The Long-Haul Journey 35 Years of Grit, Growth, and Innovative Travel
These days, the travel industry is brimming with algorithmic social feeds, tracked ads, apps and online booking systems, but Robyn Galloway is living proof that nothing can replace true human experience, expertise and passion. As the founder of Innovative Travel, Galloway has led her company through the massive technological and geopolitical shifts of the last 35 years. Yet, still her business remains built on a philosophy that prioritises specialised knowledge and deep, personal relationships.
The origins of Innovative Travel are in stark contrast to today’s tools and digital access. “Innovative Travel started very humbly,” she reflects. “It was just me with a phone, a fax and a typewriter. Now they’re normally museum pieces these days, most of them. So it’s been a long journey and an interesting journey.” From that single desk in 1990, she began to carve out a reputation as a destination specialist and wholesaler – a role that sits distinctly apart from a standard high street travel agency. “We’re not a travel agent,” she explains. “We’re a destination specialist, a wholesaler, a specialty tour designer. So we are experts in certain regions of the world, and that’s where we come in.”
This journey from the analogue to the digital has been a significant evolution. In the early ‘90s, the simple act of coordinating international travel was a massive financial and logistical undertaking. “I remember our communication bills back in 1990 were about $15,000 because everything was faxed. So it was very clunky and expensive communication.” While current technology has streamlined these processes, Galloway remains cautious about the current rush toward total automation. While her organisation is looking to include artificial intelligence over certain components of the business, she is adamant that it must never replace the human connection that her clients rely on. “AI can give an answer, it is not necessarily the right answer,” she observes. “So I think we’re actually looking to include some AI in some components of our business, but we can’t just – we can’t detract – from the people factor.”
Galloway’s specialised focus is shaped by a deep love for the Middle East and the Mediterranean, a passion sparked by her first visit to Egypt in 1986. That trip did more than just introduce her to ancient monuments: it fundamentally shifted her understanding of the region and its people. “I think that really changed my life because I was just so astounded by the hospitality and warmth of the people. It was very different to stock standard ideas about what Middle Eastern people might be like.” This personal connection has become the foundation of her business model, leading her to focus on countries such as Jordan, Morocco, and Turkey alongside Egypt. To maintain this edge, Galloway and her team are constantly on the ground. “We physically site inspect the hotels and the Nile cruise boats throughout the year because we want to make sure we’re working on real information, not PR material.”
The most transformative business decision Galloway ever made was the choice to bring in deep, local partnerships. In the mid-1990s, she formed a partnership with Cairo-based director Elhamy Elzayat. Galloway recalls the conversation that changed her trajectory: “How would you feel if I became a director in your company? And that turned out to be the best decision I ever made because he’s regarded as a grandfather of Egyptian tourism.” She explains that she sought a business partner who understood the complexities of building a business. “I didn’t want somebody as a business partner who had an easy road. I wanted them to understand the challenges of growth so that we were a match in that way.”
Through this partnership, Innovative Travel gained access to a level of local influence that is unavailable to the average operator. Galloway recounts the benefit of a VIP express immigration service that allows her clients to bypass hour-long queues. “You arrive in Egypt, and our local partner has a special express lane for immigration,” she explains. “You don’t stand in the line that’s an hour and a half long. You just walk straight through, and everyone thinks, ‘Who’s that famous person going through?” It gives absolute security for people who might be a bit tired or a bit nervous. They know they’re with the right people from the moment they land.”
Beyond the logistical perks, this partnership provided a masterclass in resilient leadership. Galloway observed Elzayat’s commitment to his staff during downturns in the market, a move that ensured the business was ready to surge when the good times returned. “Even though that’s cost him personally a lot of money, he’s always retained his key staff so that when the good times come, they’re able to handle the business.”
