Lloyd Cross says Gulf Air Holidays will ‘do right by travel agents’

Lloyd Cross has pledged that his new employer Gulf Air Holidays will “do right by travel agents” as the brand prepares to launch to the trade.

 

Cross, director of agency sales for Europe and the US, who joined the Bahrain-based business after 13 years with Jet2holidays, said he remained “passionate” about supporting UK agents.

 

“We’re going to do what’s right for travel agents and do right by travel agents,” he said.

 

Cross, who began his role on October 5, said the tour operator was still in the process of deciding on pricing models and commission levels, with the date of the launch to the trade also to be confirmed.

 

Gulf Air flights from the UK to Bahrain currently operate from Heathrow, Manchester and Gatwick.

 

In the short term, Cross said the strategy would be to attract UK travellers to Bahrain for F1 packages and to grow the destination’s appeal as a stopover location.

 

He said he also wanted to make agents more aware of the destination through fam trips and by arranging for agency groups to host conferences in the country.

 

“A lot of travel trade people haven’t been here – but it’s such a great destination – so the more conferences we can hold out here, the better,” Cross said.

 

Asked for the expected balance between trade sales and direct, he said there would not be a set target for either segment.

 

“There’s not a limit that agents can sell – they get as much opportunity as customers do,” he said. “Whether it’s 50% or 80%, it’s down to agents what they sell.”

 

He encouraged agents to contact him if they had any specific product ideas.

 

“We’re at the perfect stage for building everything, so if there’s something that will help travel agents sell more, we’re here to support them,” he said.

 

 “We want to work in partnership with travel agents and mutually grow together.”

 

Gulf Air Holidays plans to recruit a country manager for the UK, the US, Germany and France, he added, as well as sales executives for each region.

 

“We’re hiring at the moment and looking at getting the perfect team in place,” he said.

 

Cross, who spent the first two weeks of his job in the Bahrain office, said he would mainly be working from Leeds, with travel as required.

 

He revealed his decision to leave Jet2holidays, where he began in the call centre before rising to become trade sales general manager, was based on a desire to learn about the long-haul market.