Audley's roots
It was while travelling around Indochina, India, and Australasia in 1991, following his graduation from the London School of Economics, that Craig Burkinshaw, Audley's Managing Director, had the idea for a way of sharing his passion for the places he had been. Vietnam was then a little-visited destination with much potential but little infrastructure, a place that seemed off-putting to many people who would love to see the country if there were some way of visiting without pulling on a backpack and going it alone.
Asian Journeys
For the next couple of years Craig led his own small guided group tours around Vietnam - getting to know both the region and the business - and he is still in touch with many of the people from his very first tour. In 1996 he joined forces with fellow LSE-graduate John Brewer to found 'Asian Journeys', a company specialising in tailormade travel to Southeast Asia (including group tours with Terry Sullivan, who continues to lead tours for Audley). The company's first brochure was produced in September of 1996, featuring photographs by Bill Hobdell. That was also the year the company took on its first employee, and in 1998 Nick Coates joined Asian Journeys as well.
The birth of Audley Travel
By offering unique, private itineraries to clients who wanted to travel according to their own schedule, the company expanded into North & Central Asia in 1998 and the Indian Subcontinent in 1999, quickly outgrowing its small premises in Northampton. In 2000 we moved to a converted barn in the rural Oxfordshire village of Stratton Audley, and in 2001 the name 'Asian Journeys' became obsolete with the creation of the company's South America programme. It was then that the company metamorphosed into 'Audley Travel'.
Going from strength to strength, Audley's Africa, Arabia and New Zealand programmes were created in 2003, with Australia following in 2005. Again needing larger premises, in 2006 Audley moved to the New Mill in Witney, Oxfordshire, a handsome converted blanket mill on the banks of the River Windrush. In 2007 the Canada, Alaska and the Arctic programme was created. The company is now organised by region as eight individual 'mini-companies' under the Audley name, each filled with expert country specialists. Although Audley now takes clients to over 50 countries we still pride ourselves on our staff's intimate knowledge of the places we visit, and our specialist knowledge has in fact increased as we are able to devote more experts to each country.
Responsible Travel
The company grew from Craig's passion for Vietnam, and as the company has developed we have been able to continue this passion by being ever more socially and environmentally responsible in the countries we visit. To this end we are proud to have earned the highest Responsible Travel rating possible from AITO. In almost all circumstances we have been able to identify accommodation options that are based on sustainable lines, showing great respect towards the environment and treating employees in a responsible manner. All Audley staff now undergo training in Responsible Travel, and we reached a landmark by creating the Audley Charity Portfolio, which offers permanent support to projects about which we are particularly passionate. All staff trips are now balanced by carbon offsetting.
Recommended by our clients
Although we do still advertise, 80% of our business now comes from people who have travelled with Audley before or have had Audley recommended to them by those who have done so. At the heart of everything we do is this pride in creating the best possible tailor-made itineraries for our clients and doing everything we can to ensure they are so happy with their trip that they recommend us to their friends and family. This ethos was rewarded when the readers of the Observer and Guardian voted us 'Tour Operator of the Year' in the papers' prestigious annual travel awards, and it is this level of client satisfaction that we are determined to maintain in the future.