Revolutionizing Guided Tours: Modern Marketing Strategies that Work with Globus

Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
If you kind of think about the car industry and how
it would have changed from 1928to today, the core of what it
does is essentially the same toprovide that transportation.
But how it's shaped has evolvedtremendously and that's really
the same for us and for theGlobus family.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Hello everyone and welcome to Travel Trends.
This is your host, danChristian, and I'm super excited
to kick off our guided touringseries as part of season five.
This is actually the theme thatI've been looking forward to
the most, since it's a big partof my background, and with this
series, we're going to get intowhat is a guided tour.
We're going to talk about someof the biggest players in this

(00:45):
space, and I'm going to kickthings off by highlighting the
overall market size and thegrowth potential, which has
largely been misunderstood, andpart of that is because it's
very difficult to even name thiscategory.
It's often referred to asmulti-day tours or escorted
tours, guided travel and, insome cases, adventure travel,
since, yes, most adventuretravel companies are guided tour

(01:08):
operators as well that servemulti-day trips.
But essentially, the simplestway you can look at it is this
If you are on a trip and thattrip has a guide and a group and
you're gone for more than oneday, you are on a multi-day tour
or a guided tour, and this iswhere it's been difficult for
companies to properly assess thesize and scale of this industry

(01:32):
.
But to give you a briefoverview pre-pandemic, this
category was at least $100billion 2025 post-pandemic with
growth inflation new playersenter the market.
Post-pandemic with growthinflation new players enter the
market.
Most projections put thiscategory around $300 billion and
most of the forecasts areprojecting that this category

(01:52):
despite some of the globaluncertainty we're seeing now
heading into mid-2025, isprojected to grow at about 20%
per year, and the reason forthat is because of the
demographic factors that are atplay, and we've talked a lot
about this in previous episodes,and I reason for that is
because of the demographicfactors that are at play, and
we've talked a lot about this inprevious episodes, and I think
a lot of our listeners certainlyare aware of my background from
the travel corporation brandslike Trafalgar and Insight and

(02:14):
Contiki, and then G Adventuresas well.
We had James Thornton, the CEOof Intrepid.
As part of season four.
We kicked off with an adventureseries and we were talking to
Shannon Stoll from the Adventure, travel and Trade Association
about just how significant theadventure category is, and then
we brought James on.
As you remember, we weretalking about their plans to

(02:36):
become a billion dollar revenuecompany by 2030.
For those of you who have beenkeeping up to date on Intrepid,
they are actually going toexceed that before 2030.
They're already at $800 millionas it stands here.
In 2025, up from $500 million.
So you can see multi-day touradventure tour brands G

(02:56):
Adventures is having greatsuccess, but the reality is,
across this category we'reseeing so many multi-day tour
brands have significant growth.
So demographics is a big factorin all of this, of course, as
we've highlighted before, theaging demographic of baby
boomers moving into retirementand having a surplus of savings
that they are choosing to travelas much as possible.

(03:17):
The younger generation is doingexactly the same thing.
They don't necessarily have thesavings, but they have the
desire for experiences overthings, and I was looking at a
recent report based on currentbooking activity out of the US
and the two spikes in ages was30 and 70.
And so that gives you an ideaof why multi-day touring is set

(03:39):
for significant potential overthe next decade, and I'm going
to highlight some of the brandsthat are active in this space.
So, on this series, we're goingto hear from Colette, who has
kindly been one of our titlesponsors for this season.
You're going to hear from theirCEO, jacqueline I had an
amazing conversation with herand you'll hear that next week
we're going to start off withGlobus, which is a brand that I
knew less about and was keen tohave as part of this series,

(04:02):
just given how important theyare in size and scale in the
global multi-day tour space.
We're also going to speak toExplore, since I wanted to bring
an adventure tour operator, andwe'll speak to Michael Edwards,
who is based in London, andthen we're also going to speak
to Ben Hall, who is an oldfriend from my time at the
Travel Corporation.
He used to be at Contiki andnow he is running AAT Kings,

(04:26):
based in Sydney, australia.
So I think these four guestswill give an amazing global
perspective of what's happeningin the guided travel space.
We'll be right back.
Hey, travel advisors, are youready to offer your clients
truly amazing global travelexperiences that they will never
forget?
Well then, you have to meet ourfriends at Colette, the most

(04:46):
trusted name in guided travelsince 1918.
With tours across all sevencontinents and five distinct
travel styles, from small groupsto small ship cruising, colette
really has a tour for everykind of traveler.
Colette's in-destinationdesigners are passionate
travelers and regional experts.
They curate experiences that gobeyond the surface.

(05:07):
Think dining in a local's home,connecting with local
communities and truly immersingyourself in the destination's
culture.
That is what Colette is allabout.
No cookie-cutter itinerarieshere, no endless hotel hopping.
You'll spend an average of twoto three nights in a centrally
located accommodation.
It is the way to travel in 2025and beyond, so it is time to

(05:32):
make sure your clients have theopportunity to experience
Colette.
Don't just book a trip.
Dive deeper into thedestination.
Create memories with ColetteTravel, crafted by travelers for
travelers.
For more information and todiscover how Colette can delight
your clients, check outcolettecom.
That's ColetteC-O-L-L-E-T-T-Ecom.

(05:55):
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(06:18):
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(06:39):
Visit flywirecom slash traveltrends to learn more.
That's flywirecom slash traveltrends to learn more.
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And now back to the show.
Now, as many of our listenersknow, I remain very active in
the multi-day tour space as anadvisor and an investor and I
work with a number of differenttravel technology companies,

(07:00):
travel agencies and touroperators, and I'm thrilled that
Tour Optima has decided tosponsor this series.
Ben and the team have built anincredible platform that I got
to see about two years ago atFocusrite and I've known Ben for
many years and I said to himthen this is exactly the
technology that we would havemassively benefited from at the

(07:22):
Travel Corporation or before.
That essentially gives theleaders the opportunity to
connect with all the guests ontheir trip to ensure that it
streamlines the experience, thatit's efficient and that
ultimately, the guests are happyso they'll book again and leave
incredible reviews.
They have opportunities to doupsells and cross-sells in the
platform and last year the brandwas called Curated Planet.

(07:44):
Ben and I worked together torebrand to Tour Optima.
You can find out more detailsat touroptimacom.
But they have been going fromstrength to strength, now
working with multi-day tourbrands large global, multi-day
tour brands and their technologyis perfectly fit for purpose,
which was that challenge that wehad before.
Either there wasn't somethingthat was available off the shelf

(08:07):
or it was going to be tooexpensive to build it, and so
when I saw what Ben haddeveloped, I jumped on board.
So I'm now an investor and anadvisor.
But in addition to that, benhas kindly decided to sponsor
this series and I'm thrilledabout that because I want all
the multi-data brands that arelistening to these episodes to
familiarize yourself with TorOptima and check out

(08:28):
TorOptimacom, and you can sendBen a quick email literally Ben
at TorOptimacom.
He'll get back to you in likefive minutes.
He's that fast and responsiveand he'll set up with a demo.
I'll even look to join blownaway by the technology, and many
of you will improve youroperations and have happier
guests by implementing TorOptima as a white label solution

(08:48):
, totally branded like yourbusiness, and give your guests
the opportunity to download anapp, stay connected to their
guide and realize all thebenefits of leveraging that
platform.
So thanks again to Ben and theteam at Tor Optima.
And then, just as we prepare tointroduce our very first guest,
the CMO of Globus.
I just wanted to also highlightthat over the last couple of

(09:11):
weeks we've kindly been featuredon a couple of other podcasts.
Jelani featured us on Pay Me InPlane Tickets, which is a great
podcast.
I had the real pleasure to beon his show just recently, so
definitely check that out.
And then the team at TransferTravel as well.
They are a really cool businessout of the UK and they have
started a podcast, like a numberof our partners and sponsors,

(09:32):
and all of those will be listedon our Friends of Travel Trends
page, which you can find attraveltrendspodcastcom slash
resources.
And then the last thing is Iremain super active in this
space and, if you want to learnmore information about the
brands that I work with, likeglobal journeys or impulse
travel, I'm also now an advisorwith we road, which is going to

(09:54):
be one of the fastest brands toget to a billion dollars in
sales.
They literally went from 10million to 100 million in four
years and I'm convinced thatthey'll be the next billion
dollar brand, because, guesswhat?
They haven't even launched inthe USA, canada, australia, yet
they don't offer their tripsthrough trade partners and all
of those things that we'reworking on.
So there are many excitingdevelopments in this space.

