New Exoticca boss Neil Sealy has outlined plans to hammer out commercial deals with all key agency groups in the coming months prior to recruiting a trade sales team.
Sealy has joined the Barcelona-based group tours operator as managing director after leaving Exsus, where he was head of trade sales for five years.
Exoticca has operated in the UK since 2017 but is currently not sold by UK agents. Around 80% of sales at present come from the US, with the rest via Germany, France and Spain.
Sealy said: “This is an exciting role at a much bigger company. The opportunity to introduce a new brand to travel agents appeals to me.”
Most of the group’s tours are escorted, with accommodation three to five star and optional, add-on excursions. Exoticca operates to more than 60 countries with popular destinations including Jordan, Egypt, Kenya, Portugal, Italy and Vietnam.
Sealy is approaching key agency consortia and homeworking groups to agree commercial terms before recruiting for a three-strong on-the-road trade sales team over the next 12 months. Agent commission payments are “competitive” across the full holiday price, including taxes, he said.
Most bookings are made online via an agent portal. Agents can search by destination, holiday type or what is currently popular, pick different levels of accommodation, and flight times, offering live prices.
“We have got live pricing so we’re able to keep prices low,” added Sealy, who said the company’s system also allowed agents to see how much commission they were earning, manage their bookings in one place and see how many passengers were booked on tours to tell clients.
UK customers were likely to travel with holidaymakers from the US and Canada, with tour groups typically between 15 and 20 people.
The operator also has a call centre in Spain and is in the process of setting up a trade team dedicated to taking calls from UK agents.
The investor-backed company was set up in 2015 and now has a turnover of around 160 million euros. It is Abta and Atol-bonded.
“The company has strong financial backing and in terms of investing in people that is not a problem. It’s about getting the time right and getting commercials in place and support from the trade,” said Sealy.
He added: “The idea is to replicate what Exoticca has done in the US and Canada, where it has eight people on the road. We have seen the difference of having someone on the ground in a region, the results are better.”
Sealy also hopes to develop a trade loyalty programme which would allow agents to access higher tiers of commission.