S1E1: Jurassic Journeys: Adventures in Paleontology & Travel
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Welcome to Season 1 Episode 1 of the Travel Trends Podcast where our host Dan Christian welcomes Zach Vanasse, the esteemed founder of Dinosaur Trips, for an engaging discussion on adventures in paleontology and travel. Prepare to hear Zach's inspiring story and the motivations behind launching his innovative travel company, unravel the nuances of his extensive experience within the travel industry and the valuable advice he offers for aspiring entrepreneurs, and gain valuable perspectives on the latest travel trends through the unique lens of paleontological expeditions.
Discover the driving forces behind Dinosaur Trips and the passion that fueled its creation. Gain insights from Zach's journey in the travel sector and glean practical guidance for anyone looking to start their own venture. Plus, don't miss Zach's take on current travel trends, and stick around as Dan challenges his knowledge with a round of Travel Trivia – with a hint of redemption on the horizon for Season 2!
Curious to explore the exciting intersection of paleontology and travel?
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Connect with Our Guest: https://dinosaurtrips.com/
hello and welcome to Travel Trends, where we explore the exciting world of global travel. I'm your host, Dan Christian, a longstanding travel industry executive and entrepreneur. With this podcast, I hope to give back the industry I love and remain so passionate about. In each episode, we'll delve into the journeys of influential executives and entrepreneurs so you can gain valuable insights and glimpses into the current trends shaping our industry. And best of all, in each episode, I will ask our guests a five question travel trivia challenge so you can see how they fare on that. With so many developments happening in our space right now, it really is an exciting time to be in travel. I hope that you enjoy these episodes and you find them interesting and beneficial. Thanks a lot for joining us.
Dan:0:56
Our guest today on travel Trends is Zach Venos. He's an old industry friend of mine, a great colleague, and someone who has recently launched a new travel company called Dinosaur Trips. Today he's gonna share with us his journey, including some tips and suggestions, uh, for other budding entrepreneurs and travel marketers. And he's gonna discuss these new experiences in case anyone wants to join him. And he's also gonna give us his take on the overall travel trends that we're experiencing today. And then I'm gonna quiz him on some travel trivia. So thanks for joining us, Zach. Great to have you here.
Zach:1:27
Oh no. Thanks so much for having me. I'm delighted to be here. This is exciting.
Dan:1:30
Awesome. Well, I thought it would be worth everyone getting an understanding of your background because when you launched dinosaur trips, you had actually started sharing some images when you were just a little kid, and the genesis of your story is really quite compelling. So why don't you share with everyone who's listening your background on creating this brand, this business, where did it start for you?
Zach:1:52
I don't even remember when my interest in Dinosaur started, to be honest. As a, as you said there, when I first kind of launched the brand on social, uh, shared a Christmas clip of myself getting some dinosaur Play-Doh at probably three years old. Um, And at some point in there, I, I was asked recently, like what my first dinosaur memory, maybe it was land before time that the, the cartoon movies that kicked it off for me at some point. Like so many kids I got interested in dinosaurs. It was really into that. Um, uh, at my kindergarten graduation, they do this. Thing where they ask, you know, what do you wanna be when you grow up? And I said archeologists, because I didn't know the word paleontologist at the time, but that seemed to be down the right vein of things. Uh, so as a kid it was a huge passion of mine. I think a lot of people have that experience too, with dinosaurs and, and, and then it faded. Um, as often does, I've, I've had the opportunity in this line of work to now talk to a lot of paleontologists for those people. It didn't fade in the kind of teenage years when you discover, um, you know, Sports and music and everything else that goes on in the world and maybe get away from it. But, but I, it faded for me and it only came back kind of later in life with, uh, Twitter and social media in general. And just suddenly there were some podcasts about paleontology and dinosaurs and that rekindled my, my interest in it and, and. You kind of drove it from there for me, but, uh, yeah, it, it's one of those things that both goes way back and is, it was rediscovered as an adult and, and there's something really fun about kind of tapping into something that felt, you know, like as a child full of wonderful, of mystery, all this to discover and, and coming back into that interest as an adult. Uh, it's still there. It's. There's a lot to be discovered. There's always kind of new experiences in that realm and, and so it got fired back up and it's been about a decade now that I've, that I've been leaning back into this, what was a childhood curiosity, a childhood obsession, and is now, you know, more than just a curiosity as an all types. I've made it kind of my gig.
