind G Adventures’ ‘Ripple Score,’ a system that enables each of the company’s tours to be rated by the percentage of tourists’ dollars that stay within the communities being visited. Fast Company acknowledged the Ripple Score as brining much-needed attention and unprecedented transparency to the travel supply chain, and for encouraging the company to be held accountable for where its money goes.
On being named to this year’s list, Poon Tip said: “This honour is testament to the work of everyone at G Adventures who believes travel can be a force for good.
“I started G Adventures 30 years ago and wanted to tackle my concerns with the travel industry including leakage, income inequality and culture preservation. The creation of the Ripple Score is one of G Adventures’ most ambitious initiatives, but is just one example of the power of tourism to create a positive change in the world.”
In response to the current pandemic, Poon Tip recently released a short ‘instabook’ called ‘Unlearn: The Year the Earth Stood Still’, which explores what travel could and should look like after this forced ‘pause’ for the industry.
Travelweek recently interviewed Poon Tip about his instabook, the impact the pandemic has had on the travel industry, and how G Adventures is adapting. You can read both interviews here and here.
Poon Tip also served as the closing keynote speaker at Travelweek’s virtual conference, ‘The Future of Travel: Back to Business?’, where he discussed the complexities of travel refunds and booking trends during the pandemic. You can watch the conference in its entirety here.
Fast Company’s editors and writers spent a year researching candidates for the list. According to editor-in-chief Stephanie Mehta, all candidates have all accomplished something truly innovative that is having a measurable effect within their industries and beyond.
“Each year, we recognize artists and conventionally creative people making their mark on business and corporate executives deploying creativity and innovation to address some of the biggest challenges facing businesses and society. Individually and collectively, the Most Creative People are an inspiration,” she said.
To read Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business issue (September 2020), go to https://www.fastcompany.com/most-creative-people/2020.