(10:16):
Global Journeys, interestinglyenough, who I've been working
with over the last year CamGeorgie, mike Geza and the team
has built an office here inToronto.
We renovated the space, wehired the team, we got all of
the contracts worked out and nowthey are live and their team of
12 amazing travel advisors havejust passed their probationary
period.
So congrats to all of you and Ilook forward to that team going

(10:39):
from strength to strength.
And, very interestingly, allfour of these brands are now
available to be booked onglobaljourneyscom in the USA and
Canada as they continue theirglobal expansion.
So that gives you an idea aboutwhat's happening in this space.
But you're going to learn somuch more as you listen to each
of these four episodes.
And we'll kick things off nowby introducing the CMO and again

(11:02):
, my background is alsomarketing Introducing the CMO
and again, my background is alsomarketing.
So I was actually very keen tohave the CMO of Globus on this
first podcast, and the reasonfor that is quite simply that I
think that, most importantly,multi-day tour companies and
guided travel brands have adifficulty in communicating
their message.
Almost all of these brandsoffer an incredible

(11:23):
in-destination experience withfantastic guides and that
ultimately lead to life-changingexperiences.
You come back impacted fromthese trips.
It's very different than otherstyles of travel, which is why
that we're seeing that peoplelove guided travel and are very
loyal to this space, and theywill travel with different
guided travel brands.
So I was really keen to get asense of what Globus is all

(11:46):
about as a business, butspecifically to ask Steve Bourne
, their CMO, about how theysuccessfully message a legacy
brand and make it relevant andcontemporary.
Because I've spent a lot oftime in that space, I was keen
to ask him a number of questions.
So I hope you enjoy thisconversation with Steve.
I'm thrilled to have you onTravel Trends.
As we talk about touring, Icouldn't be more pleased to have
someone with more than 20 yearsexperience at Globus, globus

(12:10):
being such an important part ofthe coaching and touring
category that we're going to getinto.
So welcome, steve.
Thanks a lot for joining us.

Speaker 1 (12:16):
Thanks for having me, Dan.
I'm excited to talk abouttouring with you.

Speaker 2 (12:19):
For sure, and I think we can help demystify some of
the negative perceptions abouttouring the things that we know,
being inside this industry formany years.
And for me, I actually don'tknow a lot about Globus, so I'm
actually very keen.
Oh, I know as much as I knowfrom the outside, looking in,
but obviously you've been withthis company for 24 years.
So before we get into Globus,let's just give everyone a bit

(12:41):
of background, steve, yourbackground in tourism.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
Yeah, well, it started in kind of an
interesting way, globus was aclient of mine back in the old
days I worked for an advertisingagency and they were a client,
the one client that I alwaysloved that, like a good tour
operator, they always had theiract together, they always had,

(13:06):
you know, plans formulated.
They were very um, organizedand structured.
And so, um, my current boss, umour CEO, scott Nisbet he was my
client recruited me over andwhen I joined I said, yeah, I'll
, I'll try this out.
You know, maybe I'm good forabout three years and we'll see
how it goes.
And that was 24 years ago, so Ithink it worked out.

Speaker 2 (13:30):
Yeah, I would say so, and I guess this is where I'm
intrigued, actually to know whatattracted you to guided touring
.
So I get that Globus was aclient and obviously then you
got a better understanding oftheir business and what they
offered, including.
It's changed a lot in that timebut, yes, what I guess
specifically appealed to youabout guided touring as a travel
business?
What excited you?

Speaker 1 (13:53):
to actually jump on board with Globus in the first
place.
Well, I think it's reallyrelated to the idea that touring
is still, for some reason, kindof the best kept secret in
travel, which is really weirdbecause it's a much bigger
category than ocean cruising asa standalone.

(14:18):
It's a huge category and a bigchunk of what we do and
recognition, awareness andpotential opportunity you know
for for what we do, and so itwas that gap.
You know how intriguing and funas a marketer to see a need to
know that you have a productthat fits the need and you need

(14:40):
to get it in front of folks andfill that gap, and so that was
really.
That was the mission behindjoining, and that's what's kept
me there alive and kicking for24 years.

Speaker 2 (14:52):
Yeah, it's amazing.
I mean, I was at the TravelCorporation for a decade and I
expected maybe I'd be there forthree or four years and clearly
we were in a competitive spacewith Trafalgar, globus, cost
Saver, cosmos, and so this iswhy I'm so intrigued to have
this conversation with you,because I know what I know from
the outside, looking in.
But I'm sure many of ourlisteners are wrapping their

(15:12):
head around Globus for the veryfirst time, so I want to bring
everyone along in this journey.
And certainly it is one of themost recognized names in guided
touring.
But tell us the backstory ofGlobus and how this company came
to be.

Speaker 1 (15:25):
Oh my gosh, it's a great story.
I always love talking aboutthis story because it is true,
it's not just legend.
It started, dan, with a rowboatin Lugano, switzerland, this
beautiful scenic lake communityon the southern border of
Switzerland, and our founder,antonio Matagazza, had a rowboat

(15:47):
on the lake, and what he did ishe transported local tourists
via the rowboat around the lake,and that blossomed into buying
coaches first ever.
And that blossomed into, youknow, regional tours first ever.
And that blossomed into youknow, regional tours.

(16:08):
And basically, it's the core ofwhat we do today, is what he
did back then in 1928, which is,no, you know, have expertise of
a destination and find a way tobring that to life for
travelers.
So starting with a rowboat andthen expanding to where we are
today is it's our history andit's still true.
It's still a vital part of whatmakes a tour today is that idea

(16:35):
of showing travelers the placethat you know and love best.

Speaker 2 (16:39):
Yeah, no, I appreciate that backstory.
I wasn't familiar with thatorigin story, but I certainly
you know, know the family ofbrands as Globus is known for,
which is, uh, of course, globusitself.
You've got uh, cosmos, and youalso have Avalon.
You also have river cruising aswell.
So tell us a little bit aboutyou know, I guess, and you've
got trips like on six continents, 70 countries, like it's a,

(17:04):
it's truly a global business.
Tell us a little bit more, ifyou wouldn't mind, just about
that journey, about where itstarted with some of those first
organized tours, and how it'sevolved into, you know, the
global company it is today,right?

Speaker 1 (17:14):
So you know, over a hundred years there's been a lot
that has changed.
You know, like I mentioned, thecore of what we do is the same,
but the form of how we do ithas really transformed and I
think Antonio would be reallysurprised and proud about where
it's gone since that origin.
So Globus is the first classtouring brand and was the origin

(17:40):
back in 1928 of the product andevolved and grew.
origin back in 1928 of theproduct and evolved and grew.
If you kind of think about thecar industry and how it would
have changed from 1928 to today,the core of what it does is
essentially the same to providethat transportation.
But how it's shaped has evolvedtremendously and that's really

(18:03):
the same for us and for theGlobus family of brands.
So Globus being the benchmarkbrand for first-class touring,
and then Cosmos joined in the60s and Cosmos presented really
the same structure as Globus,but as more of a value package.
So if you think about thedifference between the two, it

(18:25):
would really be hotel standardand price point on that.
But essentially what we dobetween the two brands is the
same and bring chosendestination to life.
And then fast forward to 2004,and we entered the river cruise
business.
And that's Avalon Waterways.
And at the time, and that'sAvalon Waterways.
And at the time river cruisingexisted and was doing well from

(18:48):
the US market, but it was verytraditional and was basically
one type of river cruising andwe entered the market to clearly
become the alternative to whatthe traditional river cruise was
and that's really the standardthat we hold today.
It's the alternative brand tothe more traditional sort of

(19:11):
river cruise that just has moreto it Bigger spaces, the
hardware is structured in aunique way where the beds face
the view and it's designed forthe inside out and then just
blow out of the water.
The idea of the shore excursionsso instead of one size fits all
shore excursion every time theship stops and you dock, then

(19:35):
there's a choice of types ofexcursions which really connects
to our land experience onGlobus.
So that was part of themotivation by getting into river
cruising is that we had thisland expertise, which is really
the key to what a river cruiseis is that interaction between
the river and the port and thedestination you're at.

(19:56):
So we were uniquely qualifiedto get into that space and it
has.
You know, 20 years later it'sgrown and become a real
challenger brand for thetraditional river cruise.
So and then along the way onthis journey, you know, over 97
years we've I different stylesand ways to tour, and so that's

(20:18):
really something that the Globusfamily of brands is known for
is just the scope and the rangethat you know.
If travel advisors or travelersare thinking about any form of

(20:39):
what we do as an escorted tour,river cruise.
Chances are they'll find itwith us and you know, to become
that resource for them toexplore in the way that they
want to.