Dan:3:49
Well, when I was getting ready for our chat today, which I've been really looking forward to, I was, reminding myself of, the, the context of when you grew up. Obviously, you're still a young guy and I don't wanna reveal your age to everyone that's listening, but in 1990, you were six. And I double checked to see Jurassic Park came out in 1993.
Zach:4:08
That's correct.
Dan:4:08
So I'm assuming that that was an accelerant to some extent with your passion for dinosaurs.
Zach:4:13
Yeah. Yeah. And for everybody, like the Jurassic Park changed the world of paleontology, but for me in particular, I remember being way too young to read the Michael Creighton book, but reading it, um, having that on my shelf, you know, alongside like Hatchet in The Giver and those other kind of things. And there you got the fake Jurassic Park and, uh, absolutely obsessed with it. I was still young enough when it came out that I found it scary, like the Raptor scenes kept me up at night and stuff. But, but no, that was, I remember, uh, you know, the summer that, that came out, summer 93 and just the posters alone in evoked something in me. And, and still to this day, I'll see that Jurassic Park logo and I'm like, yeah, that's good stuff. That's what I, that's what I've been kind of pursuing ever since.
Dan:4:56
So fast forward two decades later, I guess it is, right, that you've been working in the travel industry, had this in the back of your mind, and so how did you actually bring this to life now, how just. Talk us through, cause I'm sure a lot of people listening are keen to understand how someone who's worked in the industry then actually goes about creating their own brand, their own new travel business. So why now? Why dinosaur trips and why this time to bring this new brand to life?
Zach:5:21
Yeah, so like I was alluding to like it, the interest came back to me in the last decade or so, but, um, It was really well working in the industry and, and working on a project in particular, uh, in Northern Canada that had me looking around and, and I started stumbling upon kind of just how rich the dinosaur and paleontology offering was in the province of Alberta. And I thought, man, that would be really good to kind of go out and just spend a week, 10 days. Traveling Alberta to all these incredible sites. You know, at the time I didn't understand that you could actually join even a dinosaur dig with paleontologists or anything like that. But I was just, I was starting to get a sense of I would like to go out there and do that. And I thought being in the travel industry, uh, tends to be, if you're interested in something, even if it's quite niche as this is, Somebody out there is offering it, you know? And, uh, and when I started digging into it, pardon the pun, uh, nobody was doing it. Nobody was putting together trips that kind of tied together, um, this interest in paleontology along with everything else that you'd want from a destination experience. You know, I still wanna do good restaurants. I still wanna do nice accommodations. Good, good drinks along the way. Experience, you know, the best that a destination has to offer. All the same but through the lens of paleontology and dinosaurs and uh, and there was just no one out there doing it. That was disappointing to me cause I was, you know, that was something I, I was hoping to do upon this discovery and. I'd always heard, and people, the advice I'd been given in many different realms over the years is if you're looking for something and nobody's doing it, maybe that's your green light to go ahead and do it yourself. And so it, uh, I kept thinking about it for a while and, and, You know, imagining where I could go. I read this, this great book by, uh, this paleontologist, Steve Brti, um, that read almost like a travel book as much as it did a history of, of, of dinosaurs and all that. And, and I started to see there's this real, like the characters in the world of paleontology, the paleontologists themselves, the dinosaur researchers, the fossil hunters, they were all interesting and they've all got these little corners of the world that they're, that they're making compelling. And I started to really see a roadmap to something there and, and my. My wife and I talked about=it, and, uh, she's just encouraging me like, you know, this is, this is something I think you could do. You've been in this industry for a long time now. You've got the contacts, you know the people. Um, you have an understanding of how this business works. Maybe you do that. And, um, you know, and she was, she was kind of, Crucial in, in inspiring the, the journey too, because I, I would've gone and signed up for the Alberta thing happily. You know, let's just do dinosaurs. I'll just do museums. I'll, I'll, I'll get on this dig or whatever. Um, but I wanted her to travel with me and she had, you know, that wasn't something that wouldn't necessarily interest her fully. She liked to go to the museums and do all that, but I knew it had to have that secondary component of, of also the full destination offering. And, um, My story of, sadly, my wife passed away, uh, in 2021. Um, but so the idea obviously got sidelined in, in, in that story, but over time, I just needed something to, uh, to get me up in the morning, to drive me, to inspire me. And this idea kept coming back. It was one of the last conversations we had was about potentially creating dinosaur trips. And, and so with, with her kind of in mind, and this, this idea that I needed something to. To focus on and to take all, all my attention. Dinosaur trips kind of came roaring back to the forefront for me as an idea. And so in November of, uh, in November of 2022, I, I launched the company, uh, officially and it's been kind of putting it together ever since then. One with the, you know, with this goal of, of exploring the world through the lens of paleontology and kind of letting dinosaurs and, and the experience of wanting to learn about dinosaurs and discover what they're what. That world is like, is is leading the way for me. And, and here we are. Our, our first trips are, are available, um, ready to book, and now I'm just getting the chance, you know, from the behind the scenes of what's going on at dinosaur trips. Right now, it's talking to paleontologists all over the world and looking at destinations and just figuring out it. There's no shortage of places to go. So it's just finding out where we go next and, and how we build that out, uh, over, over the next coming years.
