Entrepreneur, leader and philanthropist Bruce Poon Tip, is the founder of G Adventures, an award-winning small group adventure travel company and pioneer of community tourism. Following a transformational backpacking trip to Asia, Bruce had an idea to change the face of travel. In 1990, at the age of 22 and on two maxed-out credit cards, Bruce started G Adventures, a tour operator designed to bridge the divide between backpacking and mainstream travel, and to connect travelers with local people in the countries they visit.
Today, G Adventures holds 28 offices worldwide, hosts 200,000 travelers per year, offers more than 750 tours, and travels to 100 countries. In 2003, with a vision that travel could be a force for social good and significant wealth distribution, Bruce founded G Adventures’ nonprofit partner, the Planeterra Foundation. Planeterra harnesses the power of the tourism supply chain to channel travelers’ dollars into underserved communities around the world. Bruce’s work with organizations such as the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), like-minded companies, and Indigenous people, has led to support for 80 community development projects globally.

In 2012, Bruce was inducted into the Social Venture Network Hall of Fame. He was also awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, which recognizes significant contributions to society, and named EY Entrepreneur of the Year in 2016, 2006 and 2002. In 2018, Bruce was inducted into the British Travel and Hospitality Hall of Fame, and honored as one of AFAR USA’s “Travel Vanguards.” He was also honored as one of Canada’s Most Admired CEOs in the category of social entrepreneurship. In June 2019, Bruce was granted an honorary Doctor of Laws from Capilano University, to recognize his significant community contribution at the local, national and international levels, and he entered Glassdoor’s Top CEOs list at number 10 later that year.