Speaker 2 (20:50):
That's great.
I appreciate giving us thatoverview.
It's fascinating to see howguided touring brands have
partnered or acquired or kind ofgrown into river cruising and
just how many travelers todayare doing a combination of both
a week on a river cruise and aweek on a guided tour.
And clearly what you said isabsolutely spot on where people
who know how to organize guidedtour itineraries are very well

(21:13):
suited for those shoreexcursions and they go so well
together.
And I guess that's where, goingback to where this company
started and you mentionedsomething about Globus, which is
first class tours, and I thinkthat for me, over the many years
of being in this space with GAdventures, working with Bruce
and then certainly with theTolman family at the Travel

(21:34):
Corporation and Stanleyspecifically, something that he
drilled into myself and manyexecutives in the company was
your unique selling propositionsand being able to sell the
difference of what is aTrafalgar or an Insight or, in
their case, a Uniworld.
And so I'm really keen to askyou essentially the same thing

(21:55):
about Globus, because what I'mvery keen to understand and what
you're uniquely qualified toanswer as the CMO of Globus over
the number of years that you'vebeen with the company is really
what makes it unique in guidedtouring.
I know people love travelingwith Globus, and obviously you
guys are.
You started in Switzerland.
It's a great global company.

(22:15):
I know people that work in theorganization and I have a great
respect and affinity for Globus.
And so tell us, if you wouldn'tmind, steve, what, in your view
, really sets Globus apart fromall the other guided touring
companies that are out there inthe market.
Yeah, yeah, dan, there's aright brain answer to that
question.

Speaker 1 (22:34):
and there's a left brain, so the right brain, the
logical one, is a word more.
And that is when you take aGlobus tour and you go to your
destination and you experienceit, you're just simply going to
get more out of it than youwould in any other form of
travel, and so that includes,you know, compared to different
types of tours and what we do,where we really pride ourself on

(22:58):
.
When you're there, you're goingto see the best of what you
went there for, the iconic, aswell as the things that you
never knew existed and thestories that you never knew
occurred.
You're just going to get moreout of it, and you know we can,
as we talk, we can get into moreexamples of what that means.
The left brain answer to that,though, is how we do it, and

(23:24):
that it sounds a little trite,but it's the word care, and it
is, at every decision point,doing the right thing for the
traveler.
In fact, our mantra internallyis we create happy guests, and
that drives us.
You know, what is it that, inany one of those areas, in any
form of travel that we offer, isgoing to make that guest

(23:44):
experience the best it can beand make them happy and make
them know that they got the mostout of their trip, and so
that's the motivator.
That is where we make our, howwe make our decisions is.
Is this something that is goingto matter to the guests and
make their travel experiencebetter and make them happier
when they're on trip and whenthey go home.

(24:06):
So you have two simple fourletter words.
More and care.

Speaker 2 (24:11):
No, that's great, and this is where getting your
unique perspective, becauseobviously that's what resonates
with you, the team and then theguests that choose to travel
Globus.
And again, again.
I know you have a high repeatrate, so customers come back.
I've had multiple familymembers taking Globus.
Actually, catherine, who doesall the guesting of the show,
and Steve got a chance to meether just before recording.

(24:31):
She highlighted to him that itwas actually her first guided
tour.
She was 18 and she went withher mom to England and Steve was
saying, actually, yeah, it'sone of our most popular
itineraries.
And so one of the things I wouldalso like you to demystify for
a lot of our listeners is theconcept of guided touring,
because there are so manydifferent terms or nomenclature
for this style of travel, andpart of it is because companies

(24:54):
have been trying to get awayfrom some of the negative
stereotypes around guidedtouring.
I think the thing is that, frommy experience coming up in this
space and working with adventuretravel brands and working
across guided travel brands, isthat people have an incredible
time when they go and travel ona guided tour and they get to
meet people who have similarinterests and they get to be

(25:17):
social and it is a bondingexperience, and so it's not
about the value of the holidayby getting on a guided tour.
It's actually about therelationships that you make and
how it enhances the whole guestexperience.
We're thinking about guidedtouring and the industry that
Globus is a part of.
How would you refer to thiscategory and within that Globus'

(25:40):
role, because I'm sure there'sa lot of things that you offer
that are unique within thecategory, as opposed to just
walking behind someone with aflag, which is exactly what
people don't want, and to beherded around?

Speaker 1 (25:52):
It's really interesting about Escorted and
what makes the category and theproduct super unique is that the
structure around it is thestrongest benefit and leads to
the greatest discovery and thewow moments.
But the structure around it isalso also its biggest barrier.

(26:12):
And what a what a unique placeto be, where there's an idea and
a stereotype before you'veexperienced it of oh my gosh,
okay, so I'm going to betraveling with people I don't
know.
There's going to be a motorcoach.
I've been someplace where I'veseen this and I think I see what

(26:34):
it is and I don't know if Iwant to do.
And I think I see what it isand I don't know if I want to do
that.
But then you do it and youexperience it and you're like
holy smokes, why haven't I donethis?
So that contrast between thosetwo things has really kept me in
a job.
Frankly, dan, for 24 years, ishow to bridge those things.
If you describe to someone whowanted to experience, really

(26:57):
experience a destination, sopick, pick any place, just
Ireland, you know, for the sakeof this it's like, oh, I've
always wanted to go to Ireland,you know, I want to see the
things that are Irish, I want tosee the major sites.
I've seen all the postcards.
I want to experience the localculture.
I want to do everything I want.
I don't want to pay too much.
I want it to be a great, deepexperience of Ireland and have a

(27:20):
week.
So the answer to that question.
There's no way to beat thedescription of an escorted tour.
To make that happen, you'relike okay, here's what I'm going
to do.
I'm going to get you there.
I'm going to whisk you withoutany hassle throughout the
country, where you don't have toworry about parking logistics,

(27:41):
reservations, standing in line.
You don't have to worry aboutschedules, you don't have to
worry about what you're going todo when you get there.
You don't have to worry aboutwasting your time.
You don't have to worry aboutpaying out of you, don't have to
worry about paying out ofpocket.
I'm going to take you there and, from the moment that you land
to every step along the way, I'mgoing to take care of every

(28:04):
worry.
So you are going to be floatingthrough Ireland for a week in
my care.
And oh, by the way, while you'rethere, I'm going to have
someone with you who's a Irishperson, who loves the country
and is your tour director, who'scommitted to you and your
vacation experience.

Speaker 2 (28:24):
Oh, wait a minute.

Speaker 1 (28:26):
I'm going to do more than that and give you that tour
director.
Everywhere we stop along theway, there's going to be an
Irish local guide who, at thedestination, is going to help
tell that story of the place andbring it to life.
And you're going to do itwithout ever having to stand in
line, ever having to reach inyour pocket, ever having to pull
out a ticket or find one onyour phone, with ever having to

(28:48):
worry about how long it's goingto take to get from here to
there.
Gosh, you don't even have toworry about parking, you don't
have to worry about driving onthe wrong side of the road.
You don't have to worry about athing other than be in Ireland
and be Irish, and do it with abunch of fun people who are
like-minded, who want toexperience that same thing.
And oh, by the way, you'llprobably make friends along the

(29:11):
way, friends along the way.
So how, dan?
How to get to that place andthat description.
What we need are the pros andthe travel agents in between
that who are telling that story,who don't just leave it up to
you know, people like me, on apodcast like this to tell that

(29:31):
story, to say well, here's whatyour experience is going to be
like.
Now don't worry about how youknow logistics.
It's what's that end result ofwhat that week experience in
Ireland is going to be.
And when you describe it thatway to a human like you see the
light go on.
You're like, oh my gosh, whydidn't anyone tell?

Speaker 2 (29:53):
me about this.

Speaker 1 (29:54):
Wait a minute, that's what you do and there's
seriously, there's someone withme who can make all that happen
and seamless along the way.
I don't know.
It feels too good to be trueand it's just.
It's translating that andtelling that story to get beyond
what those traditionalstereotypes are.

Speaker 2 (30:14):
Yeah, no, thank you for that.
I actually it was nice to hearit from your vantage point and
also for you to describe it theway you did in terms of floating
.
That is ultimately like theexperience you want to have as a
guest in a destination is that,to your point, everything is
taken care of.
Everything is taken care of.
So the transportation, all thelogistics, you know, bags get

(30:37):
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And now back to the show Interms of what is unique about
Globus, because obviouslyyourself as the CMO part of
obviously, what you're taskedwith doing you guys have a great
sales team that's out thereworking with travel advisors,

(33:12):
but your role is unique becauseyou have to work on the
messaging and I've seen a numberof your ads and I really have
been impressed with your overallmarketing and positioning.
And so tell us a little bitabout how you actually convey
that in terms of actually givingthe imagery and showing the
in-destination experiences andshowing those expert local
guides.
That and the specific thingsthat you're looking to pull out,

(33:33):
because I am very keen to getinto how the business has
evolved, especially with smallgroups, because obviously that's
another big development forGlobus.
But yeah, tell us, if youwouldn't mind, how you then
communicate that so successfully.