Dan:9:39
Yeah. That's really exciting and I appreciate you sharing that personal part of your story, which is core to you, taking the risk of starting dinosaur trips. And, we've obviously known each other for a while and, I have the greatest empathy for you and the fact that have chosen to overcome that grief and to, to go on this journey as much as a, as a tribute to your wife for pushing you in this direction. So,, I think it's important for people to know that. Because, and I, and I appreciate you taking the time to share it, just because I don't think people always have a full understanding, especially as you get your first trip and you get bookings and people just see the success. But obviously, the challenges that you have overcome, personally and professionally to put yourself in a position to be able to create this new business. And it very personal story, and I really appreciate you sharing that with everyone. But that's certainly from, working together and getting to know you over the years,, you are an outstanding individual that is given a lot to this industry and now you are well positioned to be able to create this new brand and this business and, I love that that is, I love that you're carrying that with you, so, I'm sure she'll be with you in spirit on that first trip. So let's, let's talk a little bit about, what you have coming up, for the first journey. Cause I see the bad lands behind you and, and I believe that's the first destination you're gonna be taking people to. So why don't you tell us a little bit about the first trip and if you can also give us some, some more detail about what's gonna make a dinosaur trips unique because clearly. The concept of itself is unique, but for the people who are going to take these trips with you, are they, purely for people that are, are passionate,, about paleontology and that, give us a sense of who these trips are intended for, as well as what's gonna make them unique besides the fact they get to travel with you.
Zach:11:19
Yeah, exactly. That's the, that's the win right there. No, it's, it's not for the di it is for the dinosaur. Obsessive, like of course, that's obvious. Um, That's a given, but it's, I was saying like with with my wife Taran, it's also for somebody who might not be the most interested in dinosaurs, but uh, uh, the example I like to give is, and when people ask me that very question like, well, do I have to be super into dinosaurs? And I kind of say, do you have to be super into archeology and history? To go to Machu Picchu or Egypt? No, of course not. I, I would love to go to Machu Picchu. I'd love to visit the pyramids in Egypt. I've, you know, got some interest in that, but I've never sat and read through books and can tell you the whole history of King Tut and all that, you know, whatever it is, it's. But, but it's interesting, it's compelling. So anybody who has that curiosity, that desire to discover, um, this is just a new way of doing it, whether, you know, whether you're exploring the world through the lens of wildlife, uh, or the said history culture. Archeology, whatever is your entry point. That's kind of just your entry point. And that's the same way it is. We're doing it with dinosaur trips is, you know, this is, this is the dinosaurs and the paleontology. That's our north star. That's how we choose where we're going. Uh, that's what informs much of the itinerary, but it's not the entirety of the trip. You know, the, to speak to these first trips out to Alberta, uh, in Canada this summer, July of, uh, 2023. You know, we're going to be experiencing some great restaurants in Calgary. We're gonna be experiencing some real luxuriating in Banff, in Canmore, um, you know, be that horseback ride or doing some caving. You know, there's the adventure elements. There'll be hikes and treks throughout the whole experience. But then of course this is dinosaur trips. So what we're doing is at the Royal Tero Museum, which is arguably like the greatest dinosaur museum in the world. We're going behind the scenes there. We're getting to talk to the lead paleontologist. They're putting together exclusive programs for us. Um, most, I think the big highlight of this trip is a four day dinosaur dig with Dr. Phil Curry. So if you know anything about paleontology, you've heard Dr. Phil Curry's name before. I mean, he was, you mentioned Jurassic Parker earlier. He was an inspiration, one of the inspirations for the, the main character of Dr. Alan Grant. So this