Though the world has taken on appearances that closely resemble the pre-Covid world, I am often reminded by events that the world has changed a lot more during the Covid period than we yet realize. It will take some time to sort out the changes, and the effects both good and bad. On the good side, travel is back. But like everything else, it’s changed.
The constraints imposed by Covid accelerated many trends: the trend toward remote working and meetings, toward more concern by consumers about sustainability, and toward making airports safer from disease. Many other trends were also accelerated.
From all quarters, however, we hear that the travel industry is soaring. No doubt supply chain issues, regulatory confusion from country to country, staffing shortages, and a score of other daily issues are still causing headaches. But the demand for travel services is voracious. The hunger to move is unleashed. And for those providing travel services, there is a lot of work to do.
Another trend that has accelerated during the Covid period, is the growing preference for small group travel over large groups, or as an alternative to independent travel. For decades, small group touring has been eating into the market share of the classic large-group tour operators. Covid accelerated the trend.
Veteran tour operators have been watching this trend for decades, and by now nearly all of the classic big tour operators have developed small group versions of their styles of tour operation. The whole industry, responding to demand, has moved toward more experiential, immersive, small group travel.
Advantages of Groups
Though independent travel is also growing, group travel continues to be popular because there are many advantages to traveling in groups. The combined buying power spreads the cost of services among more people; so the basic components such as transportation, accommodation, and professional guidance become more affordable for each individual.
There are also advantages to experiencing a travel destination with other people who share enough common interests to have chosen to be on the same tour together.
Though many people are hesitant at first to commit to traveling with a group, I have found that those same people are usually surprised at how much they enjoy traveling with other people. Traveling in groups is what the human species has done since we were hunter gatherers thousands of years ago. It’s built into our DNA to function beautifully in groups. Whenever a number of people are brought together by some common objective, such as exploring a destination, they quickly fall into functioning as a tribe, an extended family group. And that is a source of enrichment.
Group travel gives you extra layers of security, an ever-present concern in a troubled, chaotic world, not likely to diminish.
Small is Beautiful
But there are groups and there are groups. A group of 40 people is a different animal than one of 18. Small groups can do many things that groups of 40 traveling in large motorcoaches can’t.
With small group travel becoming increasingly popular, there are many varieties of small group tour products to choose from. One of the most endearing things about the tour operator segment is that they are highly individualized. They all have strong personalities and styles. Wherever you may choose to go, each of them will slice and dice it for you differently.
An intriguing but lesser known tour operator is Blue-Roads Touring. I recently talked with Kristina Zito, the national business development manager for Blue-Roads Touring in the US and Canada. Blue-Roads Touring is a company from Australia that has been exclusively an operator of small group tours since its founding 32 years ago.
Blue-Roads is one of the pioneers of the small group touring style. When it was formed, small group travel was largely an open space in the market waiting to be filled. As we emerge from the Covid period, the company finds itself in a good spot.
“It’s not like Covid made us readjust our sales strategy,” Kristina Zito told me, “small group travel is all we’ve ever done, it’s all we know.”
Blue-Roads was introduced to the American market in 2008, but an unfortunate accident of branding has held back the company’s visibility.
Blue-Roads Touring began as Back-Roads Touring, and still operates under that brand in most of its international markets, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the UK and Canada. But when the company tried to break into the US market, it ran into a trademark conflict. In that market, there was already a company called Backroads, or Backroads Travel, a hiking and biking operator out of Berkeley, California, founded in 1979. So the coincidental choice of practically the same brand caused “confusion in the marketplace,” and became untenable. So Back-Roads Touring changed its brand to Blue-Roads Touring for the American market.
Blue-Roads are back roads, you get the idea. But the branding issue handicapped the company’s entrance into the market. The US market is the most coveted in the world, and the US marketing space is the most crowded. It’s hard for any foreign company to crack it. Blue-Roads has done well though, making headway through the appeal of its product line and an increasingly receptive market.
“In 2008 the company decided to open the US market,” said Kristina. “I introduced it to the travel agent community. They loved the concept of what we’ve done. We’ve only had 18 people max on any tour ever.”
The company offers some 42 programs now, fewer than in pre-Covid times. Regular departures travel if there are as many as seven people signed on. The company also offers guaranteed departures that will travel if a single person signs on.
“Touring with seven people has to be amazing,” she said.
The key to Blue-Roads’ quality is its professional guides, its tour leaders. According to company marketing material, Blue-Roads has “experienced tour leaders who can turn an exciting getaway into something truly extraordinary. They’ll tell you the stories and secrets behind stately homes as you wander the corridors; show you the perfect position to see the sunset over a city skyline; and point you toward the exact patch of coastline where you can try oysters straight off the boat.”
Now the company is coming back from the Covid layoff, and demand is acute. The trend toward small groups has become more pronounced and is likely to continue in that direction for a long time.
As the population at large becomes more well-traveled, people want to drill down deeper into the destinations. More experienced travelers tend to look for a deeper focus on smaller regions, with immersion in local culture through interactions with local people. This is a description of the Blue-Roads Touring product style and the company has been honing it for a long time.
Blue-Roads defines its touring style based on its pledge to provide the following:
- Small groups, 18 max, traveling in luxurious mini-coaches, usually either Mercedes Sprinter or Vito models.
- Porterage included “wherever possible.”
- The company caters to solo travelers by pricing its singles supplement low.
- Cuisine is a central focus of the itineraries, with cooking classes and tastings and specially curated meals throughout.
- The company offers special individualized experiences that are characteristic of the destination and its local culture, such as a truffle hunt with a farmer in Alba, a Flamenco show in Seville, or a visit with cattle at a Scottish farm.
- Accommodations are at small, boutique hotels with strong character, such as spa hotels, manor houses, and castles.
Back-Roads Touring is a pioneer in the small group style of travel. That’s a point of interest in itself, and there is a special charm that comes from its Australian orientation. The majority of its travelers are from Australia and New Zealand, so traveling with a bunch of Aussies and Kiwis gives you an extra layer of cultural experience.
And the fact that they are coming at it all from Downunder ensures that they will show you the world from a very different perspective than that of a domestic operator. Looking at the world from an upside-down perspective has got to be good.
For more info on Blue-Roads Touring, see https://www.blueroadstouring.com/, email kzito@blueroadstouring.com or see the Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/BlueRoadsTouringNAAgents/.
David Cogswell is a freelance writer working remotely, from wherever he is at the moment. Born at the dead center of the United States during the last century, he has been incessantly moving and exploring for decades. His articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Fortune, Fox News, Luxury Travel Magazine, Travel Weekly, Travel Market Report, Travel Agent Magazine, TravelPulse.com, Quirkycruise.com, and other publications. He is the author of four books and a contributor to several others. He was last seen somewhere in the Northeast US.
