HARVEY World Travel plans to reap the rewards of operating travel agencies globally to stand out from UK rivals on the high street.
HWT was bought by Queensland-based property giant S8 – worth over £3 billion in turnover worldwide – in October last year. It has travel agencies in Australia, southern Africa and New Zealand, with around 2,000 outlets worldwide including Gullivers Travel Group stores in New Zealand, currently being acquired by S8.
Having branches worldwide means UK agents can contact HWT agents abroad for information or visa versa when booking holidays in those countries, with webcams already being used to link up with agents in South Africa.
Meanwhile, holidaymakers can visit HWT agents when on holiday to change or make further bookings.
UK managing director John Donnelly said: “We’ve had holidaymakers from Australia going into our agency in Wrexham to book a holiday to Corfu because they knew the brand.”
Donnelly added that agents would also benefit from the group’s ownership of a number of wholesalers, such as domestic Australian tour operators, to book with direct. “Going forward we probably won’t need some of the UK operators we use now,” he admitted.
HWT International executive director Tim Dodds added: “ We are seeing the beginning of a trend of internationalisation. If holidaymakers deal with HWT in the UK they will look to deal with HWT elsewhere.”
He said brand awareness in the UK will increase as HWT extends its reach geographically. “If you take away the four multiples in the UK and to some extent the Co-ops, there is no-one else with national marketing in this country. We understand the importance of having a brand people recognise, but it’s not something we can expect overnight.”
Dodds claimed HWT already enjoys the highest brand awareness for a retail travel company in Australia, according to market research company Newspoll. Flight Centre remains the largest agency chain in terms of turnover.