Jean-Christophe Gehin, founder of Vercors Aventure, and his ten associates, who are all state-qualified instructors in caving, high mountain guiding, climbing, mountain biking, archery, downhill skiing, cross country skiing and mountain walks, have always managed to keep their feet on the ground. Based in Villard-de-Lans, at the heart of the Vercors, the agency specialises in nature-friendly activities involving different levels of challenge (biathlon, caving, mountain biking, mountain exploration, archery, downhill and cross country skiing, orienteering etc). Definitely not on offer from the agency is the option of snowmobiles or other non eco-friendly activities – which has proved to be a shrewd choice as Vercors Aventure has registered a 22% growth in business whilst most specialist agencies have been knocked hard by the economic crisis.
“Last winter, we organised about 50 seminars and incentives,” recalls Jean-Christophe Gehin. “Business tourism currently represents 35% of our business, which is why we’ve set up a specialist unit called Vert et Blanc Organisation with Philippe Join-Lambert at the helm. It’s a separate department within Vercors Aventure and, in the Autumn, we should also take an even bigger step in our expansion with the take-over of an Isère-based events agency which specialises in gift packages and event organisation. This agency is less mountain-oriented, which will give us more opportunities to develop urban markets”.
At a time of economic stagnation, the other advantage Vercors Aventure offers is its flexibility over rates, with a half-day’s challenge costing between 30 and 70 € per participant (the higher price includes a dinner in a mountain refuge). The municipality of Villard has also entrusted the agency with the management, during the summer months, of the Colline des Bains, a six hectare recreational area located just 10 minutes out of the resort which means that the agency tends to work with most of the hotels located on the “Plateau”. None of this, however, stops it working outside of its own territory.
“We can work on projects up to about 2 hours away from Villard, in the Alps and as far south as the Ardèche”, says Jean-Christophe Gehin. “Our profile fits the current climate and we’ve already been able to prove our worth to companies largely from the Grenoble, Lyon, Paris and Marseilles areas. A number of our clients, such as EDF, BioMérieux, SCREG, Vinci and Décathlon, use us regularly. And we find that word of mouth works particularly well, as up to now we’ve not had to do any marketing”. Vercors Aventure also avoids trade shows, although that will probably change as Jean-Christophe Gehin is looking at participating in the future at Séminaires & Business and the Salon des CE.
Both shows will offer him the chance to promote his “low cost” approach as well as the agency’s commitment to creating friendly events, with a return to simple, nature-friendly values. The majority of Vercors Aventure’s groups consist of 30 people up to 130.
Vercors Aventure, in Villard de Lans (Isère)
Tel.: 00 33 (0)4 76 95 99 45
