Vegan Travel Association

Vegan Travel
Q & A with VTA Founder and Board Member - Jason McGregor

Q & A with VTA Founder and Board Member – Jason McGregor

What’s your travel experience?

I was born with the desire to travel. Even as a little child, I felt that little twinge of jealousy as my parents headed off on yet another adventure around the world and I was left at home with my grandparents, wondering what and where their travels would take them. One daydreaming of enjoying adventures of my own.

Luckily, my parents did not always travel alone. They instilled the important need to explore the world we live in and made it a priority that I got to see our beautiful country of Canada as well as many states within the United States as I grew up. Whether crammed into a car for a 3 – 4 week road trip, heading down to Florida for a beach & Disney trip or hopping onto a cruise ship and getting transported to multiple countries and ports, they always wanted to show us there was more out there than where we lived and we should explore it as much as possible and whenever possible.

My first big adventure was one I will never forget – travelling back to my family’s home country of Scotland with my grandmother at age 11 for an epic 3-week adventure that included stops all across England and Scotland. I had an opportunity to connect with family I had only ever heard about before and experience places and sights that were held dear in my loved ones’ hearts and forever more could hold them in mine. I still talk about that trip but have been lucky to go back as an adult and share some of what I experienced while creating new memories of my own. Isn’t that what travel is all about?

I’ve continued exploring the world throughout my life and have found a passion for experiencing the world via cruise ships. They give you a taste of a destination without having to commit to a full-length trip there. There is just something about stepping on board and knowing each day you’ll wake up in a new destination, ready for a new adventure. I prefer smaller, more intimate ships and love that new innovations are allowing this type of travel to be more efficient, environmentally friendly, and more accessible to all travellers.

Becoming a vegan at the start of 2015, my eyes were really opened to how travel is experienced by people with dietary or lifestyle requirements and it wasn’t always good. I began to see that the experiences I was having on trips as a vegan weren’t matching those of my travel mates who were still eating an omnivore diet.

It was frustrating to see that despite paying the same amount for a vacation, often vegans end up in situations with a lack of food options, on excursions where captive animals were the “attraction” or in rooms where there were only feather pillows and leather furniture. The world seemed to understand vegetarianism but not veganism. This was unacceptable to me and was the major reason why I started my full-service travel agency, Vegan Vacations, in 2018

What do you do at Vegan Travel Association?

Who would have thought that back in the Summer of 2020, I would have had the blessing of meeting a small group of fellow-minded, vegan travel professionals from around the world that would help solidify not only my passion for travel but also my dedication to veganism and working towards a better and more sustainable world?

We’ve only just gotten started on this adventure together, but I am so proud to call myself a Founder of this new and exciting Vegan Travel Association. It is amazing to be able to collaborate with like-minded travel professionals who understand the importance of being vegan and who all share a desire to spread the word about veganism and just how easy it is to live this lifestyle and still travel the world. Our goal is to inspire, educate and support vegan travelers however we can while giving space to those businesses that make being vegan & plant-based a priority in their business models

As a new association, we have not yet formalized our particular roles, so I think you’d say we are all “Jack’s (or Jill’s) of all trades” right now. I like to help with the technology and video-editing sides of this organization as it’s in my wheelhouse but I’d say everyone is currently completing whatever tasks we can to move closer and closer to our goals and objectives.

Tell us a little about your company.

At the heart of my travel agency, Vegan Vacations, is one single focus, to ensure that every client has the best vacation possible. Although Vegan Vacations is dedicated to amplifying the voice of vegan travellers, we are a full-service travel agency that offers expert advice and service to all.

I ensure every traveller, no matter what their lifestyle needs are, enjoys the same experience as everyone else. I pride myself on providing “concierge-style” services that include providing additional resources to clients about their destination and where to find the most suitable vegan-friendly spots, specific to each traveller while at their destination. We are there for clients from their initial inquiry right up until they get home! Specializing in vegan, plant-based or vegetarian travel also means understanding that those dietary choices extend past just meals and require someone who ensures every aspect of your trip upholds your individual values and ethics. As said above, “Every traveller deserves to have the best experience possible.” Being a vegan traveller is not a “dietary restriction” or a special need. The world is changing and Vegan Vacations is leading the charge in making the travel industry sit up and change to support everyone.

Carryon or check-in?

Sadly, I am only just starting to learn how to pack in only a carry-on. I’m still the guy who always ends up looking at his luggage at the end of the trip saying…” Why did I think I needed all of this stuff?!” haha.

When I travel, I savour doing as much as humanly possible (who needs to sleep on vacation?!?!) So, I always find myself packing for all sorts of different types of experiences (think backpacking hikes to outbound locations during the day and then 5-star dining at a new vegan hot spot in town and going dancing until the wee hours) which results in too much luggage for sure. I’ll keep working on it though!

Do you use packing cubes?

I have never used a packing cube, but one of the presentations from our past summits focused on this amazing skill and it has inspired me to try them on my future trips (thanks Kim for the education!)

Rolling or folding clothes?

Whenever possible, I like to roll my clothes as I find it creates less wrinkles in the long run and can allow for more to be packed in a bag, but not everything can be rolled. So, it can be a mixture of both if I’m being honest.  Just don’t look at my bags when I am on my way back home because then nothing will be rolled or folded by that point.

Describe your perfect vacation in one sentence

Turning off all devices, heading out into new uncharted territories and making amazing memories with my travel companions.

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