Regular columnist Barbara was voted Most Helpful Travel Counsellor of the Year for two consecutive years.
Barbara.Charlton@
travelcounsellors.com T: 0845 0587 290
WISE COUNSEL: BARBARA CHALTON
Live life and sell the experiences!
RESOLUTIONS So, how are those New Year’s resolutions doing? Gym membership gathering dust yet? Diet over? I’ve got a big birthday this year and lots planned so my only proper resolution is to attend at least one training event a month – and so far so good! January kicked off nicely with an intimate evening at The Savoy Hotel, London, hosted by Caribtours and The Private Travel Company. And this month I’ll be heading to a local wedding event which, unfortunately, clashes with the Selling Long Haul Thailand evening (February 13). Having attended (Thailand) last year I can highly recommend the event if you can get yourself a place.
SALES Sales for 2013 have started well. In fact, Travel Counsellors had its best ever January day – with sales of over £2,226,000 on a single day – which isn’t bad going! It’s always diffi cult to predict trends, when just one bad thing can happen to blow everything out of the water, but if we stand ready to react quickly to events and, where necessary change direction, then all should go well. If I have learnt anything in my 20
years as an independent agent it’s that we should never put all our sales eggs in one proverbial basket!
Boston – currently generating more interest than New York
For me, early enquiries have been varied but somewhere that has (somewhat unusually) cropped up a few times already are the national parks of the USA, in particular Yellowstone and Yosemite. Ranch holidays are also popular, as an element of a larger trip. It seems that after all these years of takimg package holidays many are becoming more adventurous and need help in putting such trips together.
"WE DO NOT REMEMBER DAYS; WE REMEMBER
MOMENTS" – CESARE PAVESE
For shorter breaks, Boston is generating more enquiries than New York just now – that could be because many clients have been to the Big Apple and want to try other US cities. Is it a coincidence, I wonder, that I have been to both Boston and Yosemite? Perhaps when I write to my clients about places I have visited, it really does plant seeds in their minds which eventually germinate into a successful sale.
More best-kept secrets...
Winning secret “In North Queensland recommend Treetops at Thala Beach Lodge which does the most amazing modern cuisine in a location right at the top of the trees in the rainforest near Port Douglas. Or, if your client is heading to Surfers Paradise, be sure they visit Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary at night and take the train around the park to see the nocturnal animals. The Aboriginal show here is also very good.” Amy Atkinson, Thorntons Travel Excellent tips! Not many people can say
they've had dinner at the top of a rainforest, and few would think to go to a zoo at night.
All hot air in Oz " Here's one from me: Always mention the dawn hot-air ballooning in Alice Springs. I have a dreadful head for heights, but watching the sun rise over the MacDonnell ranges, fl oating in silence above the Aussie outback, is fantastic. Don't let them forget their