VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations Caters to the Growing Active Travel Interest with New Trips and additional Departures for 2015

Studies Show That More Travelers Want to Participate in Healthy Activities Like Cycling and Walking While on Vacation, VBT Experiencing Double-Digit Growth in Bookings This Year

BRISTOL, VT — December 3, 2014 — According to the Adventure Travel Trade Association, adventure travel worldwide has grown at an average of 65 percent a year over the past few years to an estimated $263 billion in 2013. America’s oldest bicycling tour operator, VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations has been a leader in providing active vacations for over 44 years. With the number of cycling enthusiasts growing to 3.8 million in 2013, as reported by the Gluskin Townley Group, there are more travelers interested in VBT’s signature tours that combine active exploration with one-of-a-kind cultural experiences.

“The popularity of active vacations is continuing to explode among baby boomers and seniors as more and more travelers realize the health benefits of seeing the world by bike or on foot,” says Gregg Marston, President of VBT Bicycling and Walking Vacations. “Not only do you see the world up-close and personal, you do so in a very eco-friendly way by leaving a smaller carbon footprint.”

As more travelers are choosing cycling and walking vacations as their way to see the world, VBT is experiencing significant growth in all segments including their European portfolio of tours. With this growing demand, the tour operator added three new cycling and walking vacations in these regions: La Bella Toscana: Lucca, Montecatini and Pisa, Berlin to Dresden: Hidden Gems of Eastern Germany and Walking Austria, Germany & the Czech Republic: A Bohemian Rhapsody. And with more requests for vacations both near and far, VBT also brought back their popular Cycling South Africa: Cape Town & the Garden Route and introduced Colonial Virginia: Riding the Road to Independence to allow travelers to have immersive active travel experiences closer to home.

As travelers crave authentic cultural experiences that they can’t always organize on their own, VBT’s signature discovery moments are designed to bring guests closer to daily life in each destination, even if just sampling regional cuisine. For example, on the Walking Italian Lakes tour, travelers will have the opportunity to dine at a local enoteca, where they’ll taste Piedmontese wines and dine on local culinary specialties like bagna cauda. For travelers seeking to participate in the culture and heritage of a region first-hand, VBT guests can look forward to unique group activities such as home-hosted meals, language lessons and cooking demonstrations. For example, travelers on VBT’s Poland: Cycling through the Old World enjoy dinner and a wine tasting with a local family who then teach the group how to make a family recipe that has been passed on for generations.

In addition to bringing its travelers closer to the local life of a particular destination, VBT provides these award-winning active vacations at unsurpassed value. The company’s low prices include many meals, all accommodations, complimentary use of VBT bikes and walking poles, expert local Trip Leaders, a support van, and roundtrip international airfare from over 30 gateway cities.

To request a catalog or to reserve a VBT active vacation, visit www.vbt.com or call 855-365-3926.