G Adventures has signed a “major” distribution deal with Thomas Cook which sees its small group adventure tours actively promoted through the multiple under its brand for the first time.
As well as Cook, the operator has also struck commercial agreements with independent agency groups Travel Counsellors and Hays Travel. The new deals are predicted to significantly increase G Adventure’s UK trade sales, already up by 40% year on year.
Founder Bruce Poon Tip described the deal with Cook to become its preferred supplier of small adventure tours as a “huge break” in the UK market.
“We have immediately started to get bookings and seen great traction from the Cook deal,” he said.
Although G Adventures sells through Cook’s travel agencies in other countries, it has only ever sold through its UK shops by supplying product to operator Neilson, which Cook sold to private equity firm Risk Capital Partners in November 2013.
“It’s been a long process but this was a natural progression for us,” added Poon Tip.
The new deals have resulted the operator increasing the size of its call centre by 30% to handle the anticipated increase in calls.
It has moved offices from Bayswater to larger bespoke premises in Clerkenwell in London, now its European HQ, and taken on a former Thomas Cook employee to work on the road with travel agents. Emily Watson started in July as a global purpose specialist, tasked with training agents on the opeator’s product range.
“We now have to evaluate Cook’s agents and find out which have higher potential for us. Some will only book one or two tours a year, others will book more.”
The operator is increasing the number of fam trips it offers by 40% for 2015.