TTC Tour Brands hosted 30 agents for a day of activities in London as part of its drive to ramp up engagement with the trade.
The operator has expanded its UK sales team in recent months and has outlined plans to boost the profile of all five brands – Contiki, Costsaver, Trafalgar, Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold.
Agents joined a ‘Make Travel Matter’ experience on Thursday, June 6, featuring a gin-tasting session at The Rum House in Stratford as well as a food-focused walking tour in Soho.
Kelly Walker, sales director for the UK, Ireland and Europe, described the afternoon as a “massive success”, adding: “This has been the first step to building up a good network of agents to tell them about our brands.”
The idea of the day was to give agents a sense of the type of experience that travellers will have with TTC Tour Brands overseas.
The ‘Make Travel Matter’ elements of a trip are about “giving back to the communities we visit”, Walker said.
During the walking tour of Soho, led by London-based guides, agents tasted cuisine from across the world – including Cantonese-style dishes in Chinatown, and Italian fare from Lina Stores on Brewer Street.
Travel Counsellors agent Graham Lawrence, of Surrey, was among the agents who took part.
He said: “It was a great day all round spent with some lovely people, learning about the fantastic proposition of the portfolio of TTC Tour Brands and getting our own little taster of the quality of experience from a client’s perspective.”