G Adventures plans to give more agents the chance to experience its products after the success of previous fam trips.
The small group activity specialist says it intends to ramp up training and fam trips for independent retailers over the next year, and has pledged to retain its generous 50% discount for agents and their partners who want to head off on one of its tours.
“There really is nothing like experiencing one of our tours to fully understand the ethos of what we are about,” said G Adventures Managing Director Brian Young. “Doing fam trips isn’t rocket science, but we’ve found agents come back and then say ‘Ah, I get it now’. Post-pandemic, customers are crying out for holidays that are about experiences – and that’s what we do.”
G Adventures has invested heavily in creating comprehensive toolkits for agents so they can create attractive, bespoke marketing. And Brian added: “We had one agent come back from Costa Rica recently and then book 12 customers straight away. Independent agents are often very well connected on social media to their clients and can really tap in to the buzz.”
Brian said the operator had seen strong early success for its European product, which includes options such as sailing the Greek Islands and hiking in Ibiza, because retailers are able to package it alongside traditional hotel product in destinations they already know well. Meanwhile, its recently introduced Roamies hostel-based tours are exceeding expectations.
“The pandemic seems to have dented the confidence of young people a little bit, so Roamies is the perfect bridge to get them back to that backpacking life.
“Despite the cost of living crisis there still seems a strong intention to travel. Agents can create amazing value for money by using our tours, which make life easy because of their great inclusions.
“The small group tours sector is exceptionally lucrative and our repeat rate is around 60%, so is great for agents long term. If they want to get started with us, let’s talk about getting them away to see what we offer.”
