Travel Counsellors has reported a rise in sales for its in-house tour operation.
In-house tour operating now accounts for more than 50% of sales, and 80% of sales are in the premium leisure segment, chief executive Steve Byrne said.
Travel Counsellors’ latest year end financials, to the end of October, showed total turnover value was up 10% to £660m.
Byrne explained that statutory turnover (the value of sales when Travel Counsellors acts as a principal as well as an agent) was up 15%, suggesting more Travel Counsellors sales were dynamically packaged.
Speaking at Travel Counsellors’ 25th anniversary conference in Manchester at the weekend, he said: “A medium-term trend is an increasing amount of complexity in what we sell. That might mean adding in an airport lounge or car hire, or an experience within resort.” He said that was increasingly long-haul and to more affluent customers.
But Byrne pointed out: “The package market is still strong. People like Jet2holidays and Tui are still important partners to Travel Counsellors.
He reiterated Travel Counsellors’ model of first and foremost looking after existing customers, which he says drives referrals.
“We realise that most customer can book some things online themselves, but the more complex the holiday the more value we have added to the customer – and they are more appreciative of what we do.”
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