Travelling companions

For years, Cox & Kings has been arranging high quality cultural tours for both groups and private travellers to an ever-increasing number of destinations around the world. These general interest tours are designed for those seeking to learn about the history, culture and wildlife of the destination. As a result, our target audience is typically relatively mature and affluent, as well being highly educated and mentally energetic. There is, therefore, a very clear overlap with the membership of the Friends of the Royal Academy.

Since the mid 1990s, in addition to these general interest cultural tours, Cox & Kings has also been running expert-led small-group worldwide tours with a particular focus on the ‘Three As’: art, archaeology and architecture. Initially, this programme of tours was developed for the membership of the National Association of Decorative and Fine Arts Societies (NADFAS), but when that relationship ended Cox & Kings continued to organise expert-led art tours for the wider art-loving public.

Cox & Kings’ initial relationship with the Royal Academy (RA) came in the form of exhibition sponsorship. The aim of this was to heighten awareness of the Cox & Kings brand among out target audience, as well as promoting our art tours in particular among Friends and visitors to the RA. The sponsorships also provided an opportunity for Cox & Kings to host exclusive private viewings at the RA as a ‘perk’ for some of its loyal customers. These exhibitions included the Chola Bronzes, Byzantium, Van Gogh and the Treasures of Budapest.

In time, when the contract for the Friends’ travel programme came up for review, Cox & Kings’ existing relationship with the RA put us in a good position to win that business. The value to the RA of this programme is that it provides a natural extension to their educational programme by offering a programme specially designed by a well-established company with their Friends in mind. The RA also takes a commission on all bookings, which helps to fund the work of the Academy’s Education Department in particular.

From the Friends’ point of view, these tours are an opportunity to travel with like-minded art-lovers, in the company of an expert who is a genuine specialist in the art, architecture or archaeology of the destination visited, as well as local specialist guides. The accompanying expert is also, in many cases, able to open doors that are closed to the general public, thus providing access to private collections and their owners. These tours enable the traveller to get a much deeper understanding and appreciation of the destination than any regular holiday would provide, as well as offering an opportunity to mix and chat with people of similar interests.