Global Touring has restructured its leadership and reintroduced dedicated brand teams across Back-Roads Touring, Topdeck and Grasshopper Adventures, including brand-specific BDMs returning to the road in Australia and New Zealand.
Global Touring has announced a brand leadership shakeup as part of its five-year growth strategy across Back-Roads Touring, Topdeck Travel and Grasshopper Adventures.
Travel advisors in Australia and New Zealand will again have dedicated Back-Roads business development managers on the ground as the small-group touring operator splits its brands back out under separate leadership teams.
Effective immediately, current Global General Manager of Experience Charles Knowlton moves into the newly created role of GM Back-Roads and Global Touring Chief Operations Officer, while current Chief Marketing Officer George Shuttlewood steps into the newly created role of General Manager of Topdeck and Grasshopper Adventures and Global Touring CMO.
Both report to London-based Managing Director Ed Pettitt, who leads Global Touring globally.
Current GM APAC Anna Fawcett transitions into the newly created role of GM Global Sales and relocates to the USA, leading the growth of Back-Roads (known as Blue-Roads in North America), while retaining oversight for APAC.
Newly appointed Director of Sales APAC Trevor Thwaites takes responsibility for leading the Australia and New Zealand market sales function.
With 40 years’ experience, Back-Roads Touring has more than doubled in size since the pandemic, driven by demand for authentic, small-group travel experiences, where the logistics are handled and the local gems are already unlocked.
Pettitt said: “After four years of rapid growth for Back-Roads, and during a period of significant change in the youth touring market, now is the right time to invest in our brands and give them the focus they need to keep moving forward.”
“The reintroduction of dedicated brand leadership and support teams allows us to retain the expert capability that sits behind Global Touring, while giving each brand the freedom to move faster and more dynamically in market. For our trade partners, this means greater strength in depth, clearer brand focus and more dedicated support day to day.”
The North American growth play
North America has become an increasingly important growth market for Back-Roads with the brand reporting fivefold growth from the region since 2020.
“The North American market has seen significant growth for Back-Roads, with our focus on authentic local experiences, expert tour leaders and smaller group sizes aligning strongly with what customers are now looking for,” Pettitt added.
“With more traditional large group operators now trying their hand at small group touring, our 40 years of experience has never been more valuable to our partners and customers.”
The structural changes will also let Topdeck move faster in the youth travel space with a dedicated brand team focused on building relevance with the next generation of travellers.
KARRYON UNPACKS: For Australia and New Zealand advisors, a return to brand-specific BDMs means a dedicated trade contact rather than a shared rep across the portfolio. The strategic split occurs as more big-group operators move into the small-group space where Back-Roads already has four decades of experience and strong growth.
