New Geluxe destinations, group changes & Jordan update shared at G party for trade

G Adventures had a record-breaking January.

In fact, it was the “biggest-ever” sales month the community tourism pioneer has ever had in Canada, where the tour operator was formed almost 35 years ago.

This, coming from David Green, managing director for G Adventures in Canada, who joined his sales team Wednesday night (Feb. 21) at Toronto’s Fairmont Royal York hotel to not only celebrate the company’s success, but to also honour the people who made it happen: travel advisors.

“We’ve brought our travel agency community together to say thank you,” said Green, speaking to PAX at last night’s trade appreciation night, a casually-glam cocktail and dinner do hosted by G Adventures “and friends.”

The friends included some of G’s tourist board partners – notably, representatives from Promperu, Visit Portugal, Brand USA, Colombia tourism and the Jordan Tourism Board.

As for the night’s venue, Toronto’s iconic Royal York, it was unusually upscale for a G Adventures gathering. (“We’re used to pizza and beer,” a staffer admitted).

But the decision to host a warm soirée in an elegant space (and handpick a group of top-selling agents to attend) made sense.

G Adventures has rolled out its purple carpet in the luxury market with the recent launch of its new “Geluxe Collection,” a set of itineraries that offer premium active experiences.

The collection, first announced at the "GX" summit in Peru last September, features trips that focus on being physically active with elevated accommodations and dining, all the while staying true to G’s commitment to local communities and culture.

It’s for clients who enjoy adventure “with a softer landing, yet still appreciate meaningful interactions with locals,” Yves Marceau, VP of product for G Adventures, said in November when the collection went live.  

READ MORE: G Adventures launches "Geluxe" collection of premium active itineraries

There are 28 Geluxe trips in 16 countries taking off this June, and last night, during a dinner presentation, it was revealed that more than 17 new itineraries, in 10 new countries, will go live on March 5.

The “new” countries include Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, Iceland, India, Kenya, Portugal, Tanzania and Turkey.

This adds to the original Geluxe offer, which includes Peru, Costa Rica, Egypt, South Africa, Jordan, Morocco, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and many other awesome destinations.

New terms for private groups

G Adventures knows how to throw a good party (last September, to close their GX summit in Peru, the team hosted a gold-themed extravaganza in an ancient temple in Cusco, and a bopping afterparty, in a local nightclub, where the Village People performed).

Last night’s lively affair, powered by a live electronic violin player, felt like a family reunion – even if one of G’s key Global Purpose Specialists (Business Developer Managers) was absent.

Anup Mistry (BDM for Ontario) is currently in Australia, but his presence was felt thanks to a cut-out of his face on a stick that circulated the room, which generated lots of selfies.

Perhaps the biggest news item to bubble up were updates on G’s private group policies.

There are different ways to organize a private group with G. In many occasions, travel advisors will pick their own dates and destinations.

A normal G trip will revolve around flexibility, allowing travellers to pick which activities they’re interested in. Whereas in a private group, an agent may determine the agenda in advance.

Private groups don’t have to be the same size as a regular G tour, which run in small groups (12 to 16 travellers, on average). An agent can even request more travellers for their group, if it’s possible in the destination.

It takes eight travellers to guarantee a private group with G, and there’s no payment upfront. Private groups also come with dedicated support and a Preferred Private Groups commission.

G has taken this segment further, sweeting the deal with new terms.   

READ MORE: G Adventures treats agents to “Six” musical, talks private group travel

Agents running private groups can now get 50 per cent off on the eighth traveller or FOC spot for the 12th traveller on most departures. They also now get access to in-market promotions on duplicate departures.

As well, all agents need is four travellers to guarantee a trip on duplicate departures.

So if you’re promoting a group based on a duplicate itinerary, and you don’t get eight travellers to make it private, G will run the tour anyways (and help sell it, so it fills).

Confirmed travellers, meanwhile, will remain at the group rate.

Jordan & TTAND update

Speaking with PAX, David Green addressed The Travel Agent Next Door’s upcoming 10-year anniversary and conference in Jordan this June, an event hosted in partnership with G Adventures, Jordan Tourism and Royal Jordanian Airlines.

Amid concerns around safety in the Middle East, with the ongoing Israel-Gaza war, TTAND’s conference, at the time of this writing, is 100 per cent happening, the host agency confirmed earlier this week.

As part of the multi-day event, G Adventures will show agents how it runs its tours in Jordan, an Arab nation on the east bank of the Jordan River that’s known for its ancient monuments, nature reserves and seaside resorts.

READ MORE: On Location - “A transformative experience”: G Adventures’ GX summit in Peru showcases power of community

“Obviously, what's happening in Israel and Gaza is absolutely heartbreaking and we hope that it can come to a peaceful resolution soon,” Green told PAX.

Jordan is a “very safe” destination that hasn’t really been impacted by the war, he said.

“I describe it as the Switzerland of the Middle East. It’s never been a country that has gotten involved in wars. It’s a peaceful country,” he said.

G is still running its small group tours in Jordan. In fact, their tours never stopped.

“Sadly, the destination has been massively impacted with reduced tourism because of what's happening over the border,” Green said. “So, for us, we're delighted that The Travel Agent Next Door is going to be there.”

PAX will be there too, so stay tuned for our comprehensive on-location coverage.

All the incentives   

Meanwhile, a treasure chest of trade incentives and promotions is swirling in the G universe.

For starters, G’s rewards program, Change Makers, has returned, with 15 Canadian agents earning a space at this year’s Change Makers GX Summit.

Agents will be able to earn their way to this year's GX Summit (which will be held in a yet-to-be-revealed destination), joining 75 winners from around the world.

READ MORE: Stay "In the Loop" with G Adventures’ new online learning series

The campaign encourages agents to focus on changing people's lives through travel by booking G trips. The challenge is live until May 31, 2024. Click here for details.

In addition, on now until April 30, is G-Normous, an annual incentive for agents that, this year, has up to $75,000 in cash and prizes – including an $11,000 grand prize to celebrate the program’s 11th year. Click here for more.

This campaign sits alongside the worldwide “You Belong with G Experience," where top-selling agents have a chance to join G Adventures to see “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” live in Toronto this November. Click here for more on that.

To highlight the exciting incentive, the G sales team donned purple glitter-sequin jackets – an iconic Taylor Swift fashion accessory – at last night’s party. (Who knew the G team had so many Swifties?!)

On top of this, there’s tons of activity happening at G’s non-profit arm, Planeterra, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary.

For two decades now, Planeterra has been uplifting communities through tourism, with more than 750,000 lives being changed over the years.

Travellers on select G tours will, for example, visit Planeterra-supported projects and see first-hand how tourism can transform a community. (See PAX’s GX coverage from Peru to see what this looks like).

New in this department is “Project 300,” which aims to uplift 300 communities through travel by the year 2030.

And, in line with supporting the planet, G has a new “Trees for Days” initiative, which allows travellers to purchase trees in a region of their choice whenever they travel, via their G Adventures account.

For every day a traveller is on a G trip, one tree will be grown in their name, helping to both mitigate carbon emissions and increase support in 17 communities around the world.

In lieu of goodie bags, guests last night were handed wrapped-up black hill spruce seedlings to plant on their own time. It was a gift, hard to tree-sist. 

“We've got so much happening in the industry right now,” said Green. “We want to remind agents of all the great stuff we're doing out there in the community.”

G will be hosting other appreciation events for the trade in Vancouver (Feb. 29) and Calgary (March 14).

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