Jason and Matthew are social studies teachers from Idaho. They have taken their students on six Explorica tours with JP, a San Diego program consultant who has been at Explorica for nine years. Learn more about how they decided to make the switch to Explorica, and how their partnership with JP has made travel easy and impactful.
What first inspired
you to travel with Explorica?
Our first contact with JP occurred while we were traveling with a competitor company. JP shared with us that Explorica could not only provide the same on-tour experience we had been receiving but they could exceed the on-tour experience while providing a better pre-tour and post- tour experience. This was something we could not pass up.
What’s it like working with JP?
JP has been very fun to work with. It is nice having a person that has taken the time to get to know both Jason and me (Matthew) and see the passion we have for taking students on travel trips. With other companies we had to wait weeks or sometimes months for results from a single conversation. JP has been a master of the “quick turnaround,” getting us what we need for our travel program as fast as possible.
How has JP helped you to make your tours the best they can be?
Since we take private tours, we have very specific needs and desires when traveling abroad. Whether it is ice cave adventures in Bavaria, Sumo viewing in Japan, or bagpipe playing in Scotland, whenever we make a request, JP works his hardest to make it happen. Although the switch between companies was a huge leap, it has turned out to be the right decision for our travel program and JP is still our tour consultant six trips later.
What do you think the kids get out of it, and how do you try to go above and beyond for them?
We believe these trips are an experiential immersion opportunity into new cultures for our travelers. We hope students not only learn more about the world around them, but also grow personally as they push outside of their own comfort zones.
We see growth moments on every tour and they annually reinforce the importance of student travel to both of us. One of our favorite quotes, that we overheard a parent say while returning from our first tour was, “We took kids overseas and we returned with young adults.” This quote rings true on every tour we have taken since!
Have you downloaded our new catalog yet? Download to see why teachers choose to partner with us.
