Q: George, how does it feel to finally have the brand back in Australia?
George Colvin‑Slee: I couldn’t be happier. We’ve wanted to do it for a long time and it’s been on the cards ever since the acquisition by Abercrombie & Kent, but it was about making sure we did it right.
There were ways we could have done it swiftly but not properly and I wanted to wait until we had everything good to go.
What I’ve been most excited about is that there’s really good alignment with the UK in terms of what Australian travellers are looking for, but there are also differences which pushes us to do things a little bit differently as well.
We don’t just want to launch the exact same product portfolio we have for the British market to Australians.
We want to use what the Australian market needs to actually influence our global product and launch new product lines that we might not have done otherwise.
Q: Was Australia always a priority market for Cox & Kings?
GCS: We always wanted to come back to Australia – that’s always been on the cards. We thought it would be really important both symbolically and commercially.
Then in terms of the actual launch events, we really did want to make a splash around them. That’s why they sent me in person and Deb Fox (MD, A&K Travel Group) flew down from London as well for our launch events in Melbourne, Sydney Brisbane and the Gold Coast.
We got the better part of 1,000 agents coming to those events so it’s been really successful and we’ve been blown away by how positive the trade has been.
Q: Clearly travel agents are still an important part of your marketing strategy.
GCS: One hundred percent. Going back in with our trade partners has really been our focus.
Direct guests are important but we’ve really put trade at the heart of all this when we’ve been thinking about our launch events and who we’re inviting, It’s all been centred around our trade partners.
We’ve had a really good response from all the key agencies and the enthusiasm has been fantastic. We’ve already made bookings in the market, which I’m delighted about.
We’ve also had a lot of inquiries for bespoke groups. The encouraging thing is that agents are coming to us saying, ‘We’ve had this trip in our back pocket for a client for a long time and now we’ve found an operator who can do it for us”. That’s exactly the space we want to be in.
Q: You’ve launched some exciting new product. Which tour are you personally most excited to bring to Australian travellers?
GCS: The one I’m really keen on is our new 22-day ‘Grand Tour of Central Asia’. It takes in all five ‘Stans’: Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan (above), Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
We’ve identified a lot of interest in Central Asia and places like Uzbekistan are really on the radar.
You can just do Uzbekistan with us – it’s actually one of our most popular tours – but if you want to go further off the beaten track into Tajikistan and other countries, we’re there to service that.
Q: I believe you’ve been to the region quite a bit?
GCS: I’ve been a regular visitor to Uzbekistan in recent years so I know it very well. Since COVID, Central Asia has been one of the areas where we’ve seen the best growth so it made sense to push it into the Australian market too.
Some people think of it as a bit homogeneous – ex‑Soviet, all the same – but there’s so much variety. Uzbekistan is highly cultural, with Silk Road sites and Islamic madrasas.
Then you’ve got somewhere like Kyrgyzstan, which is completely different – they call it the “Switzerland of Central Asia”. It’s about amazing landscapes, beautiful lakes and hiking.
Kazakhstan has the nomadic culture you don’t necessarily see in Uzbekistan – horses, nomadic tribes, that whole way of life.
Tajikistan is fascinating because they speak a dialect of Persian, so you’ve got that ancient cultural influence. At a time when somewhere like Iran is off the cards for many visitors, Tajikistan is a really interesting way to get a dash of that culture.
And then Turkmenistan has this additional element of political mystery because it’s such a closed country and so hard to get into – we handle all of that for you – plus some incredible historic sites like the ancient city of Merv.
Q: How would you sum up the Cox & Kings difference?
GCS: I think it goes back to our heritage – Cox and Kings is a heritage brand – and you’ll feel that in terms of the product that we’re going to select and promote. We call it “historical heft” and it’s very much a characterful first policy.
Q: I know you’ve only just relaunched but what can the trade expect next from Cox & Kings?
GCS: The general theme is going into more depth. That’s a key part of our Cox & Kings rebrand and it will be visible in both our itinerary design and destination choices.
Our 2027 launch is our largest ever product launch since A&K bought us, and we want to build on that for 2028 as well.
You can expect slower itineraries – fewer one‑night stays, more two‑night stays and longer…we don’t really like one‑nighters anymore.
We’re moving away from box‑ticking highlights and towards in‑depth cultural exploration. That, I think, is going to be our real differentiator in the market.
For now, though, our focus is clear: consolidate the relaunch, deepen relationships with agents and get more Australians experiencing the kind of culturally rich journeys Cox & Kings was built for.
We’ve taken a considered approach and done our homework before going into the market. The reaction from the trade has exceeded our expectations. Now it’s about delivering on that promise over the next 12 to 18 months.
All images courtesy Cox & Kings
https://www.coxandkingstravel.com/