Speaker 1 (33:48):
Well, there's one where I mean the key to any of
that communication is making itas simple as possible and, you
know, creating a relevance thatdoesn't require that long
explanation that I just gave you, dan, because you've got seven
seconds in our world and thefact that we're exposed to
10,000 advertising messages in agiven day.

(34:09):
It's just got to be supersimple.
So that super simple word forus is beyond, and when you
travel with Globus, it's justgoing to be beyond the ordinary,
beyond what you get bytraveling on your own, beyond
what you'd get by trying tofollow your phone or a guidebook
, what you would do if you werewith another operator, because

(34:37):
we've curated and brought tolife wow moments during the tour
that you just simply can't walkup to a concierge and replicate
.
You know they're unique.
And a lot of tour operators havedone a form of that, but
they're really rich and deep ina Globus tour.
That's something that we reallypride ourselves on.
So it's that it's telling thatstory about beyond.
That is beyond the things thatyou, you know, would do on your

(35:00):
own to make the experience thatdestination beyond.
And the way we do it is we'vegot to show it, we've got, you
know, we we really put a lot ofeffort and energy into the
showing part not just thetelling part, into the showing
part, not just the telling partand visuals and video and sharp

(35:20):
messages that help tell thatstory about beyond, not only for
us but also to give traveladvisors and our selling
community a tool to be able totell that story in a very
effective way.

Speaker 2 (35:33):
Yeah, one of the things that I think you do very
well, to your credit, is thatyou actually incorporate
travelers and even the motorcoach into the imagery, so that
people actually have an idea ofwhat they're going to experience
.
So, just on that topic, I wouldappreciate it if you wouldn't
mind giving our listeners, whichare many people that work in

(35:54):
the travel industry, traveladvisors, but also we do have
guests or travelers that couldcertainly potentially take a
Globus trip in the future.
So I want to make sure that weclarify for our audience what
types of travelers are drawn toGlobus tours and then,
specifically, the sort ofdemographics that you cater to,

(36:16):
because, as you mentioned,you've got quite a few different
product offerings.
We know we've got this rapidlygrowing kind of baby boomer
audience as they're retiring,and so it'd be helpful, I guess,
for your point, steve, becauseyou're marketing to these people
.
So I'm sure you're figuring outwho are those personas, where
are they, what is the messagingthat's going to resonate with

(36:37):
them.
But, yeah, take us through thetype of guests that are drawn to
Globus and some of thosedemographic or even
psychographic details thatyou're marketing towards.

Speaker 1 (36:47):
Well, what all of our travelers have in common is
that they're traveling with amission.
So, as opposed to, you know, alot of occasions of travel in
life are traveling to get awayand just relax and unwind.
So you could say big shipcruising is a form of that All
inclusives, beach stays, thingslike that.

(37:08):
There's a lot of travel that wedo throughout our life, that is
, you know, the mission is justto unwind and unplug.
Touring is really the oppositeof that.
It's you want to get the mostout, you want to be as active as
possible and engaged aspossible and you want to get the
most out of your trip.
And you're going there becauseyou want to experience the
culture and you want to do andthat's where you know the word

(37:33):
tour is great and I know theindustry has come back and forth
around that term over the years.

Speaker 2 (37:40):
Like, do we?

Speaker 1 (37:40):
embrace it.
You know, do we shy away fromit?
And we're all in.
We're all in on the word tour,because tour is a verb and tour
is active and tour is on the goand it's rich.
There's a lot that you do andthat's the sort of traveler that
we're appealing to.
Demographically they fall 45plus really, you know, starts at

(38:04):
Gen X and then, you know,builds as we get into boomers,
and why that is is most often atthat occasion in life is that's
the time where you can thinkabout travel for you and that's
the time that you're nottraveling because your kids have
a week in June before you knowthe soccer camps start, where

(38:25):
you know you're traveling forthem.
You know, or you know you'retraveling for a getaway from
work, or you're traveling withthe, you know for a different
purpose other than what youreally want to do.
So we really, as humans, wedon't really get to travel for
us that often, until we get tothat moment where like, okay,
you know, now it's more about me, now I have more time, I have

(38:47):
resources, where I really wantto do what I want to do.
And that's where that idea ofthe bucket list comes into play.
It's always been thought of asan older person description,
like a bucket list, you know, isthe thing that I want to do
before I leave this earth.
But it's really.
It's about a form of what do Iwant to do when it's really
about me and what destinationsdo I want to see and how do I

(39:11):
want to do it.
Do I want to see and how do Iwant to do it?
So demographically it does fall,you know, heavy into baby
boomers because they've got, youknow, full on that time
resource and the money resourceand that opportunity to really
do it and what we'd like to seeis that you don't have to wait
to a certain age in order tofulfill that and in bringing

(39:33):
that forward into you know, thenewer generation of touring, and
making sure that it's notexclusive to that moment in life
where you think that you'vewaited long enough and now you
can do it.
And with a product like Cosmos,where the price points really
make it attainable and put thattravel within reach, you don't

(39:54):
have to wait.
You know you can do it as analternative to a beach getaway
even more economical than thatso yeah, traditionally, dan, the
demographic for touring hasbeen older.
For us, you know our sweet spotour average would be 60, but
there's no reason.
The emerging group is reallydesigned for what today's tour

(40:17):
is, and that's to make somethingthat you thought was out of
reach possible, and the factthat you don't have to wait to
do it.

Speaker 2 (40:23):
Yeah, what intrigues me about what you just shared
too I mean, one of the thingsthat we've seen is that you know
, with Airbnb and some of thesestyles of travel that people
have, basically they have brokendown what a guided holiday is
and they're now trying to pieceit together themselves.
They're trying to book adifferent car rental and it's
just all the hassles andaggravations when you have the
opportunity to have someone thatis fully customized and gives

(40:46):
you the opportunity to travel asan insider or can access those
hidden gems and those thingsthat may only be known or
accessible by virtue of beingable to join a guided tour.
But I like the fact you alsomentioned that it's really
immersive and the way youdescribed it being engaged as

(41:06):
opposed to just relaxing on abeach or relaxing on a cruise
ship.
It's one of the things that Ilove about guided touring, and
our kids have grown up on guidedtours because you can pack so
much into a holiday.
You can do Chile, argentina andBrazil in two weeks and be able
to see all the highlights andhave the internal flights sorted
out and be traveling with agroup that you develop a bond

(41:28):
with and people that you stay intouch with.
So yeah, I'm obviously you'repreaching to the converted with
me, and that's why I wanted tohave this open conversation with
you, to hear it from yourvantage point.
The other thing I wanted to askyou too, steve when I think of
a group of people traveling on aGlobus trip, clearly it's an
international audience.
You've talked about the Swissroots.
Clearly, the US is one of yourlargest markets and the focus is

(41:51):
English language tours.
But when you think of thedifferent itineraries that you
offer, can you kind of describefor us where in the world the
guests are from and where you'reseeing growth in different
markets?

Speaker 1 (42:06):
So what the group traveling would typically look
like would be about 60 to 70percent American and then a
heavy dose of Australia, newZealand, uk and Canada.
And what a diverse that youknow.
If you think about that group,you know that's a pretty fun
group and but the commondenominator is it's all English

(42:28):
language and you know it's alldelivered to in that perspective
and you know, all catered toeverything dedicated to just
that group, as opposed topiecemealing it across different
suppliers along the way.
You're with one tour directorand you're with our own curated
local guides throughout.

(42:49):
So, and then you know, what theyall have in common is just that
curiosity and that like-mindedapproach that they're using this
opportunity and this rareoccasion in life to get away and
really get the most out of thedestination.
And you're right, dan, thatcreates a really fun common bond
that you can't quite describeuntil you do it, until you're

(43:11):
there and you have thatconnection.
It.
Until you're there and you havethat connection and you're
doing really once in a lifetimethings, a lot of times hands-on
and experiencing it with otherpeople some you know from other
countries sometimes that reallyit accentuates it and it really
puts kind of a neat perspectiveon something that if you

(43:33):
experience on your own would becool, but when you experience it
with other people, it just itadds an element to it.
That's a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (43:41):
Yeah, no, and one of the things this is where there
was this concept of kind oflarger group tours and then
small group and some of the moreinnovative companies, obviously
, globus being one of them,collette being another.
It's interesting that smallgroup has become an emerging
opportunity.
It was there before the pandemic, but post-pandemic a lot of

(44:01):
people were you have a slightlysmaller group, and so this is
where I'm really keen tounderstand where Globus is
headed, because I know this isone of the major developments is
these small group discoverytours.

