OVER the past few years, short-break operators have seen a boom in business thanks to the shift away from single, long summer holidays and towards more regular breaks of two to five days – a trend that shows no sign of waning in the new millennium.
In theory, the increase in the short-breaks market is good news for retail travel agents. However, thanks to the Internet and the proliferation of cheap European flights, it is also becoming much easier for customers to arrange short breaks themselves, something that independent operator, Travelscene, is all too aware of.
Travelscene sells the majority of its holidays through the retail trade but sales director John Harding believes that retail agents who simply sit back and wait for Mr and Mrs Smith to come in and book their long weekend in Prague may find themselves losing business in future.
In response to the rise in independent bookings, Travelscene, which offers over 100 cities in its brochure, is increasing its educational programme in an effort to equip retail agents with the right know-how to sell short breaks successfully.
In 1999, it took 450 agents to 20 European cities – a 20% increase on 1998 – and this year it is aiming to take 750.
“We see retail as the most cost-effective way of distributing our product. For the retailers there is a lot of money to be made. People are looking at spending around £1,000 for a two or three-day break, so it is important that agents don’t miss out on business opportunities,” said Harding.
“With the increase in no-frills carriers, there is a real danger that retailers will be sidelined. At least one person in the agency should be seen as a short-breaks specialist. Customers require concentrated information of a city – they want to make the most of their two or three days.”
Unlike most holidays, short breaks are not centred round a hotel, instead they are picked for the city itself and unless agents know the destination and what it has to offer, they will find it difficult to sell.
This is especially true of young travel consultants who are more likely to have spent their holidays in the Costa del Sol or Florida than Vienna or Brussels.
With this in mind, Travelscene schedules plenty of spare time into its educationals to ensure agents get to know a place really well.
“Every customer will be going to a city for a different reason – some for the culture, some for the shopping, some for the food.
‘It is important agents are aware of that and what each city has to offer. We want agents to experience the city as if they were customers, and not just look at a bunch of hotels,” said Harding.
Though they may be in one of 20 cities, the Travelscene trips follow a similar pattern.
On the first day, agents are introduced to the main sites. On the second, there are usually one or two hotel visits but most of the day will be spent focusing on one particular aspect of the city, for example, famous movies filmed in Paris or the history of music in Prague.
On the third day, agents are given free time to roam the city and are often set a challenge to help them get to know the city better. “We might tell them they have to buy lunch for 1,000 pesetas.
“We try to make it interesting so they can do their own research and make recommendations as to where to go for a cheap bite,” said Harding.
For the majority of agents, it will be their first visit to the city but, by the end of the educational, they are confident enough to sell the destination to well travelled customers and they are given a certificate to prove they know their stuff.