Booking and payments platform WeTravel has become the latest member of the Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (Atas) as it views agents as “vital” for the sector.
The platform aims to simplify agents’ workflows with features for scheduling client communications, automating payment collection, transferring funds and paying suppliers “with just a few clicks”.
Shayna Zand (pictured), director of partnerships and enterprise sales at WeTravel, said: “Our goal through these offerings is to simplify administrative work and streamline payment collection, allowing travel agents to focus their time on more important tasks, like growing their business.”
She added: “Our membership with Atas represents an exciting opportunity for us to provide our support to the many travel agents that use Atas to not only sell the right tours to their clients, but to grow their clientele with exclusive benefits from touring and adventure suppliers.
“We know how important travel agents are in selling adventure travel experiences and the better we can support them, the better the healthier the industry is for travellers, suppliers and businesses alike.
“Our platform’s capabilities align well with the professional needs of travel agents, so naturally they are a customer demographic that we keep in mind when developing new features.”
Earlier this year, WeTravel launched its Winter Product Release, a suite of features designed to “empower travel businesses to extend their traveller reach, streamline their resource management and simplify their booking process”.
“We have some exciting plans for the remainder of 2024 that include continuing to publish free educational resources to our WeTravel Academy, releasing a range of new platform features and hosting our second annual virtual summit,” she added.
In January, WeTravel released its second annual Travel Trends Report, which compiled data from more than 500 travel businesses on booking and payment trends.
“One of the key findings is that booking lead times are shrinking and most travellers are now opting to book their trips less than one month before their departure,” she commented.
“Additionally, more travellers are seeking ways to customise their itineraries with personalised add-ons.
“These two emerging trends can easily leave travel agents scrambling to keep up with multiple custom trips on a reduced timeline.
“At WeTravel, we leveraged these trends to develop features such as Inventory Management, unlimited package add-ons and calendar view to help travel agents stay on top of the demand.”
Zand continued: “The touring and adventure travel sector holds a special place in our hearts at WeTravel. It’s not just about offering thrilling experiences; it’s about fostering a sense of exploration, connection and personal growth for travellers.
“This sector is well-suited to take advantage of the features we offer here at WeTravel, reducing the time spent on tedious admin tasks and opening up more time to adventure.”
Claire Brighton, Atas director, said: “It’s great to announce yet another new member for Atas and I’m looking forward to hearing more about what they can offer agents.
“The team at WeTravel is very keen to work with agents in the touring and adventure sector, to free them up to focus on securing more sales.”