by Bert Archer
Last updated: 7:00 AM ET, Thu April 24, 2025 
TravelPulse Québec spoke with Yves Marceau, VP of Operations for G Adventures and head of their US operations, to find out if recent events will change their program, their way of doing business, or their bottom line.
For those who know G, the interview came as a surprise—and not a surprising one at all.
What surprises no one is that American developments regarding DEI, immigration, and all that, do not shake them.
"G won't change any of its policies. We are what we are, and we'll stay that way as a company. That's it," he says.
And as for the situation with the decrease in travel to the United States by Canadians and others, that is not an issue either, but for a different reason.
The American market
"You know, it's never been one of our main destinations. It declined during Trump's first term, then COVID hit, and it never really recovered," he concludes.
What he's seeing now is a small increase in domestic travel, with American tourists traveling within their own country's borders.
"We continue to see strong demand from Americans who want to travel within the United States. Alaska is in demand, and national parks remain popular. So we're continuing to develop some product for the American domestic market," he explains.
Lucky the Americans, but lucky for us too, because it gave rise to a somewhat surprising idea—in the context of G, for whom the Canadian market, despite being a business as Canadian as maple syrup and hockey games, has never represented more than 10% of their global business.
The Canadian Future
After more than 35 years, G will launch a concrete travel program in Canada — and it starts with Quebec.
"We'll definitely be launching them by July, with travel dates likely starting early next year. We're actually planning a winter version in Saguenay, and a summer version of the same trip, in the same segment.
We work with a small inn overlooking the Saguenay. From there, you're not far from Tadoussac—so you can go whale watching, snowshoeing, ice fishing... all the fun activities.
And we are also looking at the Maritimes and Newfoundland.”
There is nothing on the West Coast at the moment, due to high prices.
The French-speaking puzzle
A Francophone from the West Island, like Legault, Mr. Marceau also spoke about G Adventures and French-speaking travelers before leaving our Zoom call.
"We see them on our organized tours, but proportionally, it's probably not representative of Quebec's weight in the Canadian population, let's say. And I don't really know why, because I really think that our trips could interest this audience—especially highly educated Quebecers, who aren't necessarily looking for Cuba or an all-inclusive on a beach, but something a little more adventurous.
I still see this audience as curious, ready to explore, and then very comfortable organizing everything themselves. I think of my aunt and uncle: they travel all over the world, and they plan everything themselves. They don't even go through a tour operator. They don't even ask me for contacts, even though I have them everywhere! They prefer to do their own thing. And I see lots of friends of mine who are the same.
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