InteleTravel ‘wants to acquire’ cruise company

InteleTravel chief executive James Ferrara has outlined his desire for the agency to acquire a cruise line, revealing previous attempts at deals fell through.

 

Ferrara told Travel Weekly he would like InteleTravel to grow as a tour operator and secure ownership in the cruise sector.

 

“We’re such a powerful cruise seller that I would like us to have a stake in the product,” he said. “Any cruise line that we do business with winds up growing because of us.”

 

He added he was disappointed that two acquisitions in the cruise sector had failed to be completed, adding that one of the deals had fallen through “at the last minute”.

 

“I really wanted us to have a vertical integration in cruise,” he said, adding: “Why should we just enrich other people’s business? If we’re going to send a huge amount of business somewhere, we ought to have a stake in it and then we profit as both the distributor and the manufacturer
of the product.”

 

During last year’s InteleTravel conference, Ferrara said he harboured ambitions of InteleTravel becoming one of the top 20 largest Atol holders by the end of 2025.

 

The current 20th-ranked Atol holder is Travel Republic, which is authorised to carry 103,691 passengers, while InteleTravel’s total for the last four quarters amounts to 730.

 

However, Ferrara confirmed there is still a desire to ramp up the amount of dynamic packaging carried out by the agency.

 

He referenced On the Beach’s recent announcement that it would be winding down B2B brand Classic Collection and pointed to an opportunity the decision created.

 

“It is possible to fill in a gap now left by Classic,” he said, adding that the intention would not be to “replace” the operator.

 

“The idea is never to fully replace our suppliers – that’s not a goal,” he said.

 

Reflecting further on On the Beach’s decision to close down Classic Collection, he said he was “surprised” when companies decided to focus on a B2C approach. 

 

The B2C channel comes with more fixed costs, he said, whereas a B2B approach can mean costs arise only when there is a successful booking.

 

“The reasoning of their [On the Beach’s] strategy is up to them to explain, but we prefer that they distribute through the trade,” Ferrara said.

 

When On the Beach announced in a full-year trading statement that it would be closing Classic Collection, which made a “small loss” for the year, it said it would instead focus on the “higher growth potential” of the company’s B2C business.

 

Classic Collection had been due to attend InteleTravel’s 2025 conference in Porto as a headline sponsor.

 

Tricia Handley-Hughes, UK and Ireland managing director of InteleTravel, said she was “really saddened” to hear the operator would be closing down.

 

“They supported us from day one and we supported them in terms of their turnover and sales,” she said, adding: “Our thoughts and thanks go out to their entire team.”

 

She also pointed out that there have historically been brands that have withdrawn from a B2B approach only to make a U-turn later “because they recognise the power of the distribution of travel agents”.

 

InteleTravel acquired tour operator Major Travel last year, before going on to acquire Tickitto, a ticketing platform for concerts and other live events, earlier this year.

 

Ferrara said further acquisitions were also underway, pointing to one deal that would “double” the size of its meetings and events company McVeigh Global Meetings & Events (MGME), as well as two technology-focused transactions.

 

He said he was unable to speak about one of the deals, but the other one will serve group travel.

 

“We’re acquiring a programme that allows advisors to book groups into hotels, meeting venues and restaurants,” he said, adding that the deal would be closed by the end of the year.