That resilience has been tested anew in 2026, as conflict in Iran sent fresh uncertainty rippling across the broader Middle East. For many travel operators, such headlines would prompt retreat. For Galloway, they demanded clarity and decisive action. She was quick to distinguish the region’s geography for concerned travellers, stressing that “the Middle East” is a broad term spanning many countries, and that Egypt, with no US bases on its soil, sits well apart from the conflict. Egypt’s travel advisory level had remained stable and low for over 18 months, comparable to destinations such as the United Kingdom. To reinforce the message with actions rather than words, Galloway booked herself on a flight to Cairo, arriving on 14 April to personally walk the Pyramids, visit the new Grand Egyptian Museum, and share the journey in real time via social media. “Leadership in action,” she wrote to her agent network, a phrase that neatly captures her instinct to lead from the front.
The pandemic, too, reshaped the way people think about booking travel. For a period, the convenience of online platforms had seemed to make the traditional specialist redundant. Then Covid arrived, and travellers who had booked independently found themselves stranded and entirely on their own. The experience prompted a significant reassessment. Innovative Travel’s model, connecting clients with a locally owned, trusted family company in each key destination, suddenly made a great deal of sense. That network ensures 24/7 local backup for travellers while they are on the ground, and it provides the kind of flexibility that online platforms cannot replicate: the ability to design a genuinely personal itinerary, to extend a stay, to spend two or three days properly exploring the new Grand Egyptian Museum rather than rushing through it.
None of this would be possible without the people behind the scenes. Galloway is quick to acknowledge that the business could not function without the commitment and expertise of a team that, in many cases, has stayed with the company for years. In an industry where staff turnover is high and institutional knowledge is easily lost, that continuity is itself a competitive advantage.
For an SME to grow and remain relevant over three decades, Galloway believes that stagnant thinking is the greatest risk. She encourages other business leaders to make clear priorities and plan for the future, even when resources are limited. “If you keep doing the same thing, you get the same old results, as they say,” she observes. “And in a changing world, that’s not a luxury that any business can have.” This requires a constant state of evolution, whether it is upgrading digital systems or finding new ways to reach clients. She recently completed a roadshow across Invercargill, Dunedin, and Wanaka, proving that even in a digital age, the “old-fashioned way” of speaking directly to an audience is still a powerful tool.
Galloway’s business insights are often framed by a sense of historical perspective. Visiting sites in Egypt, Jordan, Turkey, and Morocco provides a sense of scale that she believes is essential for perspective. “Egypt’s first kind of tombs or temples date back to about 7,000 years ago. So it’s incredible. It gives you a sense of time that we can’t comprehend here in New Zealand,” she says. She speaks of the Valley of the Whales in Egypt, where whale skeletons lie in the sand 300 kilometres inland, as a reminder of the Earth’s constant state of change. “The Earth has been changing since we were created, and to go out in the desert and actually see these whale skeletons incongruously in the sand and looking around saying, ‘Well, where’s the harbour? The harbour’s nowhere near.’”
The evolution shows no sign of slowing. Even as the article went to press, Galloway was mid-journey herself, completing a CroisiEurope Mekong cruise in Cambodia, a company for whom Innovative Travel holds the General Sales Agency for New Zealand, operating boutique ships in the Mekong, Brazil, Southern Africa and Europe, before continuing on to Egypt. The itinerary is fitting: it reflects a deliberate strategic expansion Innovative Travel has been accelerating, broadening holiday choices in destinations closer to home for New Zealand travellers, including South Korea, China, India, Vietnam, and Cambodia. At the same time, the company is extending its reach into Southern and East Africa, where rising demand from solo travellers keen to join small group safaris has opened a compelling new market. Flights via South African Airways or Qantas make the routing increasingly accessible. For a business built on specialist knowledge and boots-on-the-ground experience, expanding into new regions is not a departure from the founding philosophy. It is a direct expression of it.
This appreciation for history leads her to a poignant question about our own modern legacy. “I always say, what are we building today that we’ll be able to look at in 5,000 years’ time and go, ‘We made that really well’?” she asks. This question serves as a metaphor for her approach to business: she is not interested in building something fleeting. She is interested in building a legacy of quality, expertise and connection.