guy has multiple dinosaurs named after him. He's named 25 species. And we're just gonna be in Grand Prairie, literally getting our hands dirty, digging with, you know, this, this legend of paleontology. And, and so that's obviously really attractive to anybody interested in paleontology. But there's also discovery, like we're literally digging. For things that haven't been seen in 66 to 150 million years, and you don't get that from a lot of experiences, I don't think. You know, we talk about discovery a lot in the travel industry, uh, having come from branding and marketing as one of the things I've done in the past, love to use the word discovery when we're putting, putting together promotional materials or marketing materials. But, you know, I go to the Machu Picchu and I'm not discovering Machu Picchu. That's been well discovered a long time ago. Whereas there's a good chance on our trips, uh, you know, during this dig, you could be there for, and you could be the one making a, a authentic discovery. And so that's really exciting. Anybody who kind of, you know, wants to do something that hasn't been done before, um, And, and for that true chance of discovery and getting your hands dirty on a true dinosaur dig or, or the back access the museum or you're interested, come along for the ride. And then really what you, you want is, uh, be in the shadow of the Rockies having a nice time at a spa that's all in there too. So,
Dan:14:52
Well, it's interesting you highlight, and that's one of the things I want to ask you about, about travel behavior and how that's changed and what people are seeking in trips. so I do wanna come back to that in a moment because what you just outlined there gives a great example of where people are looking to travel and how their travel choices have widened by virtue of companies like yours that have been created that will offer these types of experiences. But given that you are. Canadian, you're obviously starting in Alberta and Canada., clearly at one point, dinosaurs walked the whole Earth before, I think there was a, was a meteor. I think there was a, as part of the story, clearly there's many places in the world that you can go, you can take people on to digs. so where do you go from here? So obviously that trip's gonna sell out, no question. But where do you go from there? What are the next series of destinations? How do you see dinosaur trips scaling?
Zach:15:41
As you said that we can go anywhere. I mean, anywhere that's not a island that popped up in the last 65 million years. Um, they don't have dinosaurs on them, but anything that's older than that, we, we'll, you know, we're looking to explore right now. Patagonia is a. Top destination that we're targeting. Um, Australia's a top destination. You mentioned, you know, the asteroid that hit the earth, that hit right off the coast of Mexico. So looking to do a trip specifically, you know, to come and experience that and, and be in the place where that happened and get the story of, of the end of the era of dinosaurs, which, you know, lasted 165 million years or. So much history there. Um, there's really no shortage. You know, Europe, we're looking at, at city stays that combined with the chance to go out, uh, for, for a dinosaur museum, then a dinosaur parks, we're looking at Germany, we're looking at the uk uh, looking at France, and then of course there's a lot in Southern Africa. As well. Um, and China right now is the number one place in the world for paleontology. So that has to be circled on our, on our potential destinations that we're going as well because there's just, uh, a lot of people don't realize we're actually in a golden age of paleontology because like myself, I think a lot of people stop caring at some point. When they were a kid, whether that was seventies, eighties, nineties, wherever that was, uh, a lot's happened since then. In the world of paleon, most things have been discovered in the world of paleontology since then, besides those kind of standards. So, uh, there's no shortage of where we could go and where we can maybe go in the future that. We don't even realize yet is a, is a great potential, uh, paleontology and dinosaur based destination. So that's what I'm having a, a really good time with. At first, when I put this company together, in my mind it was like, all right, what are our places we gotta be? And it's like, really find a spot if you want to go there. And you can probably find a paleontology angle to it.