(44:24):
And so, if you can help us kindof, I guess, understand how that
has come to be, because clearlythere's still going to be a
market for, like, the full coachand, as you already mentioned,
obviously you've got Globus, youhave Cosmos, which gives
obviously more flexibility,given there's not as many

(44:44):
inclusions and, at least from myunderstanding it might be, the
hotels may not be as centrallylocated, but there's other ways
to kind of like keep the costlower but give people
flexibility, and there's a lotof people that are very affluent
, um, that travel on a Cosmos or, and so it's.
It's not necessarily justbecause they're looking for
better value, they're actuallylooking for the flexibility that

(45:04):
come with those itineraries.
So, um, so tell us how, how youguys with those two strong
brands, how you decided to kindof segue into the small group
discovery tour.
So yeah, tell us a little bit,I guess, how that all came about
.

Speaker 1 (45:18):
Yeah Well, small group tours had existed for 10,
15 years and it was very much aniche and it was very much
luxury, because the price pointassociated with operating what
we do for a smaller group insome cases can be considered
pretty exclusive.
But what happened is?

(45:39):
It really took off after thepandemic, and this was back,
remember, when everything wasgeared towards fewer human
beings, spaced further apart,and that was the thing it was
like.
For the first time, as asociety, we had considered well,
wait a minute.

(45:59):
Yeah, maybe I don't want as manyhumans around me, not
necessarily for the experiencebut just for that idea of space
and you know safety at the time.
And so a lot of tour operatorslike us at that time, coming out
of the pandemic then, tocapitalize on that short-term
need, developed a form of fewerhumans and smaller groups.

(46:24):
So we did that first withGlobus, by any Europe or North
America tour you could pick adate.
That was a small group versionof that itinerary and this was
really, you know, like Imentioned, kind of a
post-pandemic sort of.

Speaker 2 (46:40):
Thing.

Speaker 1 (46:42):
And you know to see where that went Well, we found
that that was extremely popular,beyond our expectations, as a
need even though there's a pricepremium on it that there's a
lot of demand for that type oftravel, and that then encouraged
us to look at a whole new lineof product called Small Group

(47:03):
Discoveries that we introducedthis year for 2025.
That was built from the groundup, not a version of an existing
itinerary that was operatedwith fewer people, but really a
tour built exclusively aroundthe idea of what is a small
group experience and what doesthat look like.
And so that's taken off thisyear.
We're, you know, now beginning,you know, prepping to operate

(47:27):
our first of those this monthactually, and they've been, you
know they've been taking off.
We have 51 of those itinerariesthat we launched for this year
in that category and the averagesize on that is going to be 15,
whereas the average size on thestandard Globus tour would be
about 36.
So you can see half the peopleand double the value, double the

(47:51):
experience.
So that's kind of the equationon that.
So we can talk more, you know alittle bit and get into small
group and what makes a smallgroup.
But your question about Cosmosis really a good one too, and
that is, you know, one of thedrivers for Cosmos is that it is
at a lower price.
It's going to be about, you know, $100 to $120 a day lower price

(48:15):
than an average, a typicalGlobus tour.
And how we do that is adifferent standard of hotels.
Sometimes the location's alittle bit different, but
there's going to be more freetime to, once we get you there
at the destination that you'regoing to be able to fill it,
explore on your own, some withoptional excursions and some

(48:35):
just want to be on their own,and that's the travel style.
It's kind of a lighter versionof a tour, so to speak, and a
lot of people just prefer that.
You know the price is a benefitto that, but they prefer that
idea of just a little bit moreindependence, a little bit more
free time, and then they usethat value maybe to stretch
their wings and get to adestination that otherwise could

(48:58):
have been out of reach if theywere going on.
You know more of the firstclass version, or they use it to
travel more often and they'reregulars and you know that
there's that secondary benefitto the price point.
So it's really kind of adifferent category of touring
that you want a little bit of adifferent experience and a

(49:18):
little bit more independence.

Speaker 2 (49:20):
I'm glad you mentioned the price point
because I think that's one ofthe things that I know it was a
key driver to try and messagethe price to kind of a largely
middle-class audience about thevalue that you could get on a
trip, because essentially youwouldn't be able to do all these
things on your own, plus you'dhave all these hassles and
inconveniences, and so there hasalways been kind of a
value-oriented component to aguided tour that someone can

(49:42):
actually take 30 or 40 peopleand package something together.
That gives you.
And so the reason I'm comingback to that question is because
when you mentioned about theprice point per day, it's an
interesting thing that us in theindustry have that view of what
is the per day cost If it's aseven-day trip, what will the
market bear?
So if you wouldn't mind justsharing with us, just in terms
of approximate, if someonethinks about a Globus trip, what

(50:04):
is sort of the typical if it'slike a one-week or 10-day
itinerary, what would be sort of, I guess, your typical price
point for a Globus tour and thena Cosmos tour, if you wouldn't
mind, since you mentioned aboutit's about $100, $150 less per
day.
So, yeah, what do those looklike?
Is it $5,000, $7,000, just inbroad terms?

Speaker 1 (50:27):
Yeah, so a week tour let's just say it's a popular
destination in Europe you'd belooking at for Cosmos probably
an average for a week tour of$1,300 per person for the week
and for Globus it would probablybe about $2,100 per person for

(50:47):
that week.
I'm being very vague in generalbecause obviously there's going
to be range by destination, butthat gives you kind of a sense
of ballpark with that.

Speaker 2 (50:56):
No, that's great.
And then, in terms of the smallgroup, because you mentioned
previously and the reason I'mhighlighting this to our
audience, because many peopleare working this is where I
think the brilliance of the factthat you guys have gone down
the path of the small group.
A lot of companies havestruggled with the business
formula because they're so usedto trying to fill you know a 52
person coach and they're tryingto manage their yield, which is

(51:18):
where a lot of the profit comesfrom.
And obviously they're lookingat you know the number of seats
they've sold as a break even.
I think a lot of people whenthey get into this guided
touring business or they'relooking at companies to book
with and they have this likewait a second, what's a
guaranteed departure?
And they're like wait a second,you can actually book a trip
that doesn't go and it's like,right, that's actually right.
That's a whole thing for travelagents and partners to wrap

(51:40):
their head around is that andyou know, most companies are not
going to operate at a loss, soyou're not going to send out a
coach with enough people tobreak even.
So there's always been thisformula to try and make sure not
only is it going to be breakeven and then it's green light
go, but ideally you want to tryand maximize the number of
people on the coach as possible,and I think that's, you know,
that has been a mission, amandate for a lot of guided

(52:01):
touring companies.
However, the counter effect ofthat is sometimes, you know,
it's not the optimum guestexperience to have a full coach.
It's great for the traveldirector.
At certain times I've heard thatline that a full coach is a
happy coach because it can belucrative for the travel
director.
And this is one of those thingswhere it's like trying to
balance all of these.
So tell us, yeah, if youwouldn't mind.

(52:21):
How does the small group thenin terms of price point and then
in terms of experience?
Because when you have 15 peopleversus 36,.
Obviously you're makingdifferent choices about
transport.

Speaker 1 (52:34):
You know small group discovery in our case is reverse
engineered.
You touched on it, dan.
The typical engineeringstructure of a tour is you
create these efficienciesthrough the group of you know,

(52:56):
and a price point that you justcan't do those things if you
tried to do them on your own.
That's the benefit.
So with the small groupdiscovery, really the whole
dynamic was flipped on its headwhere it started, with what are
experiences that we haven't beenable to bring to life through
the larger group, that, with asmall group averaging 15, that

(53:19):
we can make happen.
And starting with those, whatare those experiences?
That maybe it's a spaceconsideration or maybe it's a
small family run operation asone of the inclusions that we're
offering, that just simplycouldn't accommodate a regular
schedule of a larger group, butit's perfect for that sweet spot

(53:40):
of about 15 travelers.
And so, by starting with thoseat destination, then you build a
tour around it and like, okay,what can we do every day of a
one-week tour?
That is that bespoke, uniqueexperience that you just can't
do either on your own, becausethey don't operate it for
individuals, or they just can'taccommodate the larger group.

