You get the feeling there are many changes to come from Anna Fawcett, new general manager APAC for Topdeck Travel and Back-Roads Touring – pastel hair colour included.

The Kiwi’s chat clips along at a rapid pace. So does her career. Trying to keep up with Fawcett’s achievements so far accounts for a couple of dozen LinkedIn entries, some short, some long and detailed.

But it was in the UK in her early 20s, as a media relations coordinator for Festivals Edinburgh, before being poached by Visit Britain, where she hit her straps.

Fawcett looked after the European Visit Britain PR team, then headed up its global PR team. Then it was off to New York for six months as marketing director for North America, and then back to London as head of brand.

Then Global Touring’s Topdeck came calling. After two years, so did the pandemic, and after that, Fawcett was put in charge of refreshing the Topdeck brand. At the time, marketing Topdeck was a separate entity to Back-Roads.

“I think there’s a lot of stuff that we got right with that refreshed in terms of, you know, it was about being able to be your true self and your authentic self, and that’s what travel does, it allows you to take yourself away from your normal environment,” Fawcett says.

“It allows you to explore that become your true self, and then obviously, Gen Z now are very, very into that authentic self. ‘I’m not going to conform, I’m going to be who I am.’”

The road ahead for Topdeck and Back-Roads

In her new role, as part of Global Touring’s executive leadership team, Fawcett will be pivotal in the advancement plans for both Topdeck Travel and Back-Roads Touring.

The new position, which she has held for just a few months, will focus on B2B sales channels, building and strengthening existing relationships, creating new ones and enhancing both customer service offerings – and that includes a lot of listening – from Millennials and Gen Z, to LGBTQIA+ and non-gender specific guests, or any type of traveller for that matter.

“Today, you have a diverse group of friends, and you are an individual, and you’re your authentic self. For us, it’s about creating this space where people can just be who they are,” Fawcett says.

The beer-swilling Aussie at Oktoberfest, or the Aperol-infused airheads of Gen X have also long since moved on, probably trading their steins for Stella and harem pants for pashminas.

A Topdeck coach.

“It’s less of that rite of passage that I think Kiwis and Aussies used to do. You go over, you have your two years, and you go crazy,” she says.

While those tours these days might still be big in a group of up to 48 seats on a coach (Topdeck), it also could be as few as 12 (Back-Roads), no hostels included.

“What we’ve done is we’ve focused on the style of tours that people like and matching those to the ways that people might like to travel,” she says. “It’s a slightly, slower pace. More nights in different cities, you’re in a hotel, so if you actually need a bit of respite from a group, you can do that.

“You’re not doing just one night and these big drive days like it used to be.”

While listening to feedback is important for Fawcett – and she appreciates it – doing is also part of the plan as she is soon to find out on her inaugural Back-Roads tour.

“I’m doing my first one in a couple of weeks, to Lisbon, Portugal,” she says with an air of excitement.

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At Topdeck, new additions include a new app that offers access to “city insiders”, locals who know the best cafes, bars, restaurants, local events and little visited sites.

“It’s about creating their own authentic experience that is different, and gives them something special, that perhaps maybe their friend on a different tour didn’t get,” she says.

While Fawcett herself has passed the average age of their guests, 25-27, the youth market is one she is keeping both an eye and an ear on. One recent survey, for example, revealed Gen Z was relying on TikTok for most of their travel decision making.

“Cost is a huge factor for that youth travel market right now,” she says, “the desire and the intent is there, but people aren’t spending because they can’t, they can’t afford to.”

Keeping in good contact with suppliers and locking in prices is also key, says Fawcett.

“So we can remain competitive, not just to our competitors, but still affordable and get that ‘high value’ association with those consumers who maybe think they can’t necessarily afford it at the moment.”

While customers are key, investment in young staff, the way they want to work will also be on her itinerary.

‘They’re like, ‘Guys, you think you’re being you know, youth orientated, but you’re really not! This is actually what we think and feel’. So, we’re listening to those people,” she reveals. That feedback program will be formalised in the coming months.

While the customer service team is already the right age bracket, getting younger middle level managers is also on the cards.

“Without revealing too much of the grand plans. I think it’s about bringing interns in, you know, mentees and or actually just quite literally going out finding a panel of youth and being like, ‘Tell us what’s up?’.”

At the moment, her team has been going through significant change and she expects more to come. That includes the search for a new head of sales (Topdeck Travel and Back-Roads Touring) as David Gendle, currently staying on in a caretaker role, is set to retire.

“I think I’ve just maybe met almost everyone I’m supposed to meet internally and externally,” Fawcett says. “So right now I’m focusing on good partner relationships and better integration with our internal and external partners. And hopefully, we’ll be seeing those sales going through the roof.”

Feature image: Anna Fawcett’s first Back-Roads trip will be to Lisbon, Portugal.