GEN Z touring brand Topdeck has lifted the lid on its relaunch this week, swapping its 50-seater coaches for a return to small group touring, with fresh itineraries and experiences.
“This new chapter for Topdeck goes big by going small, offering more meals, more inclusions, more choice and more time to explore,” General Manager Anna Fawcett declared.
The brand repositioning followed 12 months of research about youth travellers, with Topdeck finding that 68% prefer to travel in groups of 20 or fewer, while 64% believe small group touring to be less stressful.
Food and beverage are also important for this cohort.
Group sizes are now capped at 18 and guests will enjoy longer stays in key cities ranging from seven to 47 days, while transport will include a mix of trains, mini-coaches and local transport.
Itineraries feature culinary experiences, including cooking classes and insider-led food tours.
Guests also have a choice of accommodation, with multi-share as the standard offer and upgrade options available for double, twin or single rooms.
Meanwhile, the age bracket for travellers has dropped from 18-39 to 18-32, allowing people to make meaningful connections with others in similar life stages.
In addition, Topdeck has rolled out a new yellow and brown colourway and strapline: ‘Small group trips packed with more’, alongside a refreshed website with improved UI and UX.
Earlier this year, TD broke the news that Flight Centre Travel Group was revamping Topdeck (TD 27 Aug) as it was an “underperforming asset”, which Fawcett explained was due to the changing youth market.
“The reality was that large coach youth touring was in decline in the marketplace and we weren’t the only ones suffering from that,” she told TD.
“Every bit of feedback that we got from any of our trade consortia…was that it was really challenging to sell.”
Before the rebrand, while Topdeck’s small group tours were on the rise, its former large coach touring style experienced a steep decline, she added.
Training for Flight Centre agents has begun, but opportunities for advisors outside of the business will be available in the future, as Fawcett suggested getting in touch with one of Topdeck’s BDMs to express interest. JHM