Dan:17:30
Yeah. No, that's great. I mean, obviously having the opportunity to explore internationally with like-minded people and taking them to a new destination and so that, you mentioned with Calgary like restaurants, but clearly there's gonna be many opportunities for you to create custom itineraries and, Given the work that you've done to date, which clearly getting a business established, all the registrations that go along with creating a travel company, um, which are many as you well know, for anyone that works in the industry, regulation and all of that is really important. But also building up a brand, building a website, making them it available to be booked online. All of those things I would love if you wouldn't mind sharing with us. For the entrepreneurs listening to this or people in the industry that are keen to understand some tips and suggestions that you have from the journey you've been on so far, would you be so kind to share a few things that stand out to you that might be worth noting to anyone else considering going on a a similar journey to yourself?
Zach:18:24
One. Yeah. Be ready for it. Know what you're getting yourself into. And you, and like you said, there's a whole bunch of those, you know, the, the bureaucracy of it all and just the logistics of putting together a company. But, um, for me, one of the things I was really focused on, and, and maybe this was become a, because I came from a. Among other roles of branding and marketing background. And before that I was a travel journalist, so a storytelling background. Um, that's, that's what I really wanted to lead with. I mean, this poster that you pointed out, that was one of the first things we invested in, uh, for dinosaur trips because I, I, I wanted people to have a really good understanding of what we were trying to achieve. And I thought, you know, if we can get a poster design that. Both has clearly a dinosaur in it. That's always exciting for people to see paleo art, but also that can evoke that kind of golden age of travel poster. Um, and to suggest, you know, that we have a, a sense of where we're going and what these trips want to be more so than just dinosaurs. Um, there's a, that we've got a defined style, a defined goal, and a defined niche. Um, which was another kind of, you were asking, you know, what, why, uh, that was one of the things that I. That I wanted to focus on. Um, my niche, my interest in niche was, was paleontology. Um, and that was what I, where I got confidence that dinosaur trips could work. Because one thing I've noticed across my years in the industry now is it's trending that way. Very much so. I've, I've seen that we saw it before the pandemic hit, um, that it was beginning to, people were getting more and more specific, uh, in what they wanted to do. But post pandemic, I think even more so people are interested in, in finding the things that they're passionate about or, or striking up a new passion, a new curiosity, and being able to really define what that is. Uh, I wasn't sure how I felt about the name Dinosaur Trips, for instance, when I first, when I first came to it, but I thought, you know what, no, I wanna tell people. Specifically what this is, there's no debate, there's no question. Well, what is dinosaur trips? It is, trips are based around dinosaurs and I, I, I felt that was really important to have my little corner. Um, and it might be it, it is a niche audience, no doubt about it, but it's a very defined and specific niche audience that has a, that has an appreciation and understanding of what we're doing. And that was a big focus of what I wanted to do was make sure that we're really well defined, uh, in the kind of trips we're doing and the kind of, and the kind of corners that were occupying. And, and that gave, you know, then you. You're halfway there with explaining to the person, um, why they should take a, a dinosaur trip or whatever else it is. It's like, here's the, here's the passion point. Here's my passion about it. Here's the story you're telling about yourself through it. Let's go.
Dan:21:06
Yeah, no, it's, you've hit on the topic now again about. Changing behavior. So, now it's probably be best time to, to dive into that a little bit more with travel trends changing and clearly, it's been a challenging time to be in the industry during the pandemic. And obviously we're now on the other side of it, thankfully, and businesses coming back. But traveler behavior certainly changed over that time, in many different ways. So, we can see that, loyalty for one example, travelers loyalty. Has changed with regards to, how some travel businesses approached the pandemic and also the fact that it gave people a chance to reset their priorities and really give some strong consideration to how they travel, where they want to travel. Passion-based travel. There's, you know, there's a lot of exciting trends on the other side of this and travel, we both know is, is back in a big way. And the thing I love the most is that there was many people that thought it would take 10 years to get back to where we were in 2019. And we're seeing quite a few businesses in our space that are exceeding their numbers in 2019, in 2023. So, I'm not crazy about the term revenge travel, but however you want to define it, travel is back in a big way, but it's not distributed the same way it was before. market share is definitely up for grabs in many ways when it comes to, the types of experiences. So, you know, a business like yours, for example, this is great timing to get out with a new venture. And be able to convince people that this not only is a great way to travel, which clearly it is but also that this is how they're gonna choose to spend their time and the precious dollars they've saved up to go on a holiday, to have this type of experience. So I would love to hear from you, given you both have the background in, in the industry, but also. Now an entrepreneur running your own business, the trends that you are seeing. So, it'd be great to hear, and obviously there's a number that stand out to me, but I would love to hear one or two that you are seeing, like even from the first person that booked with you, like you got a first booking from someone in, in Florida, understanding their motivations for why they chose to take a, a dinosaur trip. So tell me what you're hearing, what you're seeing, and what you think are some of the trends that are emerging on the other side of this.
