G Adventures has named Sean Martin as its new Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, effective immediately.
Martin joins G Adventures after 15 years in a variety of roles at Flight Centre Travel Group. He is most well known from his role as General Manager of the Student Flights and My Adventure Travel brands, and more recently Universal Traveller where he worked closely with the small group travel sector, giving him a strong understanding of G Adventures’ philosophy and travel styles, as well as the agency landscape in Australia and New Zealand.
Martin says G Adventures’ commitment to its agency partners, clear mission to change people’s lives through travel, and strong values and company culture are what drew him to join the small group travel leader and community tourism pioneer.
Subscribe to LATTE’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury travel industry.
“The most important consideration for me when choosing to join G Adventures was that their values are so closely aligned to my own. I have always believed travel can make the world a better place and change people’s lives, whether that is the lives of people in local communities, those of our customers and partners, or of our local and global team members.
“G Adventures’ commitment to its partners was also a huge deciding factor. Agents are going to be more important than ever before – the best experience a customer gets is when they book through a travel agent. Adventure travel is a complex purchase – even more so now with changing government regulations around the world – but we’re committed to leading with service to help our partners build their businesses back and continue to grow with us.
“It’s an added bonus that G Adventures has a portfolio of incredible trips that are exactly what Aussies and Kiwis will be looking for after such a long time without international travel. The breadth and depth of experiences is incredible – these are once-in-a lifetime, bucket list adventures in awe-inspiring destinations, all conducted in a way that benefits local communities,” said Martin.
David Green, VP commercial, G Adventures, says Martin’s appointment comes at a pivotal time for the business, and that he believes Martin is the ideal person to lead G Adventures’ strategic growth out of the forced pause created by the pandemic.
“Australia and New Zealand continue to be extremely important markets for G Adventures and we can’t wait to host our Aussie and Kiwi travellers as soon as the borders reopen for international travel,” Green said.
“Like everyone in the industry, we are waiting for a clear roadmap from the government, but we know there will be a huge amount of pent-up demand. As we have already been running a significant number of tours overseas – for travellers in markets that are able to travel – we are geared up and ready to welcome our friends down under the minute restrictions are lifted,” he said.