Last updated: 12:15 PM ET, Mon December 9, 2024
WHY IT RATES: Inside Travel Group is expanding trade networks in anticipation of a record-setting 2025, focusing on responsible and authentic cultural travel experiences, particularly in Japan, Thailand, and Korea. —Janeen Christoff, TravelPulse Managing Editor
B-Corp Certified Inside Travel Group, parent company of sister brands InsideAsia Tours and InsideJapan Tours, is anticipating a record-setting year in 2025, thanks to continues strong demand for authentic cultural experiences as well as increasing trade relationships in the United States.
“As a bespoke tour operator with over 20 years of experience arranging tours for our clients, Inside Travel Group realizes the importance of tapping into the extensive advisor community,” commented Gabo Quiros, Global Trade Manager for Inside Travel Group, adding: “Building upon our existing relationships within the travel agent community, Inside Travel Group has made significant strides over the past few months to expand our reach and efforts with advisors in the US.”
In November, Inside Travel Group added Aaron Kuehn to the team as the new Trade Partnerships Manager for the US, situating the brand to tap into his deep ties with trade consortiums based in North America. Kuehn’s appointment came mere weeks after Inside Travel Group secured a $25 million investment from Piper and Cool Japan Fund, enabling further investments in the company’s future with targeted tactics.
“Since our humble beginnings as a home-based operation in Bristol, we have consistently relied on our trade partners to be our biggest advocates, collaborating with agents to provide detailed training materials and support so they are empowered to sell the best Asia tours out there,” mentioned Quiros.
With demand to our destinations naturally stemming from the recent renewed American interest in Japan and East Asia in general, Inside Travel Group is planning to expand our advisor network to continue building upon the successful framework put in place over the last year, which has yielded us a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 90 with our trade partners, among the best in the industry.”
Industry trends show that travelers are increasingly seeking personalized trips in favor of catalogue itineraries, with 80% of North American travel agency owners expecting to increase selling customized vacations into 2025. All InsideJapan and InsideAsia trips are fully tailored per client desires, thanks to Inside Travel Group’s expert team of destination specialists, all of whom have lived in the destinations they sell tours in, utilizing their expertise to craft unique and bespoke itineraries for clients.
“In 2025, Inside Travel Group is focusing on responsible, sustainable travel to ensure that we are not part of the overtourism problem, and rather leading the way in solutions with our Cultural Adventure approach designed to highlight lesser-seen places in our destinations while still giving clients their dream trips in exotic locales,” continued Quiros.
Our trade partners understand our emphasis on responsible tourism, and we are empowering advisors to promote our regions of focus for 2025 so that clients continue to come back from their trips satisfied and enriched after having a truly bespoke cultural adventure.”
For 2025 and 2026, Inside Travel Group will be supporting agents to sell the below experiences, which are at the intersection of authentic tourism with consumer popularity.
Japan Off the Beaten Path: While Japan’s record visitor numbers in the past few years paint a picture of overtourism, most visitors will stick to the traditional ‘Golden Route’ of Tokyo, Hakone and Kyoto. InsideJapan Tours is pushing travelers to go beyond and explore the culturally vast landscapes of the island nation through:
- The HiddenZen itinerary, launched in early 2024, takes travelers along the newly opened Hokuriku shinkansen line which traverses the lesser visited Western coast of Honshu, home to Toyama, Kanazawa, Noto and more.
- Pushing our clients to spend time in the farther reaches of Japan’s islands, with product in Hokkaido, Shikoku, Okinawa and Kyushu, seldom visited by American tourists but boasting with culturally authentic experiences to be had that make for an easy add on to any Japan itinerary.
Thailand Beyond Bangkok: Regarded as an ideal tropical getaway, Thailand has a history as diverse and fascinating as it’s unique biomes, explorable with InsideAsia’s local connections in remote regions of the country. Leaning into Inside Travel Group’s sustainability focus, InsideAsia has designed several adventurous itineraries for solo travelers or families, including:
- Our Active Southern Thailand route, perfect for adrenaline junkies who want to do more than just sit on the beach and sip a Mai Thai. Travelers will have the chance to kayak on crystal-clear lakes, cycle through lush rainforests between rural villages, scale the iconic limestone cliffs of Railay and snorkel in the soothing waters of Phang Nga Bay, teeming with vibrant sea life.
- Getting travelers up close and personal with an immersive Thai elephant experience, for which we have carefully vetted our local partners to ensure that we are sending clients to elephant sanctuaries that have proven to be ethical and responsible in creating memorable experiences with these gentle giants. One of InsideAsia’s favored partners, Elephant Hills, has experiences in Khao Sok as well as Chiang Mai, which can be added to an itinerary (it is already incorporated on our Wild Thailand Family Adventure trip).
Ride the K-Wave with a Korean Getaway: Following America’s recent fascination with Korea, largely due to the nation’s outsized cultural influence of food, music, movies/TV and fashion, demand to Korea is higher than ever before, particularly for the American traveler. InsideAsia Tours has leaned into developing our Korea product offerings, and is ready to help agents create life-long memories for clients with:
- InsideAsia’s first small group tour, Soul of Korea, launching this year to a 4.8 out of 5 rating on Trust Pilot. Designed for travelers seeking the group dynamic on their trip, there are still four set departure dates available for 2025. Taking travelers all around South Korea, Soul of Korea is the perfect introduction to the fascinating, ancient country that continues to become a coveted destination for travelers seeking a cultural adventure.
- The Culinary Korea tour, which debuted earlier this year and focuses on Korea’s unique gastronomy by tasting authentic delicacies from kimchi, Korean BBQ, seafood and craft beer unique to the country.
“While we will continue to support agents selling our other portfolio trips and destinations through Japan, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Singapore and more places to come, Inside Travel Group will ensure that our trusted advisors are empowered and supported in creating cultural adventures that enhance the destinastions clients visit,” said Quiros.
For more information on Inside Travel Group’s trade framework, please visit: https://insidetravelgroup.com/travel-agents/.
SOURCE: Inside Travel Group press release.
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