custom agricultural study tours

What custom agricultural study tours does

Explorations by Thor is a privately held, founder-operated travel company that designs and executes custom agricultural study tours for groups. Founded in 2018 in Lexington, Kentucky by Alex and Donna, the company serves agricultural professionals, academic study abroad programs, trade missions, and specialized gerontology and health audiences seeking structured exposure to farming practices and food systems abroad. Its product portfolio comprises five tour types: Custom Agricultural Tours, Classic Agribusiness Trips, Market Trade Missions, Study Abroad Programs, and Gerontology & Health Tours.

The company's service model is full-service and itinerary-led rather than technology-led. Each tour is custom-built and bundles international and domestic airline group ticketing, business visa assistance, hotel reservations, business meeting room arrangements, ground transportation, and bilingual professional guides. Access to USDA Foreign Ag Service and National Farmers Union contacts is positioned as a key differentiator, enabling group meetings with agriculture professionals at destination. Geographic reach spans over 70 countries organized into five regional clusters: Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and Africa.

Commercially, Explorations by Thor sells directly to group clients via its website and a manual consultation process, with quote-based pricing customized to group size, destination, and duration. The company discloses no revenue, headcount, or external funding; it operates as a bootstrapped, two-person business with a P.O. Box address in Lexington. There is no proprietary software platform, no mobile app, no API, and no disclosed automation in itinerary design or logistics, meaning the business is operationally constrained by founder capacity.

Name

custom agricultural study tours

Legal name

Explorations by Thor

Website

https://explorationsbythor.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Explorations by Thor is a privately held, founder-operated tour company that designs custom agricultural study tours for groups, including agribusiness professionals, study abroad programs, trade missions, and gerontology audiences, across more than 70 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Tour Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (56152), Tour Operators (561520)

akta.pro primary industry

Educational & Student Multi-Day Tour Operators (THAKADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Excursions, Field Trips & Cultural Activities Logistics (EDAIANAJ), University & College Study Tours (THAKAGAC)

Keywords

• Agricultural study tours
• Custom group travel
• Agribusiness tours
• Study abroad programs
• International trade missions

Headquarters

HQ city

Lexington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Custom Agricultural Study Tours: Full-service tour packages including international/domestic airline group tickets, business visas, hotel reservations, business meeting rooms, ground transportation, bilingual guides, and professional agriculture industry meeting arrangements.

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Explorations by Thor designs and operates custom agricultural study tours for groups visiting 70+ countries, handling end-to-end logistics including international and domestic airline tickets, business visas, hotel reservations, business meeting rooms, ground transportation, and bilingual guides. The firm also offers adjacent niche programs such as gerontology and health tours, study abroad programs, classic agribusiness trips, and market trade missions.

Product overview

Explorations by Thor is a full-service custom agricultural tour company offering personalized group tours across over 70 countries. The company provides a portfolio of tour products including Custom Agricultural Tours, Gerontology & Health Tours, Study Abroad Programs, Classic Agribusiness Trips, and Market Trade Missions. Each tour is customized to client interests and includes comprehensive travel arrangements such as airline tickets, visas, hotel reservations, ground transportation, and professional bilingual guides. The company operates destinations in Latin America & Caribbean, Asia, Europe, Australia & New Zealand, and Africa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Custom Agricultural Tours Bespoke international agricultural study tours for groups, with full logistics coordination (air, visa, lodging, meetings, ground transport, bilingual guides) for associations, agencies, and member delegations.
• Gerontology and Health Tours Custom international study tours themed around gerontology and health topics for professional groups, with end-to-end travel and meeting logistics.
• Study Abroad Programs Custom international study abroad programs for university cohorts, providing structured group travel, lodging, ground transport, and bilingual guides.
• Classic Agribusiness Trips Classic international agribusiness trips for company and association groups to benchmark production practices and operations abroad.
• Market Trade Missions Coordinated international trade missions for agribusiness firms and associations, including business meeting rooms, bilingual guides, and full travel logistics.

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• USDA Foreign Ag ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArranges meetings with USDA Foreign Ag Service professionals for tour groups, providing access to government agricultural expertise and international market knowledge.
• National Farmers UnioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFacilitates meetings with National Farmers Union members for agricultural professional groups, enabling knowledge sharing about farming methods across different scales.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Road Scholar: Road Scholar (formerly Elderhostel) is a leading nonprofit educational travel operator focused on adult and senior learning experiences across more than 100 countries. Highly comparable for Explorations by Thor's Gerontology & Health Tours product line given overlapping adult-learner demographics and educational trip structure.
• EF Educational Tours: EF Educational Tours designs customized group travel programs for K-12 and university students across 50+ countries. Directly comparable to Explorations by Thor's Study Abroad Programs and customized group tour model, though EF operates at substantially larger scale.
• Holbrook Travel: Holbrook Travel specializes in small-group, naturalist-led educational tours to Latin America, Africa, and other regions. Comparable as a niche educational tour operator with destination depth similar to Explorations by Thor's agricultural specialty.
• Country Walkers: Country Walkers operates guided small-group walking and cultural tours across multiple continents with a focus on immersive, expert-led experiences. Comparable to Explorations by Thor for its customized group tour design and use of expert guides.
• AHI Travel: AHI Travel designs group travel experiences for alumni associations, fraternal organizations, and affinity groups worldwide. Comparable to Explorations by Thor in operating custom group tours for association clients and professional networks.
• Odysseys Unlimited: Odysseys Unlimited is a small-group educational tour operator offering itineraries across dozens of countries with expert guides. Comparable for its curated, fully escorted group travel model serving professional and affinity-group clients.
• CIEE (Council on International Educational Exchange): CIEE is one of the largest nonprofit study abroad and intercultural exchange organizations, running programs across dozens of countries. Directly comparable to Explorations by Thor's Study Abroad Programs in international education travel design and delivery.

Broad incumbents

• Smithsonian Journeys: Smithsonian Journeys is the Smithsonian Institution's educational travel program offering expert-led tours globally. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the educational and expert-led group travel category that competes for similar institutional and professional clients.
• Go Ahead Tours: Go Ahead Tours (an EF company) offers guided group tours across six continents at scale. A broad incumbent in the customized group tour space that competes with Explorations by Thor for similar affinity-group and educational travel demand.
• WorldStrides: WorldStrides is a major educational travel provider serving K-12 schools, universities, and performing groups with customized trips worldwide. A broad incumbent competitor for Explorations by Thor's educational and study abroad group business.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about custom agricultural study tours