Globus Is Moving ‘Aggressively’ Into Small Group Tours

During Virtuoso Travel Week on Tuesday, Globus CEO Scott Nisbet told TMR that the company is “moving aggressively” into small group touring, significantly changing what tours it will offer, and how it will offer them. The changes come in two moves.

The first is that Globus is in the process of launching over 50 Small Group Discovery tours, specifically built for 15 people for tours within Europe and 18 people for tours outside of Europe. Those tours include accommodations and excursions specific to those sized groups. Here are a few of the options that Globus released this week:

• Spending the evening on a walking food tour of Santa Fe (Enchanted New Mexico)
• “Glamping” in luxurious tents with Yellowstone as the backdrop (Majestic Montana & Yellowstone)
• Exploring Beaufort by horse-drawn carriage (Southern Charms)
• Learning how to make Hiroshima-style okonomiyaki with local ingredients (Majestic Japan)  

Initially, Globus is rolling out the tours across its regions, with bookings already opened for some 2025 options starting in April.

The second move is the addition of a small group option to 30% of the Globus portfolio, for people who want those Globus experiences but in a more intimate format. In total, the option will be offered across 250 tours and 5,000 departures, Nisbet said.

The thought behind the move came from the pandemic when Globus was forced to offer the option because of the need to maintain social distance. However, the response from guests has prompted Globus to dig further into the smaller group tour trend.

“These kind of tours have sold out the fastest we’ve seen,” Nisbet told TMR. And it’s not just in tours.

“I see it everywhere. Even in river cruising, people are moving from large groups to small groups. Consumers are gravitating towards the small experience,” he said.