The chief executive of Travel Counsellors has hailed the findings of an independent survey as an “endorsement” of the company’s strategy to focus on premium leisure customers.
Steve Byrne spoke to Travel Weekly after the homeworking agency revealed the findings of its Travel Tracker Report, which surveyed 2,000 Brits and found consumers are continuing to defy cost-of-living pressures by prioritising holiday expenditure.
“It gives further confidence that the significant bounce-back we saw post-pandemic is likely to continue into next year and beyond,” he said.
“Over half of customers surveyed who have got a household income of more than £75,000 say that they’ll book with an agent.
“It’s an endorsement of the strategy to focus on premium leisure customers and premium leisure product, and the investment that we made in our platform so that our Travel Counsellors create handmade, personal itineraries for our customers.”
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The independent research found that almost half of respondents (45%) said holidays were their number-one spending priority over the next 12 months, ahead of home and garden renovations, eating out, and clothes, shoes and accessories.
“I thought that was quite powerful,” he said.
“And notwithstanding the cost-of-living crisis, 60% of people travelled overseas in the past 12 months, and 75% of people who were surveyed are committed to spending just the same amount of money at least in the next 12 months.”
He said the findings also suggest many people appreciate and value travel more than before Covid, adding: “It’s like a lasting shift in attitude rather than just a bounce-back.”
Commenting on current trading, he said the group was 30% up this year, compared to trading to the same date in 2022 – and 80% up on 2019. Furthermore, the group has 30% more forward bookings going into next year than at the same point last year.
In September, one agent reported sales worth £600,000 in sales, with eight others topping £200,000. And last week, the agency won two awards at the Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (Atas) conference in Liverpool.
“We’ve got some amazing people. But that’s not untypical,” he said.
“We’ve had a record-breaking month every month for about 26 months.
“This insight report shows we’ve got a great opportunity, to carry on caring for customers and be part of something where you can draw on expertise, knowledge and support – and be part of a business that’s investing heavily in technology to future-proof.”
He said the tracker and future editions of the report will help agents to plan strategies for three or five years hence.
“Interestingly, this survey showed that younger customers are more inclined to prioritise sustainable travel, so if you want to attract those sorts of people, what are you doing?” he commented.
“We made a big investment on sustainability. We’ve got lots of learning and education tools.”
Another “powerful” statistic from the survey he highlighted was the fact that 40% of respondents are changing their travel plans as a result of this summer’s record temperatures and extreme heat in southern Europe.
“It’s about understanding what the customer wants and advising them what might be the best time or what might be an alternative destination, if you want to avoid that peak – or if you are going to travel, how can you make the best of your experience,” he commented.
“Our job is to make sure they have a wonderful experience.
“There are things that happen in the world that affect customers…and that was the case before the pandemic – ash clouds, terrorism, air traffic control strikes or natural disasters.
“We are there to hand-hold our customers and care for them.
“This survey shows if you do that, then this is a good opportunity, as long as you’ve got the right community around you to support you through tough times – and also these better times.”
He said short-haul beach holidays are “still an important part of what we do” but noted increasing demand for more long-haul, complex, tailor-made holidays.
“Our platform is about enabling the travel counsellor to be the tour operator. Most of what we sell now is tailor-made itineraries,” he said.
Byrne also noted that more than 50 agents from Holidaysplease will have transitioned to Travel Counsellors by the end of October.
Holidaysplease agents will also take part in Travel Counsellors’ conference in Manchester next month.
Holidaysplease was acquired by Travel Counsellors in March and has been retained as a separate agency brand.
As of July, about 15% of Holidaysplease homeworkers had become travel counsellors and more were expected to switch.
More: Holidaysplease agents switch to Travel Counsellors after acquisition