Travel + Leisure Honors Four Adventure Collection Companies

Travel + Leisure readers have named four Adventure Collection companies as among the top 20 tour operators and safari outfitters in the world in the magazine’s 2009 World’s Best Awards. Micato Safaris, Geographic Expeditions, Natural Habitat Adventures, and Lindblad Expeditions were all cited in the annual readers’ survey, now in its fourteenth year. Results of the survey will be announced in the magazine’s August issue.

Travel + Leisure readers were asked to judge tour operators and safari outfitters in six categories: staff/guides, itineraries/destinations, activities, accommodations, food, and value. For each characteristic, respondents were asked to rate a candidate on a scale of 1 to 5, where “1″ meant poor and “5″ meant excellent. Required component ratings were then averaged, creating an overall score.

In the final rankings, Micato finished in second place overall, Geographic Expeditions was ranked eighth, Natural Habitat Adventures ninth, and Lindblad Expeditions 20th.

The 2009 World’s Best Awards were based on a questionnaire developed by the editors of Travel + Leisure in association with Harris Interactive. The survey was made available to Travel + Leisure readers at a dedicated website from January 15 to March 29, 2009, and in the February and March 2009 issues of the magazine. A select group of readers also received invitations via e-mail. Respondents were permitted to complete the survey only once.