The Global Travel Collection is looking at ways to “grow smartly” as it looks to increase awareness of its model and attract more independent agents in the UK.
Internova Travel Group, formerly known as Travel Leaders Group, recently announced the official rebrand of its luxury travel division as Global Travel Collection.
In the UK, Protravel International, Tzell Travel Group and Colletts Travel all continue to operate under their own names but as sub-brands under the GTC umbrella.
GTC managing director in the UK Jason Oshiokpekhai said the group was currently one of the UK’s “best kept secrets” but was now well-positioned to grow.
It currently has 120 advisors, either independent homeworkers or business owners with their own agencies.
But he stressed: “Our goal is not to grow too big. We want to grow but grow smartly. What makes advisors stay with GTC and refer us is that they feel they are getting top-notch service with the commercial deals.”
He added: “I like to say we are the best kept secret but now we have got a singular identity we are well-positioned [to grow]. It’s important we get our name out there. I would love us to be part of the conservation and be considered as one of the top echelons.”
Agents who join are a mix of experienced agents and newcomers, and tend to sell luxury travel, or business travel, particularly in the entertainment sector, and retain their own branding.
Most tend to be homeworkers but Oshiokpekhai said he was “open minded” about those with a high-street presence. GTC also performs the back-office functions to allow agents to focus on their day-to-day operations and sales.
Oshiokpekhai said the group’s size and scale meant it had access to some of the UK’s most desirable commercial deals.
Agents who join gain full access to GTC’s own exclusive hotel consortium covering leisure and corporate markets, and get the opportunity to be a member of luxury agency group Virtuoso.
GTC also offers an ‘agent profiler’ tool, which promotes its agents by listing details of their businesses. This helps consumers find a GTC advisor with the right specialism, expertise and knowledge for their needs when searching members online. Consumers can search by travel speciality, destination or agent name in order to receive a list of agents who meet their criteria and can read through their client testimonials to get more detail on how they work.
Meanwhile, GTC recently linked up its UK members of GTC with travel agent colleagues in the US for the first time via its virtual annual conference Elevate the Journey.
The four-day conference, which also included suppliers, covered how to stay resilient during the pandemic as well as diversity and inclusion.
“Instead of working as a disparate group of brands, we’re now working together across geographies under the GTC umbrella, and that’s a powerful way to emerge from a difficult year for the industry,” added Oshiokpekhai.