There are five companies which fall under the banner of the APT Group. APT is the flagship entity and offers life-enriching trips to every continent across the globe, with a product offering including everything from small-ship cruising around the hidden isles of South-East Asia, river cruising along European rivers, journeys across Canada and Alaska, and adventures through Australia’s remote Kimberley region, just to name a few; Travelmarvel for premium cruising and touring at great prices; Botanica World Discoveries, which offers botanically themed boutique tours and cruises; and Captain’s Choice for privately chartered trains, business-class private jet tours, and six-star cruise ships. Rounding out the group is Antarctica Flights, which specialises in taking people to the world’s southernmost continent. If that wasn’t enough, APT Group has also developed robust partnerships with several extra brands, resulting in a highly diverse travel portfolio to suit every single demographic.
APT began its life as a bus company in 1927, predominantly used for school runs. However, it was when the founder’s son Geoff McGeary got involved with the business in the 50s that things really started to pick up.
Aged nineteen and with a keen entrepreneurial spirit, he questioned what the buses were doing on the weekends — were they just sitting idle?
This sparked an idea to put the vehicles to work on Saturdays and Sundays for short trips interstate between Melbourne and Sydney. Despite the success of this, Geoff wasn’t satisfied — he wanted to think even bigger. Thus, he teed up trips further afield to the Northern Territory and Queensland, taking down the passengers’ details each time to start his own marketing database. By the 80s, the business was ticking along very nicely.
Fast forward to today, and APT Group operates overseas as well as in Australia, with established offices in Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and Europe. Chris Hall sits at the helm as Managing Director of the conglomerate, while Geoff still remains actively involved. Geoff was recently recognised for his pioneering efforts in the travel sector when he was presented with the Legend award at the Australian Tourism Awards earlier this year.