Collette remains upbeat about bookings, despite the current global climate, with Australia leading the way when it comes to small group tours and Japan. That’s according to executive vice president of Global Sales Christian Leibl-Cote, in Sydney for the tour operator’s annual sales conference.
The touring giant has brought more than 100 global sales staff to Australia this week, underscoring the local market’s importance even as the broader travel industry navigates ongoing disruption. Training sessions on Friday will be followed by a famil in Cairns.
Speaking alongside Leibl-Cote were EVP & chief revenue officer Jeff Roy and senior VP of Global Marketing Stephanie Mirando, at the event hosted by Australian managing director Karen Deveson. Leibl-Cote’s overall message was clear: confidence remains high, and demand is expected to rebound quickly.
“We’re going through a crisis right now,” Leibl-Cote told attendees, “but what’s going to happen is this crisis is going to end?
“When it ends, we’re going to have ‘revenge travel’. It’s going to happen again,” he said referring to the bookings surge after Covid.
While current conditions have impacted booking momentum, particularly in Australia, where international connectivity via Middle Eastern hubs plays a significant role, Leibl-Cote stressed the underlying strength of demand.
“People are travelling. This will still be a record year for us as a business,” Roy said, noting growth of 7 to 9 per cent is still expected in 2026, with more than 30 per cent growth forecast for 2027.
Central to that growth is small group touring, a segment where Australia is outpacing global trends.
Drawing on data from the United States Tour Operators Association, Roy said small group travel is among the fastest-growing touring styles globally and Australia is ahead of the trend.
“It’s doing the best in this market,” he said.
Collette has leaned heavily into the segment, expanding its dedicated small group portfolio to more than 57 tours. Crucially, Roy said these itineraries are purpose-built rather than scaled-down versions of larger group products.
“The products we’re designing are truly created for small group experiences,” he said. “You can’t go truffle hunting with 40 people.”
Feedback underpins product development
Mirando added that the company’s “by travellers, for travellers” philosophy continues to underpin product development, with real-time feedback shaping itineraries and experiences.
“The modern traveller has evolved so much… and especially here, learning the nuances of the Australian traveller has been really eye opening,” she said.
Destinations such as Japan, Africa and Vietnam are performing strongly, while Europe continues to hold steady despite aviation challenges.
To further support agents and drive product awareness, Collette is also ramping up its advisor education and famil program, offering heavily discounted travel for those who complete its training module. A scant 47 Australian advisors utilised the incentive program last year, which allows them to travel for just $150 a day on a Collette tours, and have a friend travel for just $200. That fee is fully refunded for the advisors if they have 10 sales of that itinerary.
“We had 1100 advisors travel with us last year… I would love to triple that here in Australia,” Leibl-Cote said.
The operator is also tailoring its product to local preferences, including recent changes to its chauffeur service, now available on all explorations tours regardless of whether flights are booked through Collette, a direct response to Australian travel habits.
Collette CEO reveals tour lure to advisors and free chauffeur for travellers
With more than 30,000 guaranteed seats already available for 2027 and plans to exceed 100,000, Roy said advisors can book with confidence.
“In a time when there’s a lack of confidence… you can have confidence in us,” he said.
