Global Touring, comprising Topdeck Travel, Back-Roads Touring and Grasshopper Adventures, has appointed Trevor Thwaites as Director of Sales, a newly created role to lead a dynamic growth phase for the small-group travel experts. Well-known in the Australian cruise industry, Thwaites spoke with Karryon about his upcoming role and the opportunities for small-group touring.
Global Touring adds Thwaites as its new Director of Sales for Australia and New Zealand, signalling a strategic push to accelerate growth across its brand portfolio while strengthening its long-standing commitment to the travel trade.
The newly created position is an elevation and evolution of the previous Head of Sales role, reflecting a broader remit across Global Touring’s brands with a particular focus on Back-Roads Touring.
It follows a recent realignment of the sales function across all brands and highlights a continued investment in travel trade support across the Australasian region.
Cruising into touring
Thwaites brings almost 20 years’ experience as a senior commercial leader with a proven track record of driving sales growth and brand performance across Australasia’s luxury and premium travel segment.
Beginning his travel career in P&O Cruises reservations, Thwaites honed his business acumen and strategic nous across senior positions at Princess Cruises and Oceania Cruises, including his most recent role as Director of Sales at Celebrity Cruises.
He now brings his deep commercial insights to the touring sector, citing the cruise industry’s nascent trajectory and success in keeping customers within its ecosystem as transferable to scalable opportunities in the small-group touring space.
“Cruising has spent a lot of time and effort getting to know its clientele and progressing them from a contemporary to a premium channel,” he told Karryon.
“Cruising has done an amazing job of getting more than one million people to experience this style of travel out of Australia each year, but one shortcoming is that cruisers only have one day in port on average.
“I see cruising and touring working hand in hand. As experiences become more and more important to travellers, there’s an opportunity with touring to go a lot deeper in different cities and towns, and for my age and stage, I’m quite excited about the idea of immersion that small-group tours can offer in specific towns and villages.”
Building on Back-Roads’ success
Thwaites joins Global Touring as Back-Roads has achieved significant momentum and growth recently, building on its reputation as the original small-group touring company as this style of travel increasingly resonates with today’s travellers.
Global Touring APAC General Manager Anna Fawcett welcomed Thwaites on board as the new Director of Sales ANZ, a strategic appointment leading growth and performance across the brand portfolio.
“This is a big win for Global Touring. Trevor is an exceptional commercial leader with an impressive sales record and leadership history,” Fawcett said.
“Bringing someone of his calibre into the touring space is incredibly exciting, particularly as we look to learn from the cruise sector and apply those insights across our brands.
“While the Director of Sales role has a portfolio-wide remit, spanning all brands, there is a clear focus on Back-Roads Touring in the travel trade channel,” she told Karryon.
“We have seen strong momentum for Back-Roads, and with approximately 80 per cent of our ANZ sales coming through trade, there is a significant opportunity to maximise performance in the trade space and accelerate further growth.”
Trade-first focus
Thwaites said he was excited to join Global Touring at such a pivotal time for the business after both Topdeck and Back-Roads underwent major rebrands in 2025.
He singled out the company’s trade-first focus as a compelling brand connection and product platform to re-engage with retail advisors and partners in a new travel segment.
“The opportunity to work across three distinctive and compelling brands, each offering immersive and engaging travel experiences, is something I’m really looking forward to,” he said.
“Having spent my career in cruise, stepping into touring presents a new and exciting challenge.
“I’m particularly looking forward to re-engaging with trade partners in this new role. I’ve always been trade-focused, and Global Touring has a transparent trade-first focus that is forward-thinking and supportive of the industry.”
Based in Brisbane, Thwaites will commence as Global Touring ANZ Director of Sales in June 2026.
