We were lucky to catch up with Kim Giovacco recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Kim, thanks for joining us today. To kick things off, we’d love to hear about things you or your brand do that diverge from the industry standard.

My business is a tour company for vegan travelers. Too often when vegan travelers join a mainstream tour company, they will be told that there will be options for them, but the options are usually quite limited with no choice given, and the traveler is often singled out as vegan and therefore different from the rest of the group. On our tours, guests travel with like-minded people and no one feels that they are the odd one out, nor need to explain their dietary choices and lifestyle.

The way we differ from other vegan tour companies is that our groups are small, with no more than 12 people, and that our travelers receive their own room with no need to share and no need to pay a single supplement.

Our small groups keep things flexible, and we can easily pivot or even take a group vote on various matters.

In addition to tours for vegan travelers, we offer tours for travelers who follow a strict whole food plant-based, no oil/sugar/salt diet. Our chef cooks delicious meals following these guidelines, and we offer these tours near national parks where it is very difficult to find healthy food.

Kim, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Veg Jaunts and Journeys shows travelers the world with a vegan focus. We sightsee, dine at vegan restaurants, take walking tours, and support local vegan businesses whenever we can (cooking classes, shops, animal sanctuaries, and accommodations). On our tours, vegan travelers need not worry about where their next meal is going to come from.

We began part-time in 2016 and full-time in 2017. Before the pandemic eight tours per year, and for 2024 we have 12 tours on the schedule. Our groups have grown from sometimes only five or six people to routinely selling out with maximum 12 people.

I had traveled on my own to about 40 countries before starting the business, and often organized trips for small groups of friends. I had always wanted to work in the travel industry and did have a few positions that were travel-related (editorial assistant for a map and atlas company; public relations manager for Korean Tourism Organization; travel consultant at Walt Disney Travel Company). I then worked for 18 years for the government of Singapore, at a branch office in Boston. The work involved much detail and travel arrangements for high-level government officials, which was great training for my current role as a tour planner and organizer.

I started out as a tour operator, but then several clients contacted me about planning honeymoons and private vacations for them. I then became a travel advisor as well. But now the tours are keeping me very busy, so I am only focusing on those, and no longer offer private trip organizing.

The accomplishment that makes me most happy is the number of repeat guests I have. There are some guests who have joined a tour every year since we began and others who sign up for three or four tours at a time. As well, many clients have become good friends.

The business survived the pandemic, despite having two years of canceled tours. To date, we have run 28 domestic and international tours, and have received all five-star reviews.

I pride myself on highly personalized customer service, by responding to potential and current clients immediately or within one day if I happen to be on the road. Guests constantly comment how happy they are for the quick replies.

How’d you meet your business partner?

My part-time business partner/chef and I would never have met if not for the pandemic. I live in North Carolina and he lives in Illinois. I took an online cooking class from him in the winter of 2021. I really don’t like to cook, but like others, I was trying to fill time during all the down time.

After the five week class ended, we started talking about his passion for cooking and travel, and I let him know that I had potential clients that were asking for tours where they could follow a very strict diet that makes it nearly impossible to dine in restaurants. I had the idea that if instead of staying in hotels, we could rent some large houses, bring a chef along, and have all the meals cooked at the house, eliminating the issue of finding food for these guests. We decided to host these tours near national parks, where it is difficult to find healthy meals, let alone this type of specialized meal. The tours are selling out, some very quickly, and guests are really enjoying them. In fact, most of the guests do not even follow that way of eating, but they think the food is delicious and they enjoy traveling to the national parks without worrying about what they are going to eat.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I have learned to listen to my clients about destinations they would like to visit, but not to chase after everything that they suggest. Some places are just not a good fit for our groups. When I began the business, collaborators would ask to partner with them, for instance, on a yoga retreat. This was not something I wished to explore–my business started out focusing on vegan-friendly European destinations, and that is where my experience lies. I feel that many people are offering yoga retreats, and there was no reason for my business to be involved. Yet when you are starting out, you feel that you should give everything that comes your way a chance. Now I no longer feel the need to do so, and I feel confident knowing what our core focus is. Rather than adding many different types of tours, I plan to just add more destinations.

I also learned that you cannot believe that a client intends to join a tour until you have their non-refundable deposit in hand.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.vegjauntsandjourneys.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vegjauntsandjourneys
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vegjauntsandjourneys

Image Credits
4th photo (2 people and chef): Jack Roberts