(54:03):
And it's that sort of thingthat fueled the building of our
small group discoveries makesthem unique, because most times,
what an operator is doing iswhat we did on our small group
departure dates, where they'rejust operating a regular
itinerary with fewer people andthe benefit is fewer people with

(54:23):
us and small group discoveries.
Yeah, there are fewer people,but the benefit is really you
get to do things you know thatyou just weren't accessible and
and wasn't available now withthose things you do lose some of
the economies of scale andyou've got to price that
accordingly.
So the price points on smallgroup discoveries it's a premium

(54:45):
product, but it's a premiumexperience too.
I mean, you're doing thingsthat are just not possible to
get anywhere else, and for us itwas just knowing that there's a
market either.
they're past travelers with usand loyal or that they know
they're more familiar with theconcept and the value of what a

(55:06):
small group discovery does andare willing to pay that price
point difference.
For us, the premium on a smallgroup discovery is going to be
about 30% higher than theequivalent on a classic tour.
But the good thing about Globusand our range is it's up to you
, we don't care.
We don't have to justpigeonhole our travelers into a

(55:28):
certain style.
We have the range that allowsthem to choose based on their
preference and how they want totravel in their price point.

Speaker 2 (55:38):
Yeah, and that's just fascinating.
This is exactly theconversation I want to have with
you because of the timing ofthis development, which, again,
like having the range and theoptions, because it's going to
clearly keep people coming back,because if that was a pain
point or a preference that theywere looking for the small group
experience you have, thatYou've got the price point
option and you can also packageit together with River Cruise,

(56:00):
which is literally the nextseries that we're doing.
We're doing the deep dive intoguided touring and then we're
doing a deep dive into rivercruising, so our conversation
could almost fall into both.
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Now back to the show.

(59:22):
Would otherwise associateGlobus with right and so if you
wouldn't mind sharing with uskind of what are the top driver
destinations for Globus?
I'm assuming it's a lot ofEuropean destinations and the
same with Cosmos.
So and clearly you have a wideoffering.
But yeah, if you wouldn't mindkind of giving us just an
overview of what are yourprimary destinations for Globus,

(59:43):
then Cosmos, and then what aresome of the emerging
destinations you're now going tobe able to bring travelers to
with the Discovery Tours.

Speaker 1 (59:52):
Well, the bulk of our volume is Europe.
That was the heritage and theorigin that we talked about at
the beginning of ourconversation, dan, and still is.
The vast majority of our volumeis in Europe, but the vast
majority of our product isactually outside of Europe, and
I mentioned that we travel tosix continents and we've got

(01:00:12):
every continent covered, and alot of the development and
actually doing very well in ayear like this is that the
non-Europe destinations and overtime, especially with the
emerging Gen X market movinginto touring, there's growing
appeal for destinations thathave a heavy barrier to entry,

(01:00:34):
which would be more of theexotic destinations.
So any place that has a language, culture or logistics barrier,
or all three of them, it's goingto make more sense for someone
to jump into going to thatdestination escorted because
it's risk-free, they geteverything, they don't have to
worry about jumping thosebarriers.

(01:00:56):
So it's also that's why we madesure that in development of
small group discoveries, thatwith 51 tours I believe it's
nine of the 51 that are Europeand then the others are all
outside- of.
Europe, so it's got the globecovered in that.
And if you look at our productportfolio, you'll find that

(01:01:21):
we've just got an amazing rangeoutside of Europe, in these
other destinations too, andthose really have short-term and
long-term potential, you know,because of the benefit of you
get to discover this amazingkind of once-in-a-lifetime
destination, but to do it in away where it's guaranteed that

(01:01:42):
you're going to get theexperience you want.
And it's a little bit toointimidating to try to do it on
your own.

Speaker 2 (01:01:46):
Yeah, yeah, and there's a little bit too
intimidating to try to do it onyour own, yeah, yeah, and
there's a couple other things Iwant to ask you about the
operations side, like the typesof accommodations and then also
this idea of hidden gems or whatexperience you can offer that
are exclusive.
So I appreciate you setting thestage for us, kind of with the
travel styles and the differentdestinations.

(01:02:06):
But then if we dive into any ofthe brands and I guess
specifically I'm very keen onthe small group in particular,
because when someone books aguided tour and you know this as
well as anybody the first thingthey want to figure out is who
else is going.
So they'll jump on a bulletinboard forum, which many of the
guided tour brands would have,that people would put their hand
up and say I'm going toCambodia on these dates.

(01:02:28):
Who else is on my trips?
They want to meet other peopleand connect with other people
and obviously that trend is onlyaccelerated with solo travelers
, more and more solo travelerschoosing to travel with groups.
The other thing that people doright away as you well know that
I've seen countless times theywant to know where they're
staying, they want to go andcheck out what hotel it is, they
go read the TripAdvisor reviewand sometimes tour operators, as

(01:02:50):
you know, will actually holdback that information because
they're still working out theexact venues.
But this is something that ismore and more important to
people is they want to knowwhere they're staying, they want
to know what the accommodationis like and with these small
group itineraries, it does openup more opportunities.
As you said, you've built thesefrom the ground up, which I
think is a far more compellingand sophisticated way to go

(01:03:10):
about this, as opposed tostripping down one of your
existing itineraries to try andmake it work for a small group,
because a small group can nowfit into a boutique hotel or
there's different optionsavailable to them.
So let's talk aboutaccommodation.
So these play an important role.
So what does accommodation looklike across the brands and,
specifically, what are you ablenow to do that's unique with

(01:03:32):
Discovery Tours in that regard?

Speaker 1 (01:03:33):
Yeah, accommodations for us are about the ease, the
experience, the standard, theamenities, about it just making
for a very comfortableexperience of your destination,
no matter what your price point,and also so on the global side,
it's also going to includelocation as a key component as

(01:03:56):
well for cosmos.
The description of the locationwould be more conveniently
located where, if it happens tobe not in a you know quote
unquote, I just use air quotesfor your listeners out there.
Um, that would be you know,accessible to um you know
transportation or accessible tothe city center, whereas on

(01:04:21):
globus, more often than not, itwould be actually, you know, in
the heart of the, the center,which would be a difference
depending on your preference anddepending on your price point.
What's different about it?
For small group discovery interms of accommodations, being
more about the ease and the flowof the tour, is accommodations

(01:04:41):
often also can be the experience, and by having this small group
and an average size of 15, youcan embed accommodations that
just can't account.
They can't accommodate aregular group size because it's
either their inventory or theiroperation and can't accommodate
it on that regular cycle, youknow, from March through October

(01:05:05):
, of twice a week departures.
You know that sort of volume.
So there's a whole world ofaccommodations out there that
are those dream hotels, villas,castles, glamping locations.
You know all sorts of differentkind of overnight experiences
that typically tour operatorswouldn't be able to access

(01:05:28):
because of their operation.
Well, with small groupdiscoveries we can and we can
embed.
You know a lot of those and infact almost every itinerary has
what we call, you know, thaticonic accommodation factor in
it, where you're staying at aplace.
That is part of the story andit's going to be, you know, part

(01:05:50):
of the experience, and what youwalk away from is it was just a
really special couple of nightsthat you spent in a place that
is like a dream come true andyou know, I just mentioned a few
of those examples and you know,it's really fun to go through
the itineraries and to to findthose and to say, okay, not only
am I going to get theseexperiences as I go from one

(01:06:10):
place to another, but I'mactually going to stay there and
I'm going to soak it upovernight.
That's a pretty cool thing.

Speaker 2 (01:06:16):
Yeah, definitely it is.
And here's the other one I'mreally keen to ask you as well,
because you know, I just cameback from Berlin.
I was at ITB and actually I dida panel session on hidden gems.
I was at ITB and actually I dida panel session on hidden gems
and I had the CEO of WeRoad onthe panel and also the CEO of
DMC from Columbia and SouthAfrican Tourism, the CEO and

(01:06:36):
chief growth officer from WithLocals.
It was a really fantastic panel, but I got a chance to ask them
about how they actually bringthese hidden gems to life, which
, as far as I'm concerned, islike if experiences are the best
part of travel, as DouglasQuimby would say, from arrival,
I would say that hidden gems arelike the beating heart, and
this is the.
What makes our trip so memorableand so meaningful, and this is
one of the things that you guyshave clearly given a lot of

(01:06:57):
thought to with the um, thediscovery tours, but clearly is
is a part of what makes Globusso special to your travelers is
that you build in these hiddengem experiences that are
exclusive to traveling withGlobus, and so I know one of
them, when I was looking at thesmall group itineraries was this

(01:07:20):
after hours poetry, readingWilliam Wordsworth Home, and so
that's one I would certainlylove to have the opportunity to
experience.
So I guess what I'm coming tois like how does Globus
cultivate those sort of insiderconnections which I'm sure you,
as a marketer, it's gold right,because it's just like these are
the things.

