On the Tour Buzz with Lor’s Tours
“Welcome to our part of the world. Welcome to paradise. This is it.” These enthusiastic words serve as Lori Beth Kulp’s greeting to all those who step foot into her local tours of the northwest.
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Courtesy Jared Acuna
A Delta flight attendant of 30 years, Kulp has been putting her international skills to use here at home. Lori specializes in fulfilling the search for fun to tourists and locals alike in the Clatsop County area. Her excursion brand, Lor’s Tours, is more than just a premier business for her own advantage. Kulp is proactive in boosting the local economy in the way she interacts her tours with other businesses, such as the ziplining staple of High Life Adventures.
With an average satisfaction rating of 97.5%, Lor’s Tours is doing nothing but good for the community, for the Port and the cruise lines. Her secret to this success can be found in her main promise, “This is your tour.” Incoming tourism is absolutely thrilled with that and can attest to the fervent way Lori treats her passengers like her own family.
It all began a few years ago, when Kulp’s mother, Linda, passed away. Linda was what they called “a vacation girl,” always promoting the family to go, do and see. It was Linda that put a love for travel into her daughter’s heart, challenging her to go into a localized tour business. “Right up your alley,” remembers Kulp, being encouraged by her late mother. It’s a slogan that Lori has kept written near the engine of her bus to this day. It’s an engine that doesn’t seem be to slowing down any time soon.
As for Kulp’s father, he always called her Lor instead of Lori, providing the inspiration for the brand’s name. In many ways, the passengers who embark with Lor’s Tours are considered an extension of Kulp’s roots. Her emphasis on a family feel is what separates her as a lasting memory over her competitors.
“It’s always been in my blood,” she told. Her passion for guiding people around the local neck of the woods comes from a wide array of world travel. As a Delta flight attendant, Lori could live anywhere she wanted, but always loved it here the best. “I have been all over the world and back again a thousand times and I choose to live here,” Lori exclaimed with her signature smile.
Every time she comes home, Lori finds herself exclaiming, “Look at this place! It’s so beautiful. To showcase this area, brag about it and bring people here is all I want to do. I’m never leaving.”
Her primary mission with Lor’s Tours is to prove this area is different from anything else in the world. It’s her time up in the air that has given her the right to title the northwest as a true paradise. For a travel veteran like Lori Kulp to say something like that, people on her tour can know for certain that she’s telling the truth.
Lori Beth Kulp’s name is her top selling point, relying on word of mouth to back up her unmatchable character. It’s that kind of localized passion that has helped elevate what her business can offer the public.
Her key events for tourists include hiking the Cathedral Tree Trail, zooming up to the Column and wowing visitors with a surprise trip to the Iredale shipwreck for the finale. On a more local scale, however, Lor’s Tours has expanded into a variety of activities from corporate retreats, family reunions and even wine walks. This year, her bus has even been booked as the official transportation of the Miss Oregon Pageant. When she’s not driving young models to a beach photoshoot, Lori has tours available for just about anything from kayaking to horseback riding.
Click on photo for a larger image
Courtesy Jared Acuna
One of the defining features that puts her a step up is that Lori’s bus is wheelchair accessible. As a special message, Lor’s Tours assures that this is a great tour group for the mobility challenged. There’s a lot of fun waiting for them that they just won’t be able to get with any other service.
“All I can do is keep doing what I’m doing,” Lori closed with all positivity. “You find what makes you happy in this life and you expand upon it. If you are trying to bring happiness and joy into somebody’s life, it changes everything. It does, it really does.”
For private and public bookings, visit www.lorstours.com or call 844-567-8687.
