Discovery Sets Up Adventure Travel Brand

SILVER SPRING: Discovery Communications is getting into the adventure travel business this summer, offering consumers tourism packages to countries featured in Discovery Channel programming, in partnership with G.A.P. Adventures.

The new venture, Discovery Adventures, plans to offer more than 30 trips beginning this summer. Discovery Channel’s experts will be tapped for insight into the development of specific Discovery Adventures trips, in coordination with the G.A.P Adventures team. Themes and activities for Discovery Adventures will be inspired by Discovery Channel’s programming and upcoming new series. Destinations include, in Latin America: Peru, the Amazon, Ecuador, the Galapagos Islands, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico/Yucatan Peninsula and Costa Rica; in Africa: Kenya, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia, Victoria Falls, Egypt and Morocco; and in Asia: India and China. The trips will encompass "educational tourism, cultural immersion, wildlife encounters, and participation in sustainable world practices, epicurean adventures as well as geographic and environmental exploration," the company said. The website for Discovery Adventures will launch July 30 with trip details and booking capabilities.

"Discovery Adventures is the centerpiece in our strategy to give audiences exciting new ways to immerse themselves in Discovery beyond the TV screen," said Elizabeth Bakacs, the VP of Discovery Commerce Licensing. "As the leader in adventure tourism, G.A.P. Adventures is the perfect partner to launch Discovery Adventures and help viewers experience first-hand the wonder, amazement and diversity of the world as seen every day on Discovery Channel."

Discovery Communications will support Discovery Adventures through a multi-tiered marketing campaign, including on-air programming, in-program mentions, DVD in-program mentions and a dedicated online "Travel" link on the Discovery home page.