Speaker 1 (01:07:37):
Yeah, so yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:07:39):
So tell us two things , if you wouldn't mind.
How do those come to life, howimportant are they to the
itineraries?
And then, how do you messagethem so that people are aware of
how special these experiencesare going to be?

Speaker 1 (01:07:50):
Yeah, they come to life because you're going to an
expert in travel.
And so for Globus, for example,we have 32 operations offices
who have worked for decades, ifnot generations with the travel
community, with our own localguides and with our suppliers in
the area.
And one thing we have islong-term relationships that

(01:08:14):
once we find a partner, it worksfor both partners, because
they're getting the benefit ofour loyalty and our partnership
and we're getting the benefit oftheir expertise.
So it really is.
It's a partnership in theworking backwards from the
customer and the type ofexperience we're looking for.
And then creativity Say okay.

(01:08:34):
Well, if we go to a venue, howcan we go to a venue where it's
going to be not just the regularexperience?
How can we get our guestsbehind the velvet rope and how
can we create something for themthat is going to pop and is
going to help communicate thatidea of, very clearly, that

(01:08:54):
they're getting something as anexperience that they couldn't
get by going on their own.
And so we, like all touroperators, you know, we have
people that do this for a livingand their job is to have fun,
right, their job is to exploreand curate and be creative with
those opportunities.
And so it's really it comesdown, dan, to just expertise and

(01:09:18):
a vision of the type ofexperience that, beyond the
ordinary, that we want to createfor the guests.
And that's where the funhappens.
Where you go, you know, youread, you go through an
itinerary of a destinationyou're interested in and you
just find yourself gettingexcited and say what I'm going
to do that Like really.

(01:09:39):
And it's included in the priceand it's really fun.
And so we, how we communicatethat, dan is we call them wow
moments.
And so we, how we communicatethat, dan is we call them wow
moments.
And on any given tour, you'regoing to have one or two of
those a day.

Speaker 2 (01:09:59):
So not only are you experiencing the must see sites.

Speaker 1 (01:10:00):
But you're having these experiences that I can't
believe that I'm doing this, andto do it every day, you know,
day after day, every time you,you know, get to get to to a new
place is really pretty cool.
We're also brand the ones thatare exclusive to us we brand as
local favorites within theitinerary so they're easy to
spot.
So we do our best to try tocall those things out and to
bring them forward, and nothinglike video and imagery to help

(01:10:26):
capture those moments too.
But yeah, we call them wowmoments, and and when you're
there and experience them, youknow that's the word that we
want to hear yeah, yeah, andthat's really cool.

Speaker 2 (01:10:34):
That's where you know a traveler can look at an
itinerary and this is where, asa marketer, as you know, there's
certain things you can letpeople know they're going to
experience and other things.
You want to be seeming morespontaneous, that it's like a
flourish that happens on thetrip, that isn't even on the
itinerary, that delivers thatwow.
And this is one of the thingsthat I think for those people

(01:10:54):
that have not experienced areally wonderful guided tour.
They look at an itinerary andsome people think they can just
do it themselves and they'relacking the opportunity to
either, you know, to get earlyaccess to a particular venue
like the Vatican in Rome orthere's all these things that
kind of.
I had a chance to experiencethat in Venice, like you have.

(01:11:17):
So I know we've talked a lotabout product and I think that's
obviously key becauseoperational excellence can be
everything in terms of the guestexperience.
But I also do want to ask you alittle bit about technology,
since you mentioned that youknow people taking pictures and
like people having theirsmartphones.
I guess this is where you know,as we look at how this category
is evolving and start to lookat the future.

(01:11:39):
I'm keen to get your take onthat.
So I guess the question I wouldlike to ask you, steve, is how
have you seen technology playinga role in either improving the
guided tour experience oradjusting traveler expectations,
and how are you factoring thatinto, whether it's the marketing
and the messaging or just interms of getting people ready

(01:12:00):
for their trip to use theirphones to enhance the experience
?
But, yeah, yeah, how istechnology playing a role in the
product development or theguest experience at globus?

Speaker 1 (01:12:11):
well this.
This could really be the goldenage of touring because of that
technology and the access thatit gives people to to see and
hear about the types ofexperiences that they get on an
escorted tour.
You know, escorted I mentionedthat the category is bigger,
almost double that of oceancruising but it's made up of a

(01:12:32):
lot of individual smalleroperators and no one operator
has really grabbed the flag interms of creating that vision,
that consumer demand, becausewe're, all you know, essentially
small businesses.
But technology being the bridge, and specifically video, the
ability to tell your storythrough video, outside of

(01:12:55):
broadcast TV now through ascreen, and being able to target
individuals in a demo throughstreaming and through social
media and through targeting,makes telling that story
possible.
So it's that story, it's not theproduct, it's not the market.

(01:13:16):
It's the story, dan, about whatwe've been talking about today
is how do you convey that in avisual way?
Day is, how do you convey thatin a visual way, which is what
the technology provides.
So I love it.
You know it being a tool,particularly as a marketer, to
be able to tell that story ofwhat it does has never been more

(01:13:37):
attainable.
It's going to get even moreattainable as targeting and
delivery continues to improve,and so it's really, it's an
exciting time to be in thecategory and to think about the
potential and the growth,because before that, the era
prior which, you had to go finda brochure and you had to turn,

(01:14:00):
you know which is not a greatsales tool.
Turn to the right page.
Take a look at a thumbnail,photo and project from there,
where now it can be delivered atyour leisure time, you know,
via your phone, based on yourpreferences and based on the
destination that you'reinterested in and personalized
to you.
So it's, you know, it's thattechnology, I think, that is

(01:14:22):
going to be the catalyst for thecategory.

Speaker 2 (01:14:25):
Yeah, and I think that's it excites me, because
when you think about AI and someof the tools that are going to
be more available to travelers,being able to, you know, just
aim your camera and ask what isthat Like?
It's it also changes the roleof the, the travel director,
because it's less about historyand dates and it's about you
know how they can ensure a greatguest experience.

(01:14:46):
You can use some of these toolsto your advantage to immerse
yourself into the destination,but you still have the benefit
of being on a guided tour, andso I think I genuinely do think
that we are I know it's withouthyperbole like a golden age of
guided touring, like I thinkthat's actually what we're
moving into.
It's like it's becoming morerelevant than ever, and so both

(01:15:07):
for demographic reasons andchanging customer behavior.
So I'm keen to get your takewith the time we have together.
I've just got a few morequestions, but I want to ask you
a bit more about the future andwhere we're headed and some of
the trends.
I guess that you're seeing.
So, as a marketer, what standsout to you as some of the major
travel trends that you're payingattention to in 2025 as it

(01:15:28):
relates to guided touring.
You mentioned some of thethings actually about streaming
and about video, like short formvideo.
I mean I'm sure those arethings that you're gravitating
towards.
But yeah, what are youresponding to around consumer
trends and making sure theGlobus brand remains relevant
and in front of those peoplethat are considering this type

(01:15:49):
of travel?

Speaker 1 (01:15:51):
Yeah, there are two that I would highlight.
One is the off the beaten pathdestinations.
And just, you know we alludedto it when we were talking
before about the entry point inthe next generation into touring
is going to be in places thatlogistically they're less
familiar with.
And you know, they have avision, maybe they have an

(01:16:13):
inspiration from social media,but they just don't know how to
get there and how to do it.
We happen to have a whole tourline between Globus and Cosmos
dedicated to that idea, calledUndiscovered, that we continue
to build, which is an itinerarythat you would never think of
putting together on your own.
You wouldn't Google it, becausemany of the places you're just

(01:16:36):
you don't know and you're notfamiliar with.
And so how do you get off thebeaten path in a way that makes
it easy where you're just notlaboring?
You know it's it's kind of it'scounterintuitive to think of
getting off the beaten path andbeing able to do that easily,
but a tour operator like us, wecan do it.
Another trend that we'reembracing and is going to be a

(01:16:58):
challenge for the category isflexibility.
So, as Gen X moves deeper intoescorted and is going to be, you
know, that next lifeline intothe category.
A big driver for them isflexibility within the itinerary
.
So that's a real challengebecause traditionally tour
operators have loved theexpected and they love knowing

(01:17:21):
okay, we're going to do thisthing with this many people at
this time, and it createsefficiency by creating
flexibility.
It's great for the traveler, butit's a it's a task for the tour
operator to say, okay, at thistime, this morning of this day,
you can do this or that.
And then it's a littleunpredictable.
You know we don't, you know we,we have to.

(01:17:44):
You know, go with the customersas opposed to going to
operation.
So we're diving headfirst intothat idea of how to build
flexibility into a tour.
We have a series of tours, astyle called Choice, where on
three days of the week you haveyour choice of three excursions,

(01:18:06):
three half-day excursions thatare completely up to you.
So for us we have to plan andcurate the three and you get to
choose the one that's best foryou.
So it's that idea offlexibility that's going to be a
bigger and bigger part of thetour category moving forward.

