As G Adventures Turns 35, Here’s How Bruce Poon Tip Is Thinking About Its Future

It’s been a huge year for G Adventures — and not just because 2025 marked the tour operator’s 35th anniversary, though that milestone certainly contributed to the celebratory tone of the last 10 months.

G’s also saw 20% growth in global sales this fiscal year, culminating with an impressive 40% increase in sales in July — “huge numbers” for the company, according to founder Bruce Poon Tip. What’s more, the brand had its biggest-ever product development year, adding more than 300 new trips for a total inventory exceeding 1,000 itineraries. The company also introduced new destinations, including Moldova, Pakistan and Panama, and significantly surpassed sales targets for new travel styles such as Solo-ish and Geluxe. 

Then, just within the last two months, G became a preferred partner of AAA Travel, and announced its entrance into the luxury market with its new National Geographic Signature With G Adventures travel style, an expansion of its existing collaboration with the legendary brand. Signature bookings are set to launch in January of 2026 for departures beginning a year later, with a starting lineup of 29 trips spanning South Africa, Vietnam, Japan, Peru, Jordan and more destinations.

If all that wasn’t enough, Tip himself has a new book coming out in February, featuring a forward by the late, great Dr. Jane Goodall, who was announced as a G Adventures Global Ambassador just days before her passing. Tip hopes to keep her outstanding legacy of activism alive, in part, through G Adventures’ ongoing work. 

“Her message of peace is so needed right now,” Tip said. “In the next couple of weeks, I’m meeting with her people to ask, ‘What do we do next? How do we make sure her message is remembered?’ We’re hoping to continue that work with our Jane Goodall Collection and the ambassador relationship, in memorial.”

We sat down with Tip to learn more about the brand’s recent success, his vision for the future of the brand and more.

G Adventures turned 35 this year — how would you compare where the company started to where it is now?

That’s a huge question, and it’s an emotional time for me. We had GX [the company’s annual community tourism event] in Jordan this year for the anniversary, and there were 700 people in attendance. It was a big celebration; it was nice to reflect on 35 years and have so many people from around the world sharing that with us.

But the world has changed, and travel has changed. Technology and how people book and research travel have changed. And mostly I’m thankful that it seems the world has changed in our favor along the way. We started as a radical idea in 1990. Nothing like that existed. But the advent of the internet, technology in general, social media — all of that seemed to work in our favor, and at some point, we became pioneers.

Now, I want to look at our leadership team and say, “Do we still have our best work ahead of us?” [I want to] prove that we still have a lot of gas in the tank as a brand and a lot of work to do. So, GX was about taking that time to reflect and celebrate, but also plan for where we want to go. And that was exciting.

So, where do you see the company going next?

In just the last three years, we launched Solo-ish, we launched Lando [overland adventure] vehicles in South America, we launched Trees for Days [dedicated to tree cultivation], we launched Geluxe and we launched National Geographic Signature this year. We’ve just been on a tear of new products the last three years. Of those, Geluxe was the most successful launch of a single product we've ever had in our 35 years. Then Solo-ish beat it the next year. And then the Signature opportunity with National Geographic came out of nowhere for us. 

RELATED: Review: G Adventures' Zimbabwe and Botswana Geluxe Collection Trip 

So, for everything we do right now, I keep saying — because I’m staring down the barrel of 60 now — we have to start thinking about the next 100 years. And we got inspired by National Geographic, actually, because they’ve been around for 130 years. And that made me think [that] we have to start making decisions for long after we’re all dead. That sounds morbid, but we have to put guardrails in place so that we can continue to do the great work we do and have a great global impact [for many years to come]. 

So, for everything we do right now, I keep saying — because I’m staring down the barrel of 60 now — we have to start thinking about the next 100 years.

But it’s an exciting time, because we have a lot of new partners and a lot of new acquisitions. And we’re in a mode right now to maybe acquire more businesses. There’s never a dull moment, because we have a lot to do and a lot to prove. 

Speaking of National Geographic Signature, tell us a little about the G Adventures take on luxury travel, and what that new product will look like.

We always questioned how far we could stretch our brand [toward luxury], because we have 18-to-Thirtysomethings tours; Roamies, our hostel-based trips; and then Geluxe, which is not really luxury, [but instead] our version of community and comfort. Now, National Geographic gives us the opportunity to knock down the doors of real luxury, because their brand is so powerful in that space. And we had to prove to them that we were the right partner and that we can add something to that program, which has existed for years. What we sold them on is our community tourism background and how we can add the community element to what they do.

It's only been about a month since we launched, and we’ve already been introduced to a whole new world of travel agents and brands. National Geographic gives us access to opportunities that no one else has, which redefines luxury. When National Geographic goes to museums, it’s after hours when they’re closed, or for special dinners — which we’re doing with our groups. We have access to all their experts, their explorers, their research stations all over the world. 

National Geographic gives us access to opportunities that no one else has, which redefines luxury.

So, we’ll be defining luxury a little differently. It’s not just about thread counts on sheets. Even though we’re going to have the best hotels, they’re going to be locally owned; we’re not going to be at Ritz Carltons. And we’re going to offer access to things that no one’s ever had access to before. Even the booking process will be different, because with Signature, there’s going to be concierge service once you book, with a lot of handholding — all of that is new.

Business was great for G in 2025 — how’s the outlook for 2026 shaping up?

We’re firing on all cylinders; we’ve never been more focused or more successful. We had huge growth in the last few months, and we [were] killing it again for October.

RELATED: G Adventures Just Had Its Best Month Ever — Here’s What’s Contributing to That Success  

[Looking ahead], the real issues are out of our control at the moment. It seems like people freeze when there’s uncertainty, like when the U.S. tariff fight first hit. And not to mention war and the disputes that are going on. Those are really the only things that could stop us, and the travel industry, from growing significantly in 2026. And I think there’s the possibility of a looming global correction or recession. We’re all going at 100 miles per hour, but anything could happen. 

We’re really excited about GX being in Morocco next year, and we’re already preparing. This year, for the 35th anniversary, it was more of a celebration. And I was a bit nervous because I didn’t want that to take away from our message of community tourism, and it maybe did a bit. But I think in Morocco, we’ll get back to what GX is meant to be, and the heart of why we started it. 

You also have a new book coming out Feb. 3, 2026, called “CommunityShip: Lessons from the Universe and the Business of Everyone.” What will that be about? 

We came out of COVID-19 battered and beaten like every other company. Barely surviving, to be honest. And we came out as a company that didn’t reflect who we were. So, [the pandemic] presented us with the greatest opportunity — after having scaled down considerably as a business to survive — to build back differently and act like a startup after 30 years of experience.

In 2020, we were so big and bloated as a company, we had lost our ability to be nimble. We lost our speed to market, which makes entrepreneurial companies great.

In 2020, we were so big and bloated as a company, we had lost our ability to be nimble. We lost our speed to market, which makes entrepreneurial companies great. And [the concept of] “CommunityShip” is about the future of how we look at our business, tying in our customers and our community — and GX was created to reflect that. So, that’s what the book is about. 

And I said I’d never write another book again after 2013’s “Looptail.” My entire life, that was the worst experience I’ve ever had. And this time was worse. It was easier last time, because I was writing my origin story, my life. For this book, I couldn’t rely on that; I had to build the story. If COVID-19 didn’t happen, I could never have written this book.