Travelsphere unveils new partnership with the Royal Geographical Society

 

Escorted touring pioneer, Travelsphere, has joined forces with the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) to unveil an exciting new partnership for 2025. The partnership between the two iconic and pioneering British organisations will unveil a collection of land based itineraries, which celebrate their combined commitment to transformative travel, history and education.

 

‘The Royal Geographical Society Collection’ is available to book now, with the first departures in April 2025, and includes five quintessential trips across popular destinations including Italy, Japan, the US, Canada and Latin America. The partnership marks the Royal Geographical Society’s new venture into travel experiences, with each trip harnessing the Society’s knowledge of history and geographical science, bringing the destinations to life like never before.

 

Each trip will be led by a Travelsphere holiday director, who will be trained to deliver a deeper level of destination and historical insights from the RGS. Travellers who book will also receive a new Royal Geographical Society Collection booklet ahead of their departure, offering destination content provided by The Society.

 

The partnership will leverage the Royal Geographical Society’s famous archives of over two million historical items, including the largest private map collection in the world. The experts at the RGS have hand picked a range of important archive pieces, which correlate to the regions and experiences included in the trips, from coloured Japanese road maps by Suigashi, dating back to 1804, to photos of Yosemite National Park taken by Carleton Watkins, one of the world’s most important practitioners of early photography, in the early 1860s.

 

Bruce Poon Tip, owner of the G Touring brands Travelsphere and Just You, says the new partnership will bring together two powerhouse British organisations, with the common goal of delivering the very best in transformative travel experiences.

 

“We’re incredibly excited about the powerful new partnership between Travelsphere and the Royal Geographical Society. The RGS is one of the world’s most respected organisations in its field, having supported geographical research, education, fieldwork and expeditions for nearly 200 years and, combined with Travelphere’s 60 years of escorted touring expertise, we’re bringing an offering to the market that allows travellers to see and learn about the world in a way like never before. We’ve hand picked trips that offer deep cultural and historical immersion, where the RGS’ knowledge and expertise can really shine, with more new trips planned to join the collection later this year,” he says.

 

“Both organisations are true pioneers in their own sector, with a shared passion for making the world a better place and the new partnership is a perfect example of innovation which allows us to amplify the positive impact we are having, both on our travellers, but also on the communities we visit, and the planet,” Poon Tip adds.

 

“The Society is delighted to join forces with Travelsphere. A purposeful and responsible approach to travel is a key aim for the Society. Through the use of the Society’s significant archive materials and accumulated geographical knowledge and Travelsphere’s commitment to making an investment in our world and communities through their work with the Planeterra Foundation, we feel we can achieve this aim,” says Jamie Owen, Licensing and Commercial Partnerships Manager at The Royal Geographical Society.

 

“It’s an exciting time for Travelsphere. Consumer habits are changing, with more travellers seeking experiential experiences when selecting their holiday. The escorted touring sector is booming and, in the last six months alone, we’ve seen sales growth of over 20% compared to the previous year. This demand poses a great opportunity for agents to leverage the increasing demand for this style of travel, and we’ve seen a 30% increase in trade sales over the same period. The new partnership with the Royal Geographical Society will support this consumer demand with a unique product that isn’t currently being offered anywhere in the market,” says Adam Kemp, managing director at Travelsphere.

 

“Beyond the work we do in the destination to support local communities through our work with Planeterra, every Royal Geographical Society Collection trip booked will directly support the essential charitable work of the Society, so travellers can feel confident that their holiday is helping to support the destination they visit, and the planet as a whole,” Kemp continues.

 

‘The Royal Geographical Society Collection’ includes:

 

* Grand Tour of Italy – 15 days from £3,049* per person

* Epic Wonders of the National Parks – 17 days from £4,449* per person

* Grand Tour of Canada & the Rocky Mountaineer – 17 days from £6,599* per person

* Latin Wonders of the World – 18 days from £5,199* per person

* Japan – Land of the Rising Sun – 13 days from £5,299* per person

 

The new Royal Geographical Society Collection will feature in the Travelsphere brochures for 2025, available now. For more information on the Royal Geographical Society Collection, click here or call 0800 987 5110. For more information on the new archive collection, click here.

 

For more information on the trip itineraries, please click here.

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