From a first reservation conducted by telegram in 1970 to a just-launched state-of-the-art reservation system that took five years to develop, Goway has certainly come a long way. And still has a long way to go, says company founder, 81-years-young Bruce Hodge, who officially introduced “the new Goway” Thursday at a gala event in Toronto as the tour company enters its 55th year with a fresh look and renewed ambition.
Framed by its first-ever rebrand, featuring a signature burnt orange logo (called “Aussie terra”) meant to symbolize the Australian Outback in homage to Hodge’s Aussie roots and early product offerings – product that now spans the globe – Hodge, along with wife Claire, daughter Bronwyn, and senior company leaders, looked to the future at a event attended by close to 100 “friends of Goway” and industry partners on a suitably spectacular night under the stars on the rooftop at Malaparte atop the TIFF Lightbox venue.
Quipping that the sparkling new booking system cost “mega millions of dollars,” Hodge stated, “Why did we do it? Why did we invest all this effort? Because I believe the new Goway is going to be a company of the future… And I believe in the travel of the future. I believe the travel industry has a great future right now.”
In contrast to that first telegram over 50 years ago, in which messages were billed by the word, Hodge says the foundational new digital system now being used by Goway allows the company to be able to better sell complicated FIT travel – “the kind of travel we specialize in for globetrotters. So, that’s the difference between the original reservations, and what we have now.”
Of course, there’s more to the rebrand than technology for the company, which already boasts over half a century of experience and expertise and employs more than 600 people at offices in Toronto, Vancouver, Sydney, Los Angeles, and Manila.
“Our new brand is all about honouring our rich 54-year history while defining a contemporary look that reflects Goway’s ambitious and exciting future,” says Mitchell Fawcett, VP Marketing at Goway, says of the rebrand.
He added, “The brand is about our position and who we are. And that for us is all about tailor-made travel to 115 countries on all seven continents with a focus on four- and five-star product and private guided touring, and, of course, always backed by the trusted service and integrity of our team.”
On that point, Fawcett noted that Goway’s tour product is ever evolving and currently counts over a thousand trips, supported by a deep well of available content to educate and inspire, both online and in the Globetrotting magazine, the latter offered in both trade and consumer versions.
Meanwhile, new product initiatives include the new Odysseys by Goway product line, featuring 14 trips around the world; Guided by Goway small group tours; plus, over a dozen new itineraries in the Nordic countries, as well as new options in India, Vietnam, and “the ultimate destination for globetrotters,” Papua New Guinea. And coming soon will be a wellness product line.
Travel advisors
At the heart of the rebrand and the company’s ongoing innovation is a “mission is to make the lives of travel advisors easier,” said director of sales Renée Stanton-Defaria.
To that end, and based on feedback from the travel communicated, she said the company has invested in three key areas: technology, education, and loyalty.
- Technology: The new system brings all of the booking and pay processes together online, while streamlining processes into faster response times. The new travel advisor GowayPro.com provides advisors everything from marketing material to education resources and incentives.
- Education: A new trade training manager – ‘Professor Goway’ – leads the Goway Travel Academy, which was introduced during the pandemic and now includes a series of 600 online destination training modules (about 10 minutes long). More than 7,000 travel advisors have enrolled in the program. There is also the GowayPro Travel Tales podcast series, offered biweekly, that focuses on selling through storytelling.
- Loyalty: The enhanced ‘Passport to a free FAM’ enable advisors to receive complimentary FAM to by selling five of Goway’s seven destination regions in one year. Also improved is the GowayPro rewards program, which offers cash rewards for every booking made as well as the chance to earn gift cards.
Stanton-Defaria noted that the company has also tripled its number of destination specialists to meet the growing needs of FIT travel, as well as the groups department growing to over 40 members, making it one of the largest groups divisions in North America.
Best of all, Stanton-Defaria said, is that Goway continues to pay full commission at time of full payment.
And in 2025, a specialized travel advisor portal will be introduced that will streamline collaboration with the company, enabling advisors to access all their transactions, process payments for bookings, monitor loyalty rewards, and manage client documentation with ease.
Air
Scott Roseblade, VP of Air, said that going forward, Goway will also increasingly embrace artificial intelligence – a tool he says is already proving useful in identifying “when our customers are in distress… and get someone on top of it right away.”
Goway is also getting into NDCs, he said, giving customers a greater choice when shopping for airfares – a process that will go live in a couple of weeks.
At the same time the Goway Air portal has a new interface with a few “surprises” as well that warrants browsing around.
“We want to be able to ensure that customers have a seamless holiday – that is the number one important thing for us going into 2025,” he stated.
And for that he also thanked advisors. “We couldn’t do this without you,” he said, and added with a laugh, “Our destinations are too far away and there’s too much water in between! You’re part of our journey!”
In 2025, as Goway celebrates its 55th anniversary (50th celebrations in 2020 were shelved by the pandemic), the company will engage in more events, including a road show in Canada and the US, and will launch the Goway Micro Film Festival, featuring 55-second travel videos from travellers from around the world, which will be screened in competition in events in Toronto and Los Angeles.
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