Dearth of flights an issue

OUTBOUND travel from Australia is being hampered by a lack of air connectivity to key markets, G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip believes.

Speaking with Travel Daily on his first trip to Australia in more than two years, Poon Tip said that while a lack of flights to continents like South America might be delaying some Aussies to travel, he remains very confident that the appetite to take a trip with operators like G Adventures is very high.

“There’s not enough lift out of Australia at the moment and it’s very expensive because of the reduced flight schedules, but the desire is there for sure,” he said.

“We have definitely noticed an increase [in bookings] over the last couple of weeks...and the interest from Australians is definitely very high.

“Enquiries are very strong right now as well and digitally we have a lot of searches going on from Aussies, but the conversions are harder when you can’t get people on the flights,” he added. While Poon Tip observed that the resurgence in local bookings had seen a lot of interest in Asia, he conceded this comes with its own challenges as the region lags behind the rest of the world in reopening to travel, disincentivising people to go ahead and finalise bookings.

G Adventures Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, Sean Martin, also told TD that Peru had continued to be really strong for the brand.

“Despite the fact that to get there right now you need to travel via North America, people still want that ultimate bucket list experience and we are the largest eco travel operator in the world and we know how to do Peru better than anyone else,” he said.

MEANWHILE Poon Tip revealed that its new Roamies hostel offering targeting the 18-30 yearold market has performed “really well” since formally launching in May (TD 09 Dec 2021), pioneering a new set of experiences that takes the tourist out of travel and inserts more social cohesion.

G ADVENTURES has flagged a stronger trade focus in Australia moving forward as the brand seeks to nurture the market’s local recovery.

“Sales through agents is still the majority of what we do here and it will continue to be because to sell our product we need agents,” G Adventures MD, ANZ, Sean Martin revealed to Travel Daily.

Founder Bruce Poon Tip added that the sales split is about 80:20 [agent versus direct] in the Australian market, and that his company “relies heavily” on the local trade for its success.

“Especially coming out of COVID, we’re doubling down on our efforts with travel agents because we know that travellers need more hand holding right now,” Poon Tip said.

The operator’s chief added that he remained committed to travel agents through a period he acknowledges has been very tough for advisors, made harder by a number of airlines recently cutting commissions.

Only last month, G Adventures relaunched its agent discount program (TD 11 May), offering up to 50% discounts on upcoming trips and 25% off three friends.

The company has also released its trip list for Jul, featuring more than 2,300 departures and 20% discounts on trips.

pictured Poon Tip and local MD Sean Martin in Sydney.