Worldwide Tours Focus On Agriculture
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By offering a mix of farm visits and traditional tours, Explorations by Thor attracts agriculture groups, businesses, and individuals to sign up for customized travel worldwide. The idea to focus on agriculture tours was inspired by six farming uncles who wanted to travel internationally, says Alex Thor, who owns the tour business with his wife, Donna.
Thor caught the travel bug after high school while backpacking with friends and attending college. When he met and married Donna, they shared a passion for travel, and about 15 years ago, they started their business. It took off when they networked with people from their travels to develop farm contacts to showcase agriculture with their tours.
“People like to see, feel, and touch what’s going on,” Thor says. “The tours are educational, and farmers everywhere talk about the same issues such as policy, soil, weather, and climate.”
He contacted the University of Kentucky, a land-grant university, to set up his first tours. About a third of Explorations By Thor tours are with various ag studies. Another third of the tours are with state and county Farm Bureaus, commodity and livestock producers’ groups, etc. Finally, some tours are set up as trade missions with business in mind.
“Some trips are open for anyone wanting to join,” Thor says, noting he promotes his business at ag trade shows, on the business website, and through emails.
Setting up a tour starts with a phone conversation to determine the group’s objectives, available travel time, and budget. Trips are typically $2,000 to $4,000/person (excluding airfare) and 7 to 9 days long or 2 weeks in distant locations such as Africa and Australia. Travelers visit about 10 farms plus local landmark attractions such as the Eiffel Tower in France or cathedrals between farms in Ireland.
“What sets me apart is that as a geography major and cartographer, I’m very detail-oriented with logistics and passionate about ensuring that I’ve looked at everything prior. I know exactly what people will see,” Thor says.
When possible, he and his wife book rooms in smaller hotels and keep the groups small, typically at 20 to 40 people.
With two young children and a home in Kentucky, the Thor’s travel is mainly focused on visiting farms and sites to add to their tours, but they have a network of guides worldwide.
“The biggest thing is, when people work with us, they don’t have to think about anything from transportation to farm visits to accommodations and meals. Someone is there to greet them and get them back to the airport,” Thor says.
The website offers more information about future trips.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Explorations By Thor, P.O. Box 22332, Lexington, Ky. 40522 (ph 859-459-0500; info@explorationsbythor.com; www.explorationsbythor.com).
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Worldwide Tours Focus On Agriculture SPECIALTY/SERVICES By offering a mix of farm visits and traditional tours Explorations by Thor attracts agriculture groups businesses and individuals to sign up for customized travel worldwide The idea to focus on agriculture tours was inspired by six farming uncles who wanted to travel internationally says Alex Thor who owns the tour business with his wife Donna Thor caught the travel bug after high school while backpacking with friends and attending college When he met and married Donna they shared a passion for travel and about 15 years ago they started their business It took off when they networked with people from their travels to develop farm contacts to showcase agriculture with their tours “People like to see feel and touch what’s going on ” Thor says “The tours are educational and farmers everywhere talk about the same issues such as policy soil weather and climate ” He contacted the University of Kentucky a land-grant university to set up his first tours About a third of Explorations By Thor tours are with various ag studies Another third of the tours are with state and county Farm Bureaus commodity and livestock producers’ groups etc Finally some tours are set up as trade missions with business in mind “Some trips are open for anyone wanting to join ” Thor says noting he promotes his business at ag trade shows on the business website and through emails Setting up a tour starts with a phone conversation to determine the group’s objectives available travel time and budget Trips are typically $2 000 to $4 000/person excluding airfare and 7 to 9 days long or 2 weeks in distant locations such as Africa and Australia Travelers visit about 10 farms plus local landmark attractions such as the Eiffel Tower in France or cathedrals between farms in Ireland “What sets me apart is that as a geography major and cartographer I’m very detail-oriented with logistics and passionate about ensuring that I’ve looked at everything prior I know exactly what people will see ” Thor says When possible he and his wife book rooms in smaller hotels and keep the groups small typically at 20 to 40 people With two young children and a home in Kentucky the Thor’s travel is mainly focused on visiting farms and sites to add to their tours but they have a network of guides worldwide “The biggest thing is when people work with us they don’t have to think about anything from transportation to farm visits to accommodations and meals Someone is there to greet them and get them back to the airport ” Thor says The website offers more information about future trips Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Explorations By Thor P O Box 22332 Lexington Ky 40522 ph 859-459-0500; info@explorationsbythor com; www explorationsbythor com
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