Globus has outlined a refreshed, go-to-market strategy as it bids to “bring the sexiness” back to touring.
Chris Hall, Managing Director of Globus family of brands, unveiled the initiative at an industry function attended by some of the company’s major partners in Sydney.
“In order to get our product to market, for people to know about us and to get sales on the board, it takes partnerships,” he said.
“And kind of like raising a child, it takes a village. So thank you for being our village and being part of what we do.”
Describing Globus’ worldwide product range as both “a blessing and a curse”, Mr Hall (above) said he and his team had spent the last eight months working on just what they wanted to focus on in a crowded market.
“We know that there’s a plethora of options online these days and that is why we love working with our travel agency partners who can direct the client to the right product,” he added.
“I’m not saying FIT is wrong for everyone, but it’s certainly not right for everyone. There’s so much touring product we have that is perfect for those travellers. Whatever their budget is, whatever the experience they want, we definitely have it.
“So it’s more about making sure that people have touring top of mind and that FIT isn’t always the go to solution.
“We need everyone to work together to really get behind touring, whatever the brand. Obviously, we want people to support our brands because we want to bring back the sexiness of touring.”
Johanna Raeder, Globus Head of Marketing APAC, (above, third from right with Globus team), said there were big opportunities in the touring space.
“We’ve been working hard on how we can reinvent this category that has so much offering across all our brands,” she added.
Ms Raeder revealed the company was leaning on its 98-year Swiss heritage to sharpen its brand proposition for Australasia.
“We’re working behind the scenes to try and reinvent ourselves for the Australasian market to really make and create a brand that has a specific point of difference,” she said.
“We’re leaning really hard into the Swiss concept because, from a touring perspective, what most companies offer is convenience. Everything is planned, everything is organised. But we take it a step further with that Swiss precision.”
Ms Raeder said that Globus intends to focus on three of its core tour types – classic, independent and small group discoveries – through its three travel brands, Globus, Cosmos and Avalon.
“Cosmos is a brand you can trust. We offer fantastic deals and guests know everything is going to be taken care of with that Swiss precision. There’s no funny business – you’re not going to find any surprises when you get to the destination.
“Avalon is our beloved river cruise brand and we offer all the popular itineraries but we want to move away from the typical Europe tours that everyone knows and start focusing on something a little bit different, just to try and get that advantage over the competitors.
“In river cruising and in touring, everyone has a lot of similar product, there’s a lot of the same.
“So we need to ensure we stand out for what we do really, really well, and we’re lucky to have amazing products that we can really sell back home.”
