General Tours World Traveler, an operator whose late founder Alexander Harris began offering tours to the Soviet Union in 1954, has been rebranded as Alexander+Roberts.
The new name, which marries Harris’ legacy with the name of current president Robert Drumm (who bought General Tours in 1992), is intended to align the customer closer to the product.
“There had been a disconnect between our name and our product,” Drumm told Travel Weekly in an exclusive interview.
For a tour operator that specializes in small-group, off-the-beaten-path itineraries to places like the Himalayas, Cuba and Antarctica, General Tours seemed, well, too general, said Drumm.
“We would get calls from agents asking us to book Disney or asking to book Vegas,” recalled Drumm.
But having been General Tours for so long, Drumm was hesitant.
Nevertheless, the company hired a research firm to survey agents and customers about what the General Tours brand meant to them. The research showed that General Tours travelers were interested in culture and that they subscribed to publications like The New Yorker and National Geographic.
“We set about developing a brand that was authentic,” said Drumm about zeroing in on a new name. “There are a lot of names that are totally concocted. This is a genuine set of two people.”
Drumm said that the move comes at a time when operators are taking a fresh approach to marketing and are putting a greater emphasis on experiential travel offerings, something Drumm feels his company excels at and should stand for.
“Research suggests that people want to be more engaged when they travel. They don’t want to have just sightseeing experiences any more. This is very much in keeping with that trend,” said Drumm.
The new website, AlexanderRoberts.com, will go live on Friday and the existing site, GeneralTours.com, will continue to operate indefinitely.
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Follow Michelle Baran on Twitter @mbtravelweekly.