ACIS Culture of Care in Action: Current Travel to Peru
Travel, by its nature, throws us curve balls all the time – whether a strike, a weather delay or a serious political situation – and how an organization responds and how we conduct ourselves reveals much about the culture and non corporate side of a business. We like to talk about the ACIS culture of care, but what does that truly mean?
Recently, the situation in Peru has made it impossible for our travelers to go there. As Peruvians struggle for democracy, and the political situation became unpredictable, our responsibility to ensure the safety of all of our travelers became priority over any itinerary. Normally our programs are planned months, or even over a year in advance. Students are excited about the opportunity to travel with their schoolmates and to see iconic sites so we don’t want them to be disappointed.
Still, we had to think fast and act responsibly. Working with our group leaders individually we made changes to their destinations.
We had one boys school of 30 passengers from the Boston area pivot from our Incan trail program to our Ecuador and Galapagos tour. The program consultant worked with the teacher to see what would be the best fit for this group. Then our operation team worked diligently with our partners in Ecuador and our flights department to make it happen quickly. Now less than a month away and their new flights, hotels and another amazing experience is still on the horizon.
Most of the groups are staying within Latin America but we even had a group decide Europe was a better option for them. Even at a loss to ACIS we made sure that all Spring groups were given an option that would cost them no more money. Thanks to the amazing spirit and partnership with our group leaders, we managed to accommodate all of our travelers.
We have always shouted out that our differentiation is our ACIS culture of care, the obsessive attention to deliver a quality experience with confidence in partnership with our group leaders and our team.
There may well be a balloon up in the sky, a bump in the road, but in the end, the value of travel is worth more than any inconvenience! Finding the right partner to journey with is worth the time.
See you out there somewhere.
Peter Jones In 1978, Peter Jones founded ACIS with a few colleagues, who all believed that travel changes lives. Knowing the important difference between a trip that’s mediocre and one that’s extraordinary, he built ACIS from a deep belief and understanding that ACIS group leaders and participants deserve the best—from itinerary development to hotels to perhaps most importantly, the people hired to guide teachers and students throughout the journey.
