G Adventures will continue to upscale its offerings, with an upcoming foray into luxury tours following the success of its premium collection.
In an expansion of G’s partnership with National Geographic Expeditions, a co-branded Signature Collection of five-star tours will launch in 2027. The collection, which will open bookings in January, has not released itineraries yet, but the trips will operate in South Africa, Vietnam, Japan, Central Asia, Peru and Jordan.
G Adventures, which has forged a reputation for sustainable, community-based tourism, last year dipped its toes in higher-end travel with the launch of Geluxe, a line of premium tours. Steve Lima, vice president of growth for the U.S. and Latin America for G Adventures, said Geluxe experienced “extraordinary growth” this year compared to last, with sales up 249%.
The idea for the Signature trips was born from the success of Geluxe, Lima said, and the collection will marry Disney’s quality with National Geographic’s expertise and G Adventures’ community connections. The Walt Disney Co. owns National Geographic.
“Geluxe gave us the opportunity to see how much we can do in these destinations and how we can upgrade,” he said. “It gave us a good foundation.”
Speaking in Jordan at the G Adventures GX event last month, Nancy Schumacher, senior vice president and general manager of National Geographic Expeditions and Adventures by Disney, said the itineraries would be “a revolutionary product in the luxury travel space.”
Schumacher said the itineraries will showcase National Geographic’s view of luxury, which has evolved beyond fine dining and fancy bedding.
“For us, luxury could mean connecting with local people, sitting down and having a conversation over a meal with a family, where they talk about exactly what it’s like to live in that country,” she said. “For us, that is the luxury of travel.”
Lima said the itineraries will lean on the Disney standards of service and will aim for the $1,000 per person, per day price point. He said the collection is built on four pillars: elevated service, exclusive access, authentic cultural immersion and purposeful travel.
For example, he said, travelers in Tanzania will dine alfresco in the middle of the Serengeti, while those in Peru will visit a women’s weaving cooperative with an expert who will speak on the traditional practices.
Brianna Hill, a travel advisor and supplier relations liaison with Off to Neverland Travel in Florida, called the new collection “a piece of the puzzle that’s missing” in luxury travel.
“I can throw out names like Kensington, Abercrombie & Kent or even Adventures by Disney that offer a similar product,” she said. “The difference really is the purpose-driven travel.”
Hill said that although G Adventures isn’t typically associated with luxury travel, the new itineraries seemed like a natural evolution for the company following the successful launch of Geluxe — and there’s a market hungry for it.
“There’s so many clients out there today who want this,” she said, calling it the “total package.”
“I feel like this product will be incredibly immersive. More immersive than anything else out there just because of the connections and the people making it possible,” she said.
