TRAVEL Counsellors’ sales over the last fortnight are up 18% thanks to its own World Cup sales competition.
The homeworking agency is refusing to use the World Cup as an excuse for declining sales – instead it’s used it as a catalyst to boost sales.
Its 575 agents – including those in Ireland and the Netherlands – have been divided equally into 32 teams, each representing a team in the competition.
When the agents’ sides play each other in the real World Cup, the agents compete on a sales basis to win the Travel Counsellors World Cup. If the teams’ sales are within £5,000 of each other then the game is called a draw.
Sales have increased from £3,940,083 for the 11-day period of June 9 to June 20 in 2005 to £4,657,021 for the same time this year.
Winners receive a five-night break in Trinidad and Tobago, donated by the destination’s tourist board.
To stop agents condensing all sales into game times, the length of time they compete alternates between one day and three days.
Each team has a captain. Portugal captain Sue Plummer has been sending her team motivational e-mails to boost sales. “There’s a bit of tactics being played with people thinking of the best way to get through the tournament,” she said.
On June 19 the company’s sales increased by 40% on the equivalent day in 2005, with bookings totalling £700,740 – up from £499,040.
Sales for the week of June 13 to 19 increased by 23% from £2,990,471 in 2005 to £3,686,918 in 2006.
Sales director Malcolm Hingley dismissed the industry’s widely-held belief less people want to go on holiday because of the World Cup.
“Our performance during the tournament shows the business is out there if you are hungry.”