Nearly 40% of sales made by The Co-operative Travel agents and homeworkers could be in-house product by the end of next year, the group revealed at the launch of its first tour operator brochure.
Co-operative Holidays’ first brochure, for summer 2010, follows a joint venture with Cosmos Holidays. It was launched to 600 branch managers this week at the group’s Manchester headquarters. All of The Co-operative Travel’s high-street agencies, homeworkers and Freedom Travel Group members have been sent the brochure.
Shaun Hinds, director of commercial, said the level of in-house sales would include sales of all the group’s products, not just the tour operation. In-house sales are yet to meet a 30% target set by the group several years ago.
“In the first year, in-house sales will be a relatively small share, but we want about 40% of all products sold to be in-house. Our [holiday] sales will not be anywhere near that to start off with, but we might get near that by the end of 2010,” he said.
Hinds said: “We see it as a way of protecting our access to stock, protecting our earnings as a retailer and setting a new agenda for the Co-operative brand.”
Hinds admitted some tour operator sales would be substituted with sales of its new tour operator, but insisted: “We will do our best to support our suppliers.”
Destinations featured are the Balearics, Canaries, mainland Spain, Portugal, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Egypt, Florida and Mexico.
Hinds said it was attempting to minimise cross-over with hotels featured by operators such as Thomson and Thomas Cook. It is also encouraging hotels to sign up to the Travelife sustainability grading scheme.
The brochure features eight departure airports, free child places, a £1 donation to The Travel Foundation for every passenger, and a 20kg flight luggage allowance. Highlights include daytime flights for most departures, in-resort reps and a 24-hour telephone rep service.
More departure airports and destinations are planned, while Hinds revealed it was “not beyond reality” to brochure other in-house product, such as long-haul product from Escape, in the longer-term future.