Virgin Holidays has launched a new style of fam trip programme that has ditched multiple hotel visits to allow agents to experience the destination.
Head of distribution Mark Burns said following the launch of the Virgin Holidays Uncovered programme in June this year, the operator has stopped making agents visit as many hotels as they can fit in during a trip.
Instead, Virgin is showing agents a recommended hotel from each of the key markets, such as couples or families, and allowing them to explore the destination and have some fun while doing so.
Burns said: “We felt fam trips needed to be freshened up – for the past few years we’ve used the same format and we wanted to bring back the Virgin edge.
“In the past it was a case of seeing as many hotels as possible – but you don’t remember the properties when you return home.
“We are shifting the emphasis from seeing the hotel to seeing the destination, as that is what you want to sell to the customer. The agent will then know the right hotel for them too.”
Burns said during a five-night fam trip to New York and Washington in June, agents were shown only five hotels although they had to briefly visit a further four as part of a treasure hunt.
He said the operator had also introduced a toy monkey called Virgil as a mascot for future fam trips.
The monkey has its own page on Facebook, which agents from trips are now using to reminisce, swap information and photos.
Agents will also be able to record details and pictures of their trips in special agent passports that they keep for future reference.
Burns said the operator is also trying to introduce at least half a day’s responsible tourism activities on its fam trips.