Trade Travel
Trade Travel is an Australian-owned travel agency founded in 1994 that sells fully escorted group tours, short breaks, and cruises predominantly to mature-age Australian travellers, operating from Noosaville with ATIA accreditation and a 30+ year track record.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1994
- HeadquartersNoosaville, Australia
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Trade Travel does
Trade Travel is an Australian-owned and operated travel agency founded in 1994 and headquartered in Noosaville, Queensland, with a workforce of 11–50 employees. The company specialises in fully escorted group tours and cruise packages designed primarily for mature-age travellers, including retirees and Probus-style travel clubs. Its core product portfolio comprises Australia Escorted Tours (NSW Outback, Queensland, Western Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, Norfolk Island), International Escorted Tours (Asia, New Zealand, Pacific), Short Breaks, and a dedicated cruise booking platform aggregated across 17+ cruise line partners including Royal Caribbean, Viking, Regent Seven Seas, Celebrity, Silversea, Ponant, and APT. Add-on services include travel insurance and a Loyalty Rewards Program.
The underlying technology is a relatively lightweight Squarespace-hosted website (tradetravel.com.au) plus a separate cruise booking subdomain (cruise.tradetravel.com.au) with cruise search by destination, port, date, and ship. The company is ATIA-accredited, providing consumer protection insurance to customers, and was a 2024 finalist in the National Travel Industry Awards. There is no proprietary AI, no public API, no mobile app, and no disclosed data assets. The firm is private, founder-led (Grant McGlashan, CEO; Kay McGlashan, Co-Founder/Office Manager/Financial Controller), and operates with no disclosed institutional investors, parent company, or subsidiary structure.
The business model is direct-to-consumer: customers discover tours via website, travel expos, social media, and a 1800 phone line, then book either online or via inside sales during 9:00am–4:00pm weekday hours. Pricing is quote-based rather than publicly listed, with flexible cancellation policies (60 days domestic, 90 days international) and fully refundable deposits. Revenue is generated through commissions on booked tours and cruises, plus travel insurance and loyalty programme economics. Geographic reach is Australia and New Zealand domestic, with international itineraries spanning Southeast Asia (Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia), South Asia (Sri Lanka, India), East Asia (China, Japan), and Oceania (Cook Islands).
Trade Travel firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Trade Travel
- Legal name
- Trade Travel
- Website
- https://tradetravel.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1994
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Trade Travel is an Australian-owned travel agency founded in 1994 that sells fully escorted group tours, short breaks, and cruises predominantly to mature-age Australian travellers, operating from Noosaville with ATIA accreditation and a 30+ year track record.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Trade Travel industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Escorted Tour Services
- NAICS
- Travel Agencies (561510), Tour Operators (561520), Travel Agencies (56151), Tour Operators (56152)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cruise Retail Travel Agencies (THAKABAF)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Cruise + Guided Land Tour Packages (THAEAHAJ), Retail Cruise-Only Travel Agencies (Leisure) (THAKAKAA)
Keywords
Where Trade Travel is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Noosaville
- HQ country
- Australia
- HQ region
- Oceania
Offices1 record
Markets served
Trade Travel business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
Trade Travel product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Trade Travel is an Australian travel agency that designs and sells fully escorted group tours for mature-age travellers, covering domestic Australian destinations, international destinations in Asia and the Pacific, and short breaks. The company also operates a cruise booking platform that resells itineraries from more than a dozen cruise lines, and complements these with add-on services such as travel insurance and a loyalty rewards program.
Product overview
Trade Travel operates as a travel booking platform offering a portfolio of escorted tour products and cruise booking services. The core product lineup consists of Australia Escorted Tours (domestic destinations across NSW, Queensland, WA, Victoria, Tasmania, and Norfolk Island), International Escorted Tours (small group tours across Asia, New Zealand, and Pacific), Short Breaks (weekend/mini getaways), and Cruising (a separate booking platform for multiple cruise lines including Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Holland America, Princess, and others). These are complemented by add-on services including Travel Insurance and a Loyalty Rewards Program. All tours are fully escorted by professional tour hosts and designed with the mature age traveler in mind.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Australia Escorted Tours
Companies that use Trade Travel
Customer profileSegments1 record
Ideal customer profiles1 record
Trade Travel technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Trade Travel partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Royal CaribbeanminorCruise partner through which Trade Travel sells cruise packages. Partnered through the Cruise Line Industry Association.
- Explora JourneysminorLuxury cruise partner available through Trade Travel's cruise booking platform.
- Regent Seven Seas CruisesminorLuxury cruise line partner available for booking through Trade Travel.
- Viking CruisesminorRiver and ocean cruise partner featured in Trade Travel's cruise offerings.
- Celebrity CruisesminorPremium cruise line partner available through Trade Travel's cruise booking platform.
