SINGAPORE - "There is strength in numbers."

This adage has gained new relevance, with group tours experiencing a resurgence and not just among seniors.

Google Trends have shown that the volume of searches for "group tours" - especially "small group tours" - has been on an upward trend since two years ago.

But today's group tours are different. Some are powered by influencers and group buys, while others offer insider access and immersive experiences.

Group tours may differ in style, but they share a couple of similarities: They offer plenty of convenience and camaraderie - something that was gravely lacking during the pandemic.

Here are two travel companies that have emerged in recent times and do group tours differently.

Luxury travel agency

Intriq Journey

Ms Jess Yap is sitting in a restaurant, reminiscing about a trip she took to Botswana, Africa, in 2016.

"I was in the Kalahari desert camp for work," recalls the co-founder of Intriq Journey. "Each room had an open platform with mattresses and blankets. I decided to spend the night on it rather than in the room.

"It was so beautiful - the entire sky was full of stars."

Ms Yap, 49, is a seasoned travel professional with more than 25 years of experience. Her "been there, done that" list reads like an adventure manual: hiking in Pakistan, visiting a Sunday market in China's Kashgar city in the Uighur region, bungee-jumping in New Zealand and schmoozing with locals in Iran.

Her company was built on this passion for adventure. Established in January 2020 with the help of two other co-founders and former colleagues Lim Kok Yong, 40, and Stella Fan, 48, it creates bespoke itineraries as well as small group journeys that marry adventure with extravagance.

"Intriq Journey was founded just three months before the pandemic, before Covid-19 had a name. Our business was modest during those early months of inception before we suffered the heavy blow from the halt in international tourism," she says.

But she soldiered on and her three-person team has grown to 12 people, with offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing. Business has gone up 50 per cent since Singapore reopened its borders in April this year and the company is now busy with year-end requests.

Today, she is redefining group travel with Intriq Finesse, a line of curated small group tours. Whether it involves personal encounters with leaders of the New Nordic culinary movement - such as Michelin-starred chefs, farmers and brew masters in Denmark - or a sunrise picnic on Mount Nemrut in eastern Turkey, visitors can look forward to a trip brimming with one-of-a-kind experiences.

Each trip is capped at 16 guests and accompanied by a travel concierge. Prices are all-inclusive, meaning that all meals, drinks (including alcohol) and tipping are taken care of.

"At present, there is peak demand for Europe, but other exotic destinations are seeing a comeback, in addition to newly opened countries such as New Zealand and Japan," she says.

Saudi Arabia is on her personal bucket list.

"The fact that not many people have visited Saudi Arabia makes this destination truly appealing, especially for the luxury segment," she says.

"Beyond its expansive oil fields and holy Mecca, the kingdom has some of the friendliest and most unpretentious locals as well as diverse, ancient landscapes, Unesco world heritage sites and one of the oldest cities in the Arabian Peninsula.

"Al Ula is a grander Petra, but without the tourist crowds."

The company caters to a largely Asian clientele because these globetrotters come with their own set of preferences and quirks.

"Most Asians do not like to spend so much time on the beach. You can take them to a Michelin-starred restaurant, but at the end of the day, they still crave comfort foods like noodle soup and porridge. They also want to see more things in a shorter period of time."

By creating these journeys, Ms Yap hopes to broaden their horizons by allowing them to discover not just other cultures, but also themselves. "I believe that going off the beaten path helps to create opportunities for authentic, immersive engagement with the communities," she says.

"You will learn invaluable lessons by interacting with the locals. You will also start to see and question things with a more 'worldly' perspective."

For more information, go to this website.

Travel group buy

Webuy

"Travel to Europe at bargain-basement prices? What's the catch?"

This is one of the many questions bombarding chief executive and co-founder of e-commerce platform Webuy, Mr Vincent Xue, 40, when he tells customers about his company's latest venture. This allows travellers to purchase a one-for-one tour package to Switzerland, Italy and France for a nifty price of $3,999, among other things.

It works out to about $2,000 a person for flights, eight nights of hotel accommodation, sightseeing and meals.

But group buy, which typically involves people living in the same housing estate purchasing items in bulk to enjoy discounts, is a powerful thing. The pandemic has accelerated this trend, which was already gaining traction among Singaporeans.

Since Webuy was established in August 2019 by Mr Xue, along with two other co-founders Michelle Tan, 28, and Jesper Low, 32, it has grown into the country's largest group buy platform. In March, the company acquired its biggest rival in Indonesia, Chilibeli, for an undisclosed amount of money.

The company now has more than 1,000 group buy leaders - he calls them micro-influencers - and 500,000 customers across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.

The company started out with group buys for groceries and food, but began offering group buy travel packages in Singapore when the borders gradually reopened late last year.

All one has to do is download and install the Webuy app and start shopping.

Response has so far been overwhelming, according to him. The first trip that was taken via Webuy was to Switzerland in December 2021.

"The travellers were initially sceptical as it was going at $3,888 for seven nights, but trusted us because they regularly shopped on our platform.

"After going on the tour, they were quite impressed by the quality of the trip. They started to recommend the trips to more buyers from their community group. Hence, we are able to quickly form more travel groups through positive word of mouth," he says.

He recounts that it took only two days for one person to gather 18 of her friends and family for a seven-night holiday in Turkey several months ago. They each paid $1,788.

Webuy currently offers affordable tour packages to multiple countries, from Finland to the Maldives, as well as buy-one-get-one-free deals.

In addition to providing flights, hotels, meals and sightseeing at an all-inclusive price, the company is able to customise any aspect of its tour, including meals. This works well for travellers if they can meet the minimum required group size of 15 people.

"When tour group members don't know one another, it is difficult to align travel styles. But if customers travel in a group with people they know, they can tell us what they want and we can arrange it for them," he says.

Also, an expert guide will accompany each group and liaise with land operators.

Mr Xue plans to expand Webuy's offerings. He says: "We'd like to include corporate travel as well as free-and-easy holidays to cater to different travel styles. Customers will also be able to purchase a cruise holiday one day too."

For more information, go to this website.