G Adventures has a new holding company to bring its existing and new brand acquisitions under the same overarching parent brand – G Travel Community (GTC).
GTC’s purpose is to create a community of travel companies that have ‘community-led growth’ at the core of their strategies, and a shared belief in the power of changing peoples’ lives through travel.
The GTC brands are united in their mission to bring people together through travel to affect positive change – changing the lives of the traveller community, those of the local people in communities benefiting from tourism, and all GTC team members across the business.
Joining the GTC portfolio are G Touring (Travelsphere and Just You) and TruTravels, which are both based out of the UK. Planeterra, G Adventures’ non-profit partner, will also benefit from this ‘shared services’ model. All brands will be supported from a centralised administrative standpoint, yet retaining its own brand’s operational functions and identity.
Taking on the title of chairman for G Travel Community is Bruce Poon Tip, the chairman of GTC and founder of G Adventures, who said: “The formation of GTC signifies that this sense of community is truly at the heart of our entire business. We are the pioneers of community tourism, so it’s exciting to see this be fully embraced internally as well as externally… our goal is always to have a far bigger impact in the wider world of tourism.”
He added: “With the formation of GTC we are finally creating that community – a stable of travel brands that can really drive change to a wider demographic of people who love to travel, but at the same time want to change the world.”
G Adventures’ COO Jeff Russill will become the CEO of GTC and oversee the G Adventures, TruTravels and G Touring brands while Ben Perlo, currently managing director for G Adventures in the US, will take on the mantle of president and CEO for the G Adventures brand, in addition to his current role in the short-term.
