INTERVIEW TRAVEL 2
TRADE PARTNER
GORDON MCCREADIE SALES AND MARKETING DIRECTOR, TRAVEL 2
How would you describe the current state of the travel industry? Due to the current economic climate, many companies within the travel industry are experiencing extreme difficulties and we have seen a few businesses cease trading – and I’m sure we will see more. Despite this uncertainty, Travel 2 is in
a strong position and we have noticed increased sales, week on week. This is due to aggressive pricing, easy to use brochures, excellent products and our new agent-friendly website, which has drawn a great response from agents.
Where do you expect to see greatest growth in future? We expect to see online sales grow for us. We recently re-launched
Travel2.com and have already seen a 400% increase of online bookings. We also expect to increase sales via key trade partners, which also include home workers and other online travel agents.
How important do you feel agents are in the current market? Agents are vital as they offer knowledge and great advice and, above all else, protection, which online travel
public, but do to the trade and we have done a huge amount of work this year to ensure everything we do is with our agent partners in mind.
How has your relationship and the way you work with agents changed over the years? We work more closely today with agents than we ever have done! After all, and this is worth reiterating, agents are our only customer so we currently seek their feedback to tailor our offering and technology to best suit their ever-changing needs.
“More customers are realising the importance of agents. Consumers want the protection that booking with a fully bonded travel agent brings”
Which destinations/products are selling best? Australasia is still our core business but we have noticed a lot of growth in Dubai, USA and South Africa. Of course, the World Cup in South Africa definitely helped to build both awareness of that country and bookings and we hope to continue to see more growth in this area. Asia has also been outstanding this year. Thailand’s recovery has been impressive and the country is now selling at around the same levels it did prior to the most recent conflict earlier this year.
companies cannot do. As the number of travel businesses going to the wall unfortunately multiplies, more customers are realising the importance of agents. Consumers want the protection that booking with a fully bonded travel agent brings.
Why have you remained trade-only despite the pressures to sell direct? Travel 2 is, and will continue to be 100% committed to the trade. We don’t want to dilute our business and we choose to concentrate on doing what we do best. We don’t offer online discounts to the
What specifically is Travel 2 doing to support agents? We redesigned our marketing collateral this year to ensure all agents could access and print it to help entice clients. We have also started to work more
closely with smaller independent agencies, particularly in creating customised marketing pieces, arranging consumer days and helping with the costs of advertising locally. In addition, we have also organised
a range of events from training days and Travel 2 updates to travel evenings across the country.
Agents are becoming experts in long haul destinations like China
Tell us more about the functionality of your new trade website We are absolutely delighted with it and it has been amazing to hear all the excellent feedback from agents. Agents can now search flights and hotels at the same time, earn 13% on all package bookings, take advantage of the instant messenger tool, apply for visas and keep up to date with all our latest agent incentives and Travel 2 news.
What do you do to build loyalty from, and reward, agents? We have just launched a brand new rewards scheme, T2Rewards, for our agents. Agents earn points each time they book with us; points can then be saved and redeemed across a huge selections of products – from gadgets to glamorous spa sessions, magazine subscriptions to madcap adventure days out! You can even buy a herd of goats! Agents should visit
www.travel2.com for more details.
How do you see the role of agents changing in future? We see agents developing their knowledge to become even more specialist. Agents will become experts in selected destinations, particularly long haul destinations. Agents who support operators can expect more loyalty from those operators. There will also be a greater use of technology.
www.sellinglonghaul.com • September 2010 17
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