- Uniworld Boutique River CruisesminorLuxury river cruise partner featured in Trade Travel's cruise offerings.
- Azamara CruisesminorBoutique cruise line partner available for booking through Trade Travel.
- SilverseaminorLuxury expedition cruise partner available through Trade Travel.
- HX ExpeditionsminorExpedition cruise partner for adventure travel experiences.
- Holland AmericaminorTraditional cruise line partner available through Trade Travel.
- AmaWaterwaysminorLuxury river cruise line partner featured in Trade Travel's offerings.
- Princess CruisesminorMajor cruise line partner available for booking through Trade Travel.
- PonantminorFrench luxury expedition cruise partner.
- APTminorAustralian tour and cruise operator partner featured in Trade Travel's offerings.
- Scenic Luxury Cruises & ToursminorLuxury touring and river cruise partner.
- TravelmarvelminorPremium touring and cruise partner.
- Coral ExpeditionsminorAustralian expedition cruise specialist partner.
- Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA)coreTrade Travel is ATIA accredited, providing consumer protection insurance for all customers. This is a core accreditation for the company's operations.
- National Travel Industry Awards 2024coreTrade Travel was named a 2024 finalist in the National Travel Industry Awards, demonstrating industry recognition and credibility.
Scale indicators1 record
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Trade Travel competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Helloworld Travel: Helloworld is a major Australian retail travel agency franchise network selling tours, cruises, and holidays across all age segments. It is a broad incumbent that competes with Trade Travel for mature-age bookings, particularly in regional Australia.
- Flight Centre Travel Group: Flight Centre is Australia's largest retail travel agency network with broad leisure and corporate offerings, including escorted tours and cruise. It competes with Trade Travel for Australian leisure travellers but at significantly larger scale and broader product breadth.
- Trafalgar Tours: Trafalgar is a global guided-holiday brand under The Travel Corporation selling escorted tours across multiple continents, including itineraries overlapping Trade Travel's international escorted tour catalogue. It is a large incumbent competing for premium guided-holiday bookings.
Emerging players
- Collette: Collette is a North American escorted tour operator that has expanded into Australia with small-group guided tours for mature-age travellers. It is an international competitor with overlapping product but limited Australian brand presence.
Direct peers
- Coral Expeditions: Coral Expeditions is an Australian expedition cruise specialist offering small-ship voyages that appeal to Trade Travel's mature-age adventure traveller. It is both a Trade Travel partner and a direct competitor in expedition cruising.
- Travelmarvel: Travelmarvel is a premium Australian touring and cruise brand within the APT/Scenic orbit that sells escorted tours and cruises to the same mature-age segment. Trade Travel resells its product while Travelmarvel also markets direct.
- Scenic Group: Scenic operates luxury river cruises, ocean cruises, and escorted tours for the same affluent mature-age Australian audience. It is a Trade Travel partner and competing operator with comparable itineraries and pricing.
- APT Travel Group: APT is an Australian luxury escorted tour and cruise operator serving the same mature-age Australian traveller segment. It is both a Trade Travel channel partner and a direct competitor with its own retail distribution, comparable escorted tour product, and luxury river/ocean cruise portfolio.
- Clean Cruising: Clean Cruising is an Australian cruise-only retail agency with a similar online booking model to Trade Travel's cruise.tradetravel.com.au platform, marketing to the same Australian consumer base across many of the same cruise line partners.
- CruiseAway: CruiseAway is an Australian online cruise travel agency that aggregates the same major cruise line inventory that Trade Travel sells, including Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Princess, and Holland America. It competes directly on cruise bookings.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Trade Travel compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Trade Travel financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Trade Travel leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Trade Travel funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Trade Travel M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Trade Travel
What does Trade Travel do?
Trade Travel is an Australian travel agency that designs and sells fully escorted group tours for mature-age travellers, covering domestic Australian destinations, international destinations in Asia and the Pacific, and short breaks. The company also operates a cruise booking platform that resells itineraries from more than a dozen cruise lines, and complements these with add-on services such as travel insurance and a loyalty rewards program.
Is Trade Travel a public or private company?
Trade Travel is a private company. It is classified as family owned and is currently operating.
When was Trade Travel founded?
Trade Travel was founded in 1994. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Trade Travel based?
Trade Travel is headquartered in Noosaville, Australia, in the Oceania region.
Who are Trade Travel's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Helloworld Travel, Flight Centre Travel Group and Trafalgar Tours. Collette is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are Coral Expeditions, Travelmarvel, Scenic Group, APT Travel Group, Clean Cruising and CruiseAway.
Does Trade Travel have an API?
No public API is recorded for Trade Travel.
What industry is Trade Travel in?
Trade Travel's product category is Escorted Tour Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAKABAF, Cruise Retail Travel Agencies, with a secondary code of THAEAHAJ, Cruise + Guided Land Tour Packages. Its NAICS code is 561510.