Kuoni has revealed it is aiming to increase the value of an average booking from £2,000 to £3,000 over the next three years.
Speaking at the launch of Kuoni’s Longhaul Report 2008 in London this week, managing director Nick Hughes said the growth would be achieved through greater targeting of the tailor-made market. This will include an increased focus on selling additional in-resort excursions and experiences for customers.
He said: “We’re going to build on our strengths and we’ll look into tailor-making, increasing the levels of service that we already offer in our call centres and training our people so that they are all experts in the destinations they sell.
“We’re looking at increasing the exotic experiences that we put into the programme as there’s so much more to a holiday than the travelling and hotels.”
He said the foundations are already being laid for such a move as destinations such as China, India and Egypt remain popular thanks to the cultural experiences they offer.
Hughes added the operator is planning to launch a campaign this year aimed at promoting the Kuoni brand after recent research revealed that only one in six consumers recognised the Kuoni brand.
He said this should drive agency bookings, which increased by 28% last year, as more customers try to book Kuoni, whatever distribution channel they choose to use.
Guest services and operations director Francis Torilla added that the operator is also expecting the proportion of online agent bookings to rise to between 30% and 40% within the next three years as agents become more web savvy.
Torilla added: “So much of our product is bookable online but agents keep on phoning us. Agents will learn they can do many things so much quicker online and that should help the growth.”