G Adventures ‘blown away’ by response to new high-end tours

G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip has been “blown away” by the response to the operator’s new range of luxury tours in partnership with National Geographic Expeditions.

 

The brands, which have worked together on joint tours for 10 years, put the National Geographic Signature with G Adventures programme on sale in January, with the first departures scheduled for January 2027.

 

The programme currently features 32 itineraries across 28 destinations, ranging from week-long adventures to 19-day explorations.

 

Each trip features high-end accommodation, a dedicated expedition leader, educational talks with experts, group sizes limited to 22 people and ‘Signature Moments’ that “support connection with local communities, history and cuisine”.

 

Poon Tip said: “[The response] has blown us all away. We were a little bit nervous in January, but the February we’ve just had is extraordinary. [Both G Adventures and National Geographic Expeditions] are super excited.”

 

The Signature programme builds on the success of G Adventures’ Geluxe collection, which features a range of premium community-based active itineraries. Launched in 2024, it has become the fastest-growing programme in the operator’s portfolio.

 

“We always wanted to do a more luxury product with a community focus - the data [previously] showed that our brand couldn’t push us that far, but now with National Geographic Expeditions, we can,” Poon Tip said.

 

“[The Signature programme] has allowed us to have a $1,000 a day [customer]. We always thought Geluxe and National Geographic Family Journeys would push our brand in terms of comfort level, but this Signature programme - and the backing of National Geographic Expeditions and their 134 years of science and exploration [experience] - allows us to expand our audience.”

 

Poon Tip said the Signature collection had already opened up a raft of new agents and clients.

 

“What’s amazed me is we’ve had access for the first time to a whole new group of people and travel agents - and it’s not just a hundred, it’s a thousand. Thousands of travel agents that only sell luxury that never sold [G Adventures] - or maybe they touched on Gelux. It’s fantastic.”

 

He added: “We always find it hard to fight for a travel agent to book more of us when we know their bread and butter is, say, cruise. But this will cross that barrier. And it’s worthwhile, because we have a high repeat ratio, so once they get a customer in, it makes commercial sense.”

 

Poon Tip said ‘the Stans’ (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan), Africa and Palau - a new destination for G Adventures - were currently selling well.

 

The operator will unveil 17 new Signature itineraries across March and April, with an additional 18 trips rolled out in August.

 

Agents can expect Signature-themed fam trips in 2026, alongside dedicated training programmes and online courses.