This week, Travel Weekly asked agents in and around Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, for their views on the current programmes to Italy. All said they used the specialist brochures for older, more discerning clients, and the mass-market operators for Italian beach destinations. See how Magic of Italy, Citalia, Cresta Holidays and Crystal Holidays fared.
*****
Agents award stars for:
* Brochure design and ease of use
* Operator service
* Programme support
* Client feedback
* Product popularity
All agents remain anonymous and no additional information will be given out.
TOP OPERATOR: MAGIC TRAVEL GROUP
Rating: *****
Brochure: The Magic of Italy
Description: 204-page brochure of holidays across Italy by air and road.
Includes city breaks, special- interest tours, cruising and coach tours.
Reservations: Tel. 0181-748 7575; Fastrak ISS; Istel 76#:
Agents’ verdict: “Quite a bright and appealing brochure which is pretty evocative of Italy.”
“A bit boring but the familiar format is simple to follow as it hardly changes from year to year.”
“Plenty of information inside.”
“Staff are friendly, helpful and knowledgeable and we prefer to talk to them than go through the system, which can be slow.”
“A specialist range but mostly mid-market and mid-priced with plenty of nice little places that no-one has usually heard of.”
“Some clients know the name and those that have travelled with Magic are very happy with what they get.”
“Not for the mass-market client but excellent for the more discerning.”
Cresta Holidays
Rating: ****
Brochure: Italy.
Description: 84-page brochure of holidays across Italy by air, road and rail. Also includes city breaks, flydrive and tailor-made itineraries.
Reservations: Tel. 0161-927 7000; viewdata launch imminent but no code as yet.
Agents’ verdict: “A reasonable, quite attractive brochure with a
straightforward format.”
“Reservations team is dedicated to Italy sales so it knows the product well.”
“We use Cresta a lot for city breaks. The operator is reliable and efficient.”
“The Italy range is comprehensive and reasonably priced.”
“Quite a varied range with some good-value offers.”
“We don’t sell a great number but when we do all goes smoothly.”
Crystal Holidays
Rating: ***
Brochure: Premier Italy.
Description: 212-page brochure of holidays across Italy by air, rail and road. Includes tailor-made options, coach tours, city breaks, villas, flydrive and car rental. Also offers a winter edition.
Reservations: Tel. 0181-390 5554; Fastrak CRY; Istel CRY#
Agents’ verdict: “A bright and informative brochure.”
“Not known for Italy but a company we work with often and have no problems with.”
“Administration has improved a lot since it became a part of the Thomson fold but the low commission rates put us off actively selling it.”
“A middle market range best suited to repeat visitors to Italy looking for cultural sightseeing and tours.”
“Not bad, but not a big seller.”
Citalia
Rating: ***
Brochure: Citalia’s Italy.
Description: 200-page brochure of holidays across Italy by air, rail or road. Includes tailor- made itineraries, escorted tours, cruises, city breaks and all-inclusive packages.
Reservations: Tel. 0181-686 5533; Fastrak CIT; Istel CIT#
Agents’ verdict: “This is an attractive brochure, but it is not one we tend to use a great deal.”
“This is certainly one we think of for Italy and we do give it out. However, we find the product can be quite expensive and we don’t book a lot.”
“Clients do occasionally ask for this by name but they tend to be repeat bookers.”
“Staff tend to be Italian and know the places well, although delivery of brochure supplies is slow.”