Speaker 2 (01:18:25):
Yeah, it's an interesting one, and I'm glad
that you actually highlight thatas a challenge for the category
that flexibility, and you'reabsolutely right that guests are
more than ever looking fortheir ability to customize,
craft their own itineraries, andso I'm glad that you actually
raised that.
The other thing I wanted to askyou, too, is in terms of
destinations, and we've talked abit about Europe and some of

(01:18:47):
the new destinations with thesmall group discoveries, but I'm
also genuinely curious to getyour take on this, because you
highlighted the source markets,and then, when we think about
the destinations, I alwaysstruggle because with this idea
that people do want new andemerging destinations but at the
same time, if you've never beento Italy, you're going to go to
Italy, right?

(01:19:07):
And I was speaking to a familymember over the Christmas
holidays and I was shockedThey'd never been to Europe and
they were like they still wantto go to Italy and I'm three
steps ahead of in terms ofdestinations they could go to.
And so you're going to haveyour core destinations.
They're still going to remainimportant, but in terms of
specific destinations that youthink will gain popularity in

(01:19:29):
the coming years, I'm verybullish on Colombia, for example
.
I just was there a few monthsago and I just you see a certain
destination at a stage ofdevelopment and it's not
overcrowded and it's soincredibly affordable, it's
beautiful and the people arelovely and it's safe, and you're
just like, oh my God, now's thetime to go to Colombia.
What are the destinations?
I guess that you feel like thatthat applies to.

(01:19:49):
So what specific destinations,or even some of the tours that
you offer, that you think areactually going to gain the most
popularity in the coming years?

Speaker 1 (01:19:58):
Yeah, the emerging destinations for us, one you
know comes to my rest top of myhead is Portugal.
It's been an emergingdestination, I think, for a lot
of us, for maybe even before thepandemic, but it's still yet to
truly be a primary, considered,kind of a mainstream
destination.
It has so much to offer and somuch to it that it continues to

(01:20:21):
grow year over year.
Eastern and Northern Europevery much so.
Middle East, in particularTurkey, jordan, and in Asia you
know we're seeing it this yearwith a lot of pent-up demand,
even still, following thepandemic, is certain Asian
destinations like Japan are offthe charts, off the charts.

(01:20:49):
So I think what we're going tosee is that the periphery around
Western Europe is going to, youknow, continue to expand and
those regions you know around,you know, the center of Europe,
that we're going to continue tosee more popularity, we're going
to see a higher degree ofshoulder and winter shoulder
season and winter touring andthat's going to be, you know,

(01:21:11):
conducive to some of thosedestinations as well.
So, yeah, to answer yourquestion, I think those would be
, those would be some countries,and of course you know you
mentioned Columbia and youColumbia and certain South
American destinations that areaccessible too, but provide such
a different view of our worldand are perfect for an escorted

(01:21:34):
tour.
So yeah, dan, those would besome that would pop into my mind
at the top of my head.

Speaker 2 (01:21:42):
What is your personal next travel destination?
I know you travel a lot forwork, but either the itinerary
you're most excited about takingor what specific destination is
coming up for you and yourpersonal travels in 2025?
.

Speaker 1 (01:22:02):
Well, I mean, it's kind of cheating because it is
work, but I'm going to Bordeauxnext week.
We're introducing a new AvalonRiver Cruise itinerary there,
but it's work and it's not.
It's still a cruise, so I'mgonna, I'm gonna count that one
too.
My wife, mel and I have a listas long as our arms.
I mean, oh my gosh, we justevery week, we we add one to it.

(01:22:22):
But I'd say the top of the listwould be Japan and Turkey, as
far as you know, getting alittle bit out of my comfort
zone and you know, using a tour,like we said, to stretch our
limits a little bit.
So, yeah, those would be, thosewould be on my list.

Speaker 2 (01:22:38):
No thanks for that.
France is always a great idea.
I was just there recently andI'm so looking forward to going
back, so, and this is whereEurope can consistently deliver.
So, steve, I've so thoroughlyenjoyed our conversation I could
talk to you a lot longer andhopefully we'll have the
opportunity to connect again.

Speaker 1 (01:22:54):
Let's do it again.
Let's do it again, exactly,we'll do the part two.

Speaker 2 (01:22:57):
We'll do part two river cruises or next season,
but yeah, I know it's a pleasureto meet you.
I thank you for making the time.
I just want to make sure, as wewrap up here, that if many of
our listeners I don't want toget in touch with you or Globus,
where would you point them tofor more information?

Speaker 1 (01:23:18):
Yeah, so LinkedIn is a way to do it.
You can also find me throughthe Globusjourneyscom website in
our media room, you know.
Provide a link there, easy tofind and happy to connect with
anyone.

Speaker 2 (01:23:26):
That's great.
Thank you, steve, and for allof those following at home, it's
Globus Journeys is the mainwebsite dot com, but it'll
redirect to wherever you'rebased and I definitely encourage
you to check out all they haveto offer, because they are a
leader in this space for areason, and you've heard that
all from Steve here today, theCMO of Globus.

(01:23:47):
So thank you again, steve, forjoining us and look forward to
keeping in touch, and I'm suremany people will be reaching out
because there was so muchvaluable information here shared
.
So thank you again, steve.
Sounds great.
Thanks, dan.
Thanks so much for joining uson this latest episode of Travel
Trends.
I hope you enjoyed the firstepisode of our guided touring
series brought to you inpartnership with our friends at
touroptimacom.

(01:24:08):
Definitely make sure that youcheck out their offering.
If you're a day tour or multiday tour provider, they have the
perfect white label technologyfor your guides to stay
connected to your guests and tomake sure they have an amazing
experience and they give yougreat reviews and they come back
and book again.
And so check out all thedetails about their white label
app at TorOptimacom and if youwant a demo, just email Ben at

(01:24:31):
TorOptimacom and he'll come backto you very quickly to set that
up and who knows, maybe theGlobus team will be using that
next.
But thanks again to Steve forjoining us and for sharing the
Globus story and for all of yourinformation about how you
market and message the brand.
I found that really interestingand I just wanted to say hello
to all my friends and colleaguesthat are working in Globus as a

(01:24:52):
brand.
Now I just wanted toacknowledge each of you, because
those of us who work in thisspace have worked across many
different brands and I'm a bigbeliever in the blue ocean
strategy that there is anopportunity here for all of us
rather than focus on the redocean competitive space.
And so hello to all my friendsat Globus.
And then next week we're goingto feature one of our title

(01:25:13):
sponsors, colette, and this oneis particularly special for me
because I got to speak to theCEO, jacqueline, and it was a
really special conversationbecause it is a family owned
business and she has taken overthe helm.
I got to know her husband,christian, in the last couple of
years he's become a big fan ofthe podcast and he kindly
decided to sponsor season five,and Christian was actually

(01:25:35):
originally going to be the guest, but I asked if Jacqueline
would be interested and shekindly and thankfully put her
hand up to participate.
And I'm thrilled that she did.
And you'll hear why next week.
Because it's amazing to get thefamily story and her journey
growing up in the business andto now lead this amazing global
company.
So look forward to that nextweek.
And just on a personal note, myfather-in-law just booked his

(01:25:59):
first Colette trip last week.
It was his 75th birthday.
We lost my mother-in-law sadlya couple of years ago to cancer
and he has been committed tocontinue to doing the trips that
they wanted to do together.
And on his 75th birthday theteam from collect called and
he's now booked to go to japanin september and I'm absolutely
thrilled about that for him andcertainly my wife and the rest

(01:26:20):
of the family is as well.
So that's a special connectionfor me in terms of the multi-day
tour category in this space andjust how important and
meaningful it is.
So thanks again to the team atcolette for making that all
happen.
And then we're going to continueon with two other fascinating
conversations.
We're going to speak to michaeledwards from explore and then
we're going to speak to ben hallfrom at king.

(01:26:41):
So lots to look forward to inthis series.
Don't forget that we post clipsand highlights on all our
social channels, so you can findthose on Instagram, linkedin
and YouTube, and then, of course, we send out a monthly
newsletter to round up all theupdates from them and highlight
our events coming up.
So make sure that you registerfor that at
TravelTrendsPodcastcom andensure, of course, you're

(01:27:03):
subscribed on the streamingplatform of your choice to get
all the latest episode updates,including some of the spotlight
episodes we're going to berolling out shortly, including
one with Ben and the team at TorOptima.
So be on the lookout for thoseand, until next week, safe
travels.

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