The UK has “huge potential” for growth at Collette after a “flat” two years, says the boss of the American escorted tour specialist.
Around 90% of the operator’s UK business comes via travel agents, said chief executive Dan Sullivan – who added that his firm’s global status gives it the pulling power and on-the-ground knowledge to offer its mantra of “five-star touring and four-star hotels at great prices”.
He said he wants to show UK agents that Collette – which has tours in seven continents and in six different ‘styles’ – specialises in offering flexibility for customers, who can tailor their own trips in destination, and said the British market is a “great fit” for the product.
“It’s really been quite flat [in the UK] for a couple of years,” said Sullivan, who’s company – the US market leader in escorted touring – enjoyed double digit growth globally.
“But there is a huge opportunity to grow,” he added.
The operator hopes to draw on its global footprint to accelerate growth in the UK, which Sullivan said was fertile ground given a recent trend towards small group tours in the UK market.
“In the UK, with Brexit and everything, it’s not been as robust as we’d like, but we are ready to move as the market changes.
“What we’ve found is that British customers love to travel with Americans, Australians or Canadians. You could be touring Japan with an Australian and learning about both the destination you’re in and the place your companion is from. We see the same [trend] in other countries.”
Sullivan said around 60% of customers book with Collette again, but that bookings might not be every year as holidaymakers typically prefer to sample different types of holiday. And he praised the work of agents, adding: “With our call to action, we ask customers to go see their friendly travel professional”.
“Collette is one of the few tour operators, globally, that has a buyer and designer on the ground in every area we operate tours in as well as a product manager in head office to make sure it’s co-ordinated.”
He said this business model helps sales reps in the UK get answers for agents specific to any destination that Collette sells.
“If you are a travel agent and have shown an interest in one place, our reps can take a laptop out and show you a presentation – they know our tours inside out. But even if agents have questions they don’t have the answers to, they’ve got someone on the ground there who runs the tour or puts it together and can give them an answer there and then.”
They use an in-house app on their mobiles to see who is available, anywhere in the world, to answer a question.
“Our reps job isn’t to deliver brochures, it’s to help agents close the sale,” Sullivan added.
The company sells through independent agencies, but also through the likes of Shearings and Thomas Cook – which it creates tours for.
Sullivan said Collette was “always on the lookout for more partners in the UK”. “We want to get more British clients to book our tours as they realise it’s great value for money and offer uniue experiences.
More: Collette ups travel trade activity with expanded UK sales team
Take a look at the new Atas website: touringandadventure.com