Zach:23:10
Yeah, I'm with you. I don't love the term revenge travel and you know, the people I speak with, um, it's not that that they're doing, there's, there's one of the trends I've seen in terms of inspiring travel, and as you said with, with some of our first. Bookings. It was the pandemic gave people a sense, and I, I'm not breaking any ground here. The pandemic gave people a sense of their lives of like, oh, I'm reevaluating what's important to me, what I value, you know? Uh, and I think with, with some of our first bookings, and, and I mean the same with myself and even launching this company, the idea is, Who knows what the future holds. Our, our world was so shaken in such a way, and our understanding of our lives was so shaken that there's, it's not, I don't think it's so much revenge travel as, as, why am I waiting? You know, what am I waiting for? Who knows what's to come? So let's, let me jump on that. Thing I've been dreaming about my whole life. Um, you know, let me go do a dinosaur dig with Dr. Phillip Curry. Uh, you know, even myself or I've found myself traveling more, um, in, in the months since we've been been able to just because it's like, what, what am I waiting for? This, the time is now. Uh, let's, let's get out there and do that. And then one thing I'm seeing, because we do offer family trips, uh, at dinosaur trips is for a lot of parents, My kid was inside for two years, cut off from the world. You know, we're never gonna get that back. So how can I make that up to them? How do I go out and, and kind of give them those extra two years? How do we pack all that in while we still can? And I've seen a lot of that from family travel experiences of parents who I think, and, and I've been told as much to be honest, uh, is. I don't know if we would've done this, you know, five years ago, but now we recognize that our time with our kids is fleeting. They, they grew up like two years in the, you know, in the life of a kid is, is a big chunk of, of that. And, and so suddenly there's an inspiration to let's not hold back anymore on this. Let's do this, let's do something really special and get those experiences. Um, so I've noticed that and the other. Trend that I'm seeing, particularly now that I've started this is, and I think the industry is still figuring this out. I, I, I don't even know where to point, but booking windows aren't what they used to be. Um, we, we used to have a very, every company that I either consulted with or worked for in the past, you had a good sense of, here's when guests are booking. For this amount of time out and that, I think it may settle again. The dust may settle on that, but it hasn't yet. We're seeing all sorts of from last minute because people have gotten the habit, I think, over the, you know, especially in 2022 of waiting, waiting, waiting until, okay, we do have the green light to do this. We can go, or on the other hand, to kind of speak to what I was talking about before, like. Even further in advance going, no way. I've got a goal. Let's do this now. So the traditional, you know, for some companies I've worked for, it was like a year out. That's the key. A year to nine months, that stuff's all blown up. And so I've found trying to get an understanding of that in, in the early days of, of dinosaur trips has, has been a challenge because it was something that all the years in the industry, I thought I knew. And I don't anymore. And then I think people are really trying to put their, figure out what it is. And I'm not sure there's an answer yet. You know, the, as I said, the dust will settle on it at some point again, but we're, we're not there yet. And I found that very interesting. People, people have very different approaches to how they wanna explore the world now.
