Back-Roads Touring reveal a new brand identity, while launching new agent incentives

Back-Roads Touring has today unveiled a complete brand overhaul with a price-freeze promotion, a brand new rewards program and an agent famil.

The brand refresh is the first for the small group touring experts in over ten years, and heralds an exciting new phase of growth in the company’s almost 40-year history.

The new look and feel is evolution. It retains the core elements of Back-Roads while adding a contemporary feel to appeal to a wider demographic of travellers. The brand evolution was informed by extensive research over the last 12 months, including in-depth interviews with past and prospective guests and travel advisors and a multinational survey of more than 2,500 people.

Back-Roads touring general manager APAC Anna Fawcett said the findings overwhelmingly showed 83 per cent of customers prefer the small group tour style of travel.

“It’s an evolution, not a revolution,” she said. “Back-Roads has modernised its look and feel to meet the expectations of today’s travellers with a refreshed brand identity that showcases in-depth knowledge, unrivalled expertise and extraordinary experiences available on our small group tours in the UK and Europe.”

Key markers of the brand update include a new strap-line, ‘Expertly crafted small group tours’, and the introduction of the ‘Waystone’, an integral part of both the logo and brand identity.

“The brand refresh is just the beginning of many exciting new initiatives and opportunities that we will deliver for our clients and travel trade in 2025 and beyond,” Fawcett said.

Back-Roads launches its 2026 season for the UK and Europe with a price-freeze promotion from 9 May to 20 June 2025, plus the introduction of a new nine-day ‘A Taste of Medieval Italy’ itinerary of the Emilia Romagna region.

2026 agent famil

Back-Roads Touring is also doubling down on rewarding and recognising valued trade partners with an exclusive famil to Northern Spain.

Back-Roads invites Australian and New Zealand agents to join its first famil since 2019, offering 12 top-selling advisors and one wildcard entry the opportunity to earn your way on an exclusive Highlights of Northern Spain guided tour, including return flights, departing April 2026. The 10-day itinerary from Bilbao to Barcelona will showcase the splendour of Northern Spain with Back-Roads’ intimate, small-group tour style of travel, taking in all the architectural, culinary, cultural and historic sights and delights of these storied regions. Explore Laguardia’s walled quarter, savour pintxos in San Sebastián, marvel at Bilbao’s modern architecture and discover Dalí’s inspiration in Cadaqués during this immersive experience.

Book and deposit any Back-Roads Touring product between 1 May and 30 June 2025 to earn a coveted spot on this Northern Spain famil with the winners announced by 15 July 2025. This exciting incentive is open to all eligible agency consortia and home-based agents with the entry criteria based on the highest year-on-year revenue growth per store or individual advisor.

“The recent brand refresh provides us with the ideal opportunity to reward and recognise our top-selling travel partners in Australia and New Zealand with this fully hosted Northern Spain famil, including return flights, boutique accommodation and immersive experiences,” Fawcett said. “Top-performing advisors will be able to really experience Back-Roads’ distinct point of difference, in-depth knowledge and unrivalled expertise on this agent-only famil.”

New rewards program

From 12 May 2025, Back-Roads is introducing the new Wayfinders program to further reward and recognise top-performing advisors and stores with exclusive perks and members-only bonuses. Wayfinders will unlock a suite of premium benefits, such as priority phone and email support, early access to campaigns, famils and events, enhanced status, insider updates and much more.

“The Back-Roads Wayfinders loyalty program acknowledges and incentivises our top-selling stores and travel advisors for their ongoing support of the brand by establishing them as the small-group touring experts among clients and industry peers,” Fawcett said. “Our valued members will be the first to know about upcoming famils and promotions and enjoy priority access to streamlined support and sales tools, offering an invaluable competitive edge and boosting your personal travel business.”

In addition, advisors can tap into the always-on ‘Sell 12’ Back-Roads Touring incentive to earn a complimentary seat to experience the company’s expertly crafted small group tours firsthand. Australian and New Zealand advisors also receive a 50 per cent agent discount plus 20 per cent off for your travelling companion on select Back-Roads small-group tours (T&Cs apply).

“We want to reward advisors with enticing incentives that not only motivate them to sell Back-Roads but allow them to travel more and enjoy enriching personal experiences,” Fawcett said.