Agents booking city breaks to Vienna and Salzburg should take the opportunity to sell extras such as pre-bookable excursions and tickets to the city’s world-class opera, raising commission levels and providing a full service to clients.
“We are finding that more and more people want to sign up for cultural events such as classical concerts and recitals. Tickets are commissionable to agents and they provide an added service for the client. We can easily get tickets for the opera, ballet and musicals, which are then delivered to the client’s hotel,” said Crystal Cities product director Alan Betty.
The company also offers pre-bookable day trips, with prices starting at £24 for a 3hr coach tour taking in Vienna’s main sights including the State Opera House and 18th century Schonbrunn Palace. In Salzburg, the company offers an ‘In the Steps of Mozart’ city tour for £15.
Cresta brand manager Julie Earnshaw said: “Pre-booking a city tour really does help to enhance the overall package. People have just a short time there and it gets them off to a good start.”
The operator’s prices range from £19 for a Vienna city tour to £39 for an evening of waltz and operetta with dinner and wine included. In Salzburg, the operator offers a Sound of Music tour, which costs £17.
For a more extensive range of options, agents can turn to Keith Prowse Attraction Tickets. The company has just expanded its range of attractions in the city and all tickets are commissionable to agents.
A river boat city tour costs £36, tickets for a Mozart concert cost £33 and tickets to see a display at the Spanish Riding School with its famous Lipizzaner horses cost £36. Agent commission starts at 10%.
Operators are finding it easier to sell Vienna city-breaks to regional clients onair services from Birmingham and Edinburgh introduced earlier this year.
Tyrolean Airways, part of the Austrian Airlines Group, now flies three times a week to Vienna from Edinburgh, and BA franchise partner Maersk Air operates 12 times a week from Birmingham.
“The flight from Birmingham has already had a positive impact on sales and we expect further increases as the Edinburgh flight becomes established,” said Earnshaw.
In addition, Lufthansa, Sabena, KLM and Air France all offer regular services to Vienna from their respective hubs.
City breaks to Vienna and Salzburg account for around a third of visitors to the country, the cities together attracted around 160,000 arrivals last year out of Austria’s 565,000 UK business and leisure visitors.