If you’ve paid any attention to the touring sector over the past 12 months (or longer), you’d know that smaller tours are in. The rationale behind the rise is simple; more travellers are seeking more immersive travel, and the smaller the group, in theory, the greater the access to these experiences.
A long-time leader in the larger touring space, Globus family of brands (GFOB) now wants a share of the pie.
GFOB already has the touring pedigree – it’s only a couple of years from marking its centenary. So it’s just about raising its profile in the space.
Speaking to Karryon at an event celebrating its travel trade partnerships and to “reintroduce” a new-look Globus family of brands, GFOB Managing Director Asia Pacific Chris Hall describes the company’s push into the increasingly crowded smaller group space as a kind of “me too” moment.
“Before, people didn’t even think about us for small group, because, [people said] ‘you guys are the big group guys’. But we actually do the small group as well,” he says.
“So I don’t mind being a ‘me too’ and being part of the consideration set if people want to understand what the options are in that space – we want to be at least considered for that, as well as our traditional stuff.
“We do want it all – that’s the beauty of having the three brands and being able to have the right product that suits the right brand.”
Styles streamlined
But Globus isn’t just shrinking the size of some of its groups; it’s also reducing the number of its categories.
Last year, the company announced that, commencing in 2026, it would streamline its touring styles from 12 to just three: Classic, Independent, and Small Group Discoveries. And it’s pleased with how this has been rolled out and received so far.
“We did a lot of planning last year,” Hall remarks.
“It comes down to focus. Rather than trying to be everything for everyone… we’re firing a lot of bullets, now we want to fire cannonballs.
“We’ve tried a lot of stuff. Now, let’s go with the cannonballs that we know have the most impact.”
Speaking to guests at the event, new GFOB Asia-Pacific Head of Marketing and Communications Johanna Raeder says it was important for the company to distinguish itself from a crowded marketplace with “similar stuff across all brands”.
“We’re doing a little bit of work behind the scenes to try and reinvent ourselves for the Australia and New Zealand market, to really make and create a brand that has a specific point of difference,” she explains.
Enter Globus’ wildcard: its Swiss roots.
Point of difference
“We’re leaning really hard into the Swiss concept,” Johanna says.
“Yes, we offer great tours, we offer great experiences and destinations – similar to our competitors, but we do it with Swiss precision, and we’ve been doing this for the last 100 years.
“So that’s something that we’re working on from a global perspective, and hopefully we’ll be able to share some more on that soon.”
As well as competing against other tour operators, Hall notes that Globus is also up against the FIT (fully independent traveller) market.
“I’m not saying FIT is wrong for everyone, but it’s certainly not right for everyone,” he tells guests.
“We know that there’s a plethora of options online these days, which is why we love working with our travel agency partners who can direct the client to the right product.”
However, more work is needed on the trade side of things.
“One of our struggles with this is that we have a lot of new-to-industry [staff], especially on the travel agency side – and it’s all about education… we need to get out there and educate,” he says.
“We need everyone to work together to really get behind touring, whatever the brand… to bring back the sexiness of touring. We’ve got it already. It’s just telling people about it.”
Which brings us back to its small groups focus.
“[We’re] really now trying to surface the small group stuff, because that’s always been buried,” Hall states.
“It’s obviously a theme that is really resonating from a touring point of view. We’ve got the product; we don’t even have to invent it. So now it’s about bringing it to life.
“We just released the first Small Group Discovery brochure ever. So we really want to get behind that and see what works.”
For more info on Globus family of brands, click here.
KARRYON UNPACKS: Globus is shrinking group sizes, sharpening its focus and courting the trade. It’s chasing small-group relevance without abandoning scale, betting Swiss precision and simpler categories will help travel advisors sell touring with confidence again.
