New G Adventures travel style incorporates 28 trips spanning 16 countries

G Adventures has launched The Geluxe Collection, a new premium travel style for active travellers who want to ensure that their trips benefit local communities. Available to book now, with departures from May 2024, the collection features 28 trips featuring elements like one-of-a-kind accommodations, foodie moments, wellness elements and a focus on community and culture.

Each trip includes at least one “Your OMG Day” moment where travellers have the opportunity to personalize their tour by picking between different travel experiences. On the Japan: Kyoto, Tokyo & the Michinoku Coastal Trail itinerary for example, clients can choose a food walking tour in Tokyo or a Mt. Fuji day tour.

The 16 countries as part of the launch include Botswana, Cambodia, Costa Rica, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Peru, South Africa, Thailand, Vietnam and Zimbabwe. 

To find out more about what travel advisors should know about The Geluxe Collection, Travel Courier caught up with David Green, managing director, Canada, G Adventures.

Tell us a bit about The Geluxe Collection and what inspired it?

The Geluxe Collection is G Adventures’ stunning new programme of premium active trips. From May 2024, these upgraded experiences will operate in 16 countries, with 28 trips on offer for customers to choose from. Each itinerary focusses on being physically active with one-of-a-kind accommodation, elevated dining, and a heavy focus on community and culture, proving that these elements of travel do not have to be sacrificed for comfort. They are all perfectly paced to make the experience as comfortable as possible, while still being an energetic trip. 

In terms of its creation, we’re constantly innovating here at G Adventures. The Geluxe Collection fills a gap in the market for elevated active trips that give back to local communities the way G Adventures does best. By enhancing the features of the trip itineraries to incorporate more inclusions, and elevating the dining and accommodation experiences, we aim to reach a new type of customer. This collection is perfect for clients who want a more deluxe travel experience and don’t mind paying a higher price point for that pleasure. Trips are available to book now. 

What do you think agents should know about the new travel style? What type of clients may be a good fit?

The Geluxe Collection isn’t a luxury offering, but it does offer a spectacular premium experience. The trips have all been expertly handcrafted and curated by G Adventures to provide the ultimate experience for travellers and to ensure that as much money as possible stays in the hands of local people at the same time. 

In terms of early bookings, we’re seeing a slightly older clientele, mostly solo travellers, and the demographic is skewing more female than male, though it is still early days. 

The trend to prioritize experiences over material possessions has continued and as a result travel budgets have increased. People are looking to treat themselves to once-in-a-lifetime places and experiences. If customers are only going to visit a destination once, and they have a little bit of extra budget, these trips will blow their minds.

Can you share any insights into the “Your OMG Stay” inclusion and what makes that unique?

On every Geluxe trip, travellers will experience one ‘stand-out’ hotel or style of accommodation that has been hand-picked due to its history, design, or surrounding experiences. We call it “Your OMG Stay” and these properties were chosen for having something completely unforgettable. Examples include the Cardamom Tented Camp in the Cardamom Mountains in Cambodia, Refugio Amazonas ecolodge in the Peruvian Amazon, glamping at Changa Safari Camp in Zimbabwe, and Mr and Mrs White Tinos, a stunning boutique hotel in the Greek Islands. 

What are some of the trips you are personally excited about and why?

I’m super excited about our Japan trip as it is so unique. Japan as a destination is flying for Canadian travellers, so we expect this Geluxe trip to be popular. This trip includes hiking the Michinoku Coastal trail, which was constructed after the Tsunami to bring community tourism back to Iwate. The story here is fresh and we are the first major operator doing it, so it’s a really special trip that is remote and active, yet still includes Kyoto and Tokyo as must-sees.

Greece, Jordan, South Africa and Mexico are all also selling well out of the gate and I’d jump at the chance to join any of those trips, too! 

What other trends are you noticing for 2024?

Looking ahead to 2024, we’re seeing incredible demand for Costa Rica, which has surpassed pre-pandemic numbers for travel by 21 per cent. As mentioned above, Japan has made a huge comeback, and in Europe we are seeing Italy and Portugal trending. For people looking for an even more adventurous destination, Mongolia has surpassed 2019 traveller numbers by 28 per cent.

Solo travel continues to be a huge trend and we’ll see even more of this in 2024 as people prioritize themselves, their mental health and taking ownership over their own lives and experiences. We’re no longer waiting for friends and family to make a trip worth it. We’re discovering the joys of getting on with fulfilling our travel wish lists and going it alone. 

We’ll also continue to see climate change and sustainability influencing the way we travel, and this will greatly impact our travel decisions in 2024. At G Adventures we very much focus on Community Tourism when we think about sustainable tourism. As pioneers of community tourism, we believe travel can be the greatest form of wealth distribution and I think we’ll hear and see a lot more focus on this alongside inclusivity and environment when we discuss ‘sustainable travel’ in 2024.

Do you have anything to add?

We are really excited for the initial feedback we’ve experienced from our agency partners! We are in full swing with agency conference’s and everywhere we are going, agents are telling us how much they love this new travel collection. We started taking bookings from day 1 of launch and the first agency booking globally was actually made by a Canadian travel advisor!