“A company of the future”: Travel industry gathers in T.O. to celebrate “the new Goway”

They started from the bottom now they’re here, to borrow a lyric from Canadian hip-hop artist Drake.

That’s the tale, and path, of revered tour operator Goway Travel, founded by Bruce Hodge, a former Australian banker turned tour guide, in his Toronto apartment in 1970. Back then, all Hodge had was a telephone, an atlas and a dream to create a long-haul tour company for real travellers.

“Our very first reservation was done by telegram,” said Hodge, now 81, addressing his team, industry partners, friends, family and media on Thursday night (Oct. 3) on the outdoor terrace of Malaparte on the sixth floor of Toronto’s TIFF Lightbox building.

In those days, it cost money per word to send a telegram, which propelled Hodge to develop a code with operators to get his messages across.

“That’s how we started reservations in our company,” said the company’s president and founder.

They've come a long way, baby. After decades of establishing global influence, Goway, still a family-owned-and-operated company, is powered by a 600-person team of travel experts, cutting-edge tech and more than 1,000 four and five-star trips to 115 countries on all seven continents.

Last night’s city-view soirée, with the CN Tower in the background, was held to observe Goway’s upcoming 55th anniversary next year and to celebrate “the new Goway,” the company’s first-ever rebrand in its 54-year history.

A "mega-million" makeover

At the forefront of the makeover is a revamped website and reservations system that, according to Hodge, cost “mega-millions of dollars.”

The purpose of the system, which took five years to upgrade, is to sell “complicated FIT travel,” Hodge told the crowd. 

“That’s the kind of travel we specialize in for globetrotters,” he said.

READ MORE: Goway rebrands, announces new website

The new site, still found at the same URL, offers an improved user experience that’s meant to empower travel advisors to sell more and inspire their clients to travel further.

The modernized website also features a sophisticated design with vibrant images, 4K videos, as well as inspiring stories from Goway specialists and travel writers, providing agents with new tools and advice to serve their clients.

“We believe the new Goway is going to be a company of the future,” said Hodge, adding that the travel industry “has a great future right now.”

Unpacking the "new Goway"

The new Goway – a term used frequently last night – is also about investing in the travel trade’s success.

The tour operator has also upgraded its portal for travel advisors, now known as GowayPro.com, with more incentives, a passport to a free FAM incentive, a GowayPro Travel Tales podcast and an ever-evolving GowayPro Travel Academy education program.

And, oh, there’s a new orange logo. But don’t call it orange, it’s sandy-red “Aussie Terra,” a nod to Goway’s 54-year history and roots Downunder. It features a subtle compass arrow, “pointing the way to more exciting adventures that lie ahead,” as company puts it.

Investments in specific regions have also been made. Spotted last night was Sean Hebert, Goway’s new vice-president of the Americas (a newly-created role), on what was his fourth day on the job.

The rebrand, first announced in June, is a “big part of who we are today and a big reflection of all the investments and changes we’ve made over time,” said Mitchell Fawcett, Goway’s vice-president of marketing, who was appointed last year to lead the project. 

Fawcett went on to review some of Goway’s latest product innovations. This includes Odysseys by Goway, which features 14 guided trips around the world, with a focus on small group tours and staying longer in destinations.

The tour operator has also added 14 new tours in the Nordics, as well as new experiences in India and Vietnam and Papua New Guinea.

Wellness-oriented tours are also coming soon, which is “a huge consumer market that we’re meeting in a way that only Goway can,” Fawcett said.

Making it easier for travel advisors

Renee Stanton-Defaria, Goway’s director of sales, noted how Goway’s mission is to “make the travel advisors’ life easier.”

Using feedback from the trade community, she said Goway has invested in technology, education and loyalty to better serve its partners.

On the tech side, Goway has deployed a new reservations system that brings all of the booking and payment processes online. The new Gowaypro.com also unlocks a treasure chest of marketing materials and educational resources and incentives.

On education, “knowledge is power,” Stanton-Defaria said. During the pandemic, Goway created a new training manager, also known as Professor Goway (who was in the crowd last night), who released a series of video training modules to educate advisors on various destinations.

More than 60 countries and 600 training modules, each averaging roughly 10 minutes in duration, are loaded into the Goway training program, which, as of last month, had 7,000 travel advisors enrolled. Professor Goway also hosts a biweekly podcast about selling.

As for loyalty, advisors can now earn a complimentary FAM by selling five of seven regions Goway sells in one year. They can also receive an electronic visa or Mastercard and earn cash rewards for every booking made with Goway.

Furthermore, Goway’s GroupsOnly division has increased its staff to 42 members, making it one of the largest group divisions in North America. Stanton-Defaria said the department is on track to move 600 groups this year.

“We still, and we always have, continue to pay commission at time of full payment,” Stanton-Defaria noted.

New for 2025

What’s coming in 2025? Goway, for one, will introduce a special travel advisor portal.

“This platform will streamline collaboration with Goway, enabling travel advisors to access all of their transactions, process payment for bookings, monitor loyalty rewards and manage client documentation with ease,” Stanton-Defaria said.

Scott Roseblade, vice-president of air, added that Goway has created a new space for NDCs, because travellers “deserve a choice in how they shop for their airfares.”

A new portal on GowayAir.com was observed, along with a new approach to customer commitment.

“What I’m talking about is the service level commitments that we want with the customers. We want to ensure they have a seamless holiday,” Roseblade told the crowd. “That’s the number one important thing that we will pass into 2025.”

Next year's 55th anniversary will see all kinds of planned events, including 10 road shows in more than 10 cities in the U.S. and Canada.

More FAMs to “special destinations” will also unfold – a minimum of five FAM trips are coming, added Fawcett.

And it was appropriate, us meeting at TIFF Lightbox (which doubles as a cinema and hub for the Toronto International Film Festival). Next year, Goway will launch a year-long marketing campaign, its own “Micro Film Festival,” that will invite travellers to submit 55-second travel films, which will be presented at screening events in L.A., Toronto, and possibly New York City.

“A lot is coming,” Fawcett said. “It’s going to be our biggest year yet.”

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