‘Without agents, Exodus probably wouldn't be a household name’
Sarah Dennis“I think we owe a lot to the trade,” says Exodus Adventure Travels’ managing director Sam Seward, thoughtfully.
He’s detailed to me some of the rewards agents working with the operator can look forward to ahead of its birthday celebrations next year. “We’ve worked with the trade since the beginning – we were with Trailfinders, and even shared a property with them back in the seventies.”
Exodus Adventure Travels, formerly Exodus Travels, turns 50 in 2024. But the new name and refreshed brand that went live in September are not the only celebrations the company is planning – and agents can rest assured they will be invited to the party.
Seward confirms there are some “top-secret” trade-related extras in the offing, and a mega-fam to “bring agents together somewhere incredible and celebrate with us” in 2024. Exodus will also be “doubling down” on its agent loyalty programme, Exodus Agent Collective, with some more celebratory offers.
“Exodus probably wouldn’t be the household name it is without those relationships in the trade," says Seward. "So the 50th year would be a great way of saying thank you."
Seward is “absolutely” adamant that Exodus wants to grow its business with agents, pointing towards new trade relationships and restoration of a full strength trade team.
Exodus now has three on-the-road staff in the UK, down from its high of four, spending face-to-face time with agents, alongside a dedicated trade trainer.
“We all missed that part of the dynamic," Seward continues. "The more interaction you can have with agents in person, the better, because you can just get so much more across."
50 years, 50 new products
Seward reveals Exodus Adventure Travels will mark its milestone birthday with 50 new “special departures”.
"We’ve got 50 new products coming to market, 50 special departures," he explains. "We’ll be focusing those on destinations which are really either our heartland and our long-standing volume places, but also those experiencing a boom.”
Seward is coy on the specifics, but he hints at Italy – “always a number one seller” – while Costa Rica, he says, has “roared back into life” after Covid. Jordan and Egypt have seen impressive take-up, he adds.
"We’re looking to travel in periods of the year where it’s not going to be overwhelming and reduce the experience to the customer.”
Seward reveals Exodus Adventure Travels’ customers are demanding more comfort; the operator is responding with new “premium” products in the pipeline.
“Those trips will include higher quality, higher star-rated accommodation and more inclusions," he explains. "The demand for premium is definitely something we’re trying to meet because our customers are asking us for more comfort.”
The operator has also committed to expanding its programme in Europe, with more product in Spain and Italy "than ever before”.
Seward chalks Exodus’s "very high" repeat rates down to the “non-commoditised” experience the operator serves up to its customers. “Once people do one of these trips with us, we often find they’re booking two or three further departures. We’ve got customers who’ve done 50-plus trips with us – it’s not unusual."
He continues: “We offer very few trips that go to really iconic tourist hotspots. Our proposition is to take you behind the destination so you can understand the community and culture. It’s not really in our DNA to have people go through the big motorway spots.”
Avoiding overtourism and prioritising nature
Where "bucket-list" destinations are on offer, Seward says the company is aiming to drive up volumes outside high season. “We actively look to encourage and incentivise passengers to go in low season and shoulder seasons to avoid the overtourism phenomenon.”
Pressed on whether Exodus Adventure Travels would consider stopping tours to such destinations, Seward adds: “We wouldn’t run departures at times where we felt we were placing undue pressure on the local infrastructure; our customers don't book those types of holidays. That's not why they come to Exodus. We do small-group cycling and walking experiences.
"For the majority of our trips, you're not on and off a coach in a busy hotspot.”
Seward himself celebrated five years with Exodus at the start of 2023. Alongside his leadership role at Exodus, he flies the flag for parent Travelopia as its chief sustainability officer, a role he has held since 2021.
"In the past five years, I've been involved with the business, [sustainability] has been about formalising targets, understanding measurement, and becoming serious about our commitment around investing in the regeneration and protection of nature,” Seward says. “We've really prioritised nature; 94% of our trips will visit one national park or a protected area.”
Exodus will be investing more than £1 million over the next three years in nature partnerships, similar to its teaming NatureMetrics to offer Citizen Science departures on around 20 trips and Rewilding Europe, committing to rewilding 100m2 of Apennine forest per passenger booked.
Seward adds the company has also put more effort into providing rail-based packages, mainly in Europe, through its partnership with Byway Travel, which he says is seeing "real pick-up" albeit after what was, by his admission, a slow start.
"For me, rail is the best possible way of seeing Europe," he says. "You get to see a completely different dimension of the country. You meet people that way. I think it's far preferable to air travel. But if you're a bit time poor, then it's going to be the plane. Not everyone has that additional travel day.”
Asked about any gaps in the Exodus portfolio he’d love to see filled, Seward confesses to a love of food and drink holidays – with an active component. “We've got some amazing gastronomic itineraries, but I love combining the idea of combining a really strong gastronomic itinerary with cycling.
"To have the gastronomic highlights along with something active for me is the perfect combination because it's 'sort of' guilt free. We've got a lot of amazing trips of that type. I'd love for us to develop a few more and take it to the next level."
Sarah Dennis
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