Touring and adventure bosses have hailed the importance of agents for their sales – but would like more agencies to specialise in the sector to buoy the operators’ growth ambitions.
Mark Hanson, Audley Travel UK managing director, told the Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (Atas) conference: “Audley was direct at first; now we are engaging more with the trade, it is different to 20 years ago.
“The level of expertise in the agent sector has seen a step change.”
He said the tailormade touring specialist is seeing double-digit growth in bookings and sales volumes on most destinations, reflecting the buoyant market reported across Atas’ membership.
Audley now has trade team of three and he wants that to increase, to further support agents with brochures, fam trips and incentives.
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Simon Applebaum, managing director of Gold Medal, parent of the Incredible Journeys touring brand, which enables agents to package tours with other land and cruise elements.
He is also seeing growth, with a wider range of destinations and longer durations being booked.
“We are seeing more emerging destinations, such as South Korea – perhaps it is a bit of a counter to overtourism in Japan, and K-pop is exploding,” he told delegates.
He is looking to increase the touring brand from a £20 million business to one turning over £50-£100 million.
“We need to excite the trade,” he said, noting how the average booking for tour-and-stay or tour-and-cruise is more than £10,000.
“There is a level of personalisation and travel agents can add value – and touring seems more resilient than other sectors.”
But he added: “We want more agents to be specialists in touring and adventure.
“I visit about 20-30 agents in the spring but don’t see enough touring experts or touring in the windows.
“The touring and adventure sector is also underrepresented in social media.”
He highlighted how the Incredible Journeys team and Atas can support agents’ marketing and training.
Niel Alobaidi, Newmarket Holidays chief executive, told delegates how the recent private equity investment in the operator had shown the growth potential in escorted tours.
https://travelweekly.co.uk/news/tour-operators/newmarket-holidays-receives-private-equity-investment
“There is growing demand for experiences,” he told the conference.
“We go to a broad range of destinations and do handholding that is hard to ‘DIY’.
“There is always a spotlight on doing it direct [in other sectors] but it did not come up here, the handholding is so important.
“Itineraries are all different; that’s why price-matching does not come into play.”
Commenting on trends, he said holidaymakers are seeking more diverse destinations such as Uzbekistan, Bali and Indonesia, adding: “We talk to the trade a lot; it helps us find new destinations such as South Africa safaris and Japan; the trade also gets behind early sales.
“We are also seeing more add-ons and longer durations.
“There is tons of opportunity in the 55+ sector; it is the fastest growing segment: it is the least affected by money worries and there is more demand.”
He also said Newmarket plans to unveil a new trade website later this month or next.
Pictured from left at the conference: Mark Hanson, Niel Alobaidi and Simon Applebaum