Chav-free adventure holiday company is a huge hit

Mar 14 2009 by Rob Pattinson, The Journal

The unlikely ones were: Britney, Bianca, Tiffany, Dazza, Chardonnay, Chantelle, Candice, Courtney, and Shannon, while the likely ones were: John, Sarah, James, Charles, Rachel, Michael, Alice, Lucy, Joseph, and Charlotte.

Alistair said: “We know who our market is, and it was just supposed to be a bit of fun.

“After we sent out the email it just went mad. We got hundreds of replies from all across the world. The next day our website couldn’t cope with all the traffic.

“Domestic travel is undoubtedly doing well, but I think without our ‘chav-free holidays’ we would probably not be in the position we’re in now.

“There’s scope for improvement, because we still believe people will book, but much later in the hope of getting deals.”

As part of The Journal’s Think North East England First campaign we’ve asked families across the region to support local firms and spend on products from the region wherever possible. Activities Abroad, who employ a workforce of 12 to provide husky safaris in Canada and volcano trekking in Costa Rica, among other trips, have committed to our campaign.

The company, who have also launched their first activity break in Northumberland this year, have appealed to families still choosing to travel abroad to consider them when booking activity breaks.

Activities Abroad’s Northumberland package includes three days near Hadrian’s Wall, climbing and gorge walking, followed by three days with fun at the beach, at Bamburgh. Alistair said: “We would love to see more people from the North East booking holidays with us. We love the region, which is why we chose to be based here. We support anything which benefits the local economy. The Journal’s campaign is a great idea.

“We’ve always offered a Geordie discount of 5%, which still applies to anyone from the region. It’s only caught us out once when a man from London rang us and said his son was called Geordie – we had to give it to him really.”