While Globus has been limited in its ability to send travelers on tours the past year, it has been busy innovating on multiple fronts. As choice has become such an important concept for travelers, the company developed a new touring style – Choice Touring by Globus – with a daily selection of options for how they would like to spend their time. They can decide in advance of the trip or that day what they would like to do, said Steve Born, chief marketing officer.
There are 13 new Choice Touring itineraries in Europe and North America, which are scheduled to debut in September, with more to come.
‘Choice Days’
In a post-pandemic world, Born said people want more control in the way they travel and “now we have built entire itineraries around that.” A one-week itinerary will include two to four days that are “choice days,” where clients have a menu of three or four YourChoice excursions.
Immersive Experiences
As an example, travelers to Scotland can choose a round of golf on a links course or a spa day; in Yosemite they can choose hiking or a photography tour led by the Ansel Adams Gallery. Born noted these are experiences “that you can’t just ask your concierge to put together,” adding that his “favorite is truffle hunting with puppies in Umbria.”
As countries open, guaranteed departures become available to advisors. Choice comes into play again on group size, said Born, with every program offering a regular-sized or small group – with an average 10 percent price premium for small groups.
Peace of Mind
Globus is maintaining its Peace of Mind Travel Plan, giving travelers the flexibility to move vacations to any other 2021 or 2022 date, destination, itinerary or another Globus family of brands, which include Cosmos, Monograms and Avalon Waterways.
With much of the world reopening, a new “Baby Come Back” marketing campaign places the spotlight on world-famous landmarks – like Michelangelo’s David, the Sphinx, the Eiffel Tower and Easter Island.
Born believes that after a few transitional months, “we will see a golden age of international travel led by multiple generations of travelers.”
Selling Globus
The key for supporting travel advisors now is to provide them with actionable digital tools, including a growing list of guaranteed departure dates, which gives them the ability to email personalized itineraries to clients, said Steve Born, chief marketing officer.
Advisors need to cut through the clutter in the digital world – and getting clients to a departure date with one click is a way to do it, Born said.
He said that Globus calls these digital solutions “power tools,” because they “enable agents to create revenue.”
In addition, such Globus programs as “Undiscovered” itineraries to off-the-beaten-path places are appealing to younger travelers. These are for clients who have been to a place “and now want to go deeper,” he said.
Born believes that advisors who stayed engaged with clients through the pandemic will be in a good position now. “As long as they’re in front of clients and using their powers of suggestion, like a great way to get back to Europe with a new style of touring – they will benefit like at no other time,” he said.