Dan:26:33
For sure, definitely the changing priorities. You obviously know my story. I was living in LA seven months in pandemic hits and our kids were home, really for the next two years, right? But we moved back because we had two family members that, Unfortunately got cancer and passed away. So we came back to Canada. And certainly, your story, and obviously you knowing mine, it does change not only in how you approach work, but it also absolutely changes, travel plans and, the mentality coming af Uh, like one of the trips we wanna do is, is the Galapagos. So I'm desperate to go to the Galapagos. That's one of the trips that I'm, that's on my bucket list, if you will. And, the important. For consideration for me is while the kids are still young enough and they still want to come with you and they still wanna do those kind of trips, you have to seize that opportunity. And so, I think at some point they'll likely wanna do a dinosaur trip as well, but I think they're gonna wait until it's the next international trip. but the points you're hitting on are obviously, hopefully resonating with a lot of people who are listening to this and, I'm keen. Also to understand one other big developments that occurred during this time is technology changes in advances. So, there was a real shift towards online, whether it be podcasts or whether it be Zoom meetings, some for better, some for worse. And we're seeing people now, you know, really wanting to get back out in the world and really experience and not, being shut in anymore. But there's a lot of technology that has changed the way. That we live and the way that we shop. And so when you're thinking about travel, which was almost, uh, entirely going online in so many ways, of course there's still traditional travel agents and that's still a significant portion of the business and will continue to be. But the, the ways that people interact with technology and the most recent example, of course, that everyone's talking about is ai. And so I would love to hear now, Your business would exist with, with, without ai. But I would love to know in terms of technology, if there are any things that you've seen, or that you are incorporating into your business or into your trips, with how you can leverage technology today that maybe you couldn't, just a few years ago.
Zach:28:41
I mean, I'm, I'm a one man operation right now. This is an owner operator, situation for these early days of dinosaur trips, which I love. It's been, that's so much fun to, to be helming this thing and, and getting to steer it. but that means I'm one person and time is hours are limited and, and I was. Reluctant on ai. I will say at first, uh, I had, I was like, okay, we'll see what this is. But it's been fantastic, uh, so far for me in just using it to help with, um, whether it's a, a marketing strategy, just to build out the structure of that writing, some quick description of things. So in that sense, it's, I've, I've enjoyed the, the fact that it's made my life easier, uh, and quicker to accomplish some things. And the other part is just. It's a, it's given me a venue to try some of these new technologies in a way that if I wasn't running my home company, I probably wouldn't be doing. Um, and just be conscious of it. I think, you know, we're so early in everyone's understanding of AI right now and how it can be used, and I think there's a lot of people like myself who are. Um, you know, have a bit of a step back and like, okay, what is this? What's coming here? But I also don't want to be afraid of it. Um, you know, I don't think there's, there's any value in that. It's like being afraid of search engines in the early days, it's, it's going to be a reality of what we're doing here, so you gotta embrace it. And so I've enjoyed, you know, just being able to lean on, on things like chat G P T for both, a better understanding of how they work and then starting to see, okay, future planning. How can I use this going forward? And as you know, I've been working on, obviously SEO is crucial for our, our, our website. And in putting that together, also recognizing that this is an effort I know about right now, but AI's gonna change the way we search for things. And how do I ready myself in that regard to be ready for when we're more using, you know, chat bots to explore and, hey, I wanna take a dinosaur trip. Who do I do? How do I be in the forefront of that while, you know, our more traditional search engines. Uh, might be falling away in the way that we're used to. So I want to be ready for when that comes. I don't wanna be caught flat-footed. I've seen it in, in the years that I've been in the industry, and, and I don't think it's particular to the travel industry. I think it's humans in general. Every time a new technology comes on, especially one that AI that is gonna shape, I think the way that we live, there's a tendency to go, I don't like it and I think it's bad. And I don't think it's, we have any use for it in this industry. Look, it's coming. It's going to happen. So get comfortable with it. And it doesn't mean you can't have reservations about, uh, what it means for how it's gonna shape our society or anything like that, but it does mean from a business standpoint that, you know, I don't want to be somebody who's going, I'm not touching that. Uh, I, I've gotta be ready to, to learn and understand and appreciate and take advantage of it. And I think that's, that's, Everything that I'm reading in travel trends, and my understanding is if, if you're gonna have success in the future, you've gotta be ready to roll with what's coming. I mean, as something else the pandemic has taught us is we don't know what kind of giant shifts can come along, uh, at any point, whether it's technology or, or otherwise. And, uh, I, I want to. Be ready as I set this company forward on its path, that adaptability is there, whether that's on the tech side or otherwise. And so it's, uh, you know, it's helpful and it's also educational and, and forward looking.
Dan:32:06
Yeah. No, that's great. I appreciate you sharing your insight there as well. Now, the next component you can't use AI for, we're gonna do a quick quiz. But before we do that, why don't you tell everybody if they're interested in finding, more about dinosaur trips, where they should go to and what they should look for, to, to learn more about your travel, experiences.
Zach:32:25
Yeah, dinosaur trips.com is the website. You can find the info all there obviously. And follow us on social media as well. Instagram, Twitter, Facebook. We do have a TikTok account as of. This recording, there's no content on it. But again, I wanna be embracing things so as once we're actually out in the field and doing our travels will be up on there as well. So follow us across all those channels. Um, as I was talking about earlier, my background is in storytelling and in marketing, so I have a lot of fun with that and, and growing a community there. You know, that's the exciting part. Of a lot of people actually found each other of our, our guests found each other online during the pandemic, and k kind of started talking there and formed little groups and said, once the world opens up, let's get out there and do some bigs. And so, uh, tapping into those communities on social has been a lot of fun. So even if you're just dabbling, and again, as you're about to. Probably find out when Dan gives me some dinosaur trivia here in a second. Uh, I, I like this stuff, but I'm no expert on it. That's, that's what everyone else who, who supports us on these trips is there for. Um, but it's really fun to be talking to people who either have my kind of entry level, level of understanding of this stuff or full on experts who are ready to have. Passionate discussions about what's going on in the world of paleontology, so follow us on social and that it kind of unlocks a whole other world there that, uh, that is, that is really fun to dive into.
Dan:33:46
Cool. All right. Well now, now you're on the spot. So here is your travel trivia. Top five, you're fast. Five and some are gonna be dinosaurs and some are gonna be travel industry questions. So hopefully that balances it out there for you.
Zach:34:00
Probably won't.
Dan:34:00
But first question, how many Jurassic Park movies were there or have there been to date?
Zach:34:08
There were three Jurassic Park movies, six Total Jurassic movies.
Dan:34:13
Correct? Six. So six is the correct answer. What was the name of the first dinosaur that was described in scientific literature and approximately when?
Zach:34:23
Hmm. Is it the Triceratops?
Dan:34:28
No, it's the Mesos in the 16 hundreds.
Zach:34:32
Oh, there you go.
Dan:34:33
Yeah, we gotta forget to the bottom of where you can find that. That was the for the Natural History Museum in the uk. But a travel question for you. Uh, Cody Womble.
Zach:34:44
Okay.
Dan:34:45
Real word or made up word. And if it's a real word, what does it mean?
Zach:34:49
I'm gonna say it's a real word. I'm gonna say the Australians created it, but I have no idea what it means.
Dan:34:56
Well, I thought you might have a chance. It is a real word and it's also the name of a band. So I actually thought there's a good chance, you know, you may have listened to them or gone to see one of their shows given that's your other passion, but the definition of the word itself is to travel in a purposeful manner towards a vague destination. And, I think that's more of an apt description of life in many ways. One more, travel work. What is the name for someone who loves travel?
Zach:35:20
What is the name of someone who loves travel?
Dan:35:22
Yeah, there is. There is a, there is a word.
Zach:35:28
All that's go wanderlust is all that's coming to my mind. But that's not the thing. That's a description, not a, not a.
Dan:35:34
No, it's a terri, it's a terrible word. A one that we'll never use again. It's a hodo file.
Zach:35:39
No, no thanks. I'm not gonna use that in my marketing.
Dan:35:45
If you love to travel, then you're a Hodo file.
Zach:35:48
Wow. Okay.
Dan:35:49
Yeah, just, yeah. That doesn't, that doesn't quite capture it does it?
Zach:35:56
Should I get one?
Dan:35:57
You got one.
Zach:35:58
Wow.
Dan:35:59
You got one, but you're gonna have to come back after your first trip and,, tell us all about it. Share some pictures and some videos. I really appreciate our relationship, as a friend, as a colleague. I'm very excited for your new venture. You know, I'm a big supporter of yours and why I wanted to have you on this podcast to share with everybody else from a personal and professional point of view. I have the greatest respect for you, and I wish you every success. So thank you, Zach, and good luck this summer.
Zach:36:24
No, thanks so much. It, it's great to be here and, uh, yeah, hopefully the hodo files out there, uh, hear about dinosaur trips and, and become paleo files.
Dan:36:33
Awesome. Thanks again, Zach. We'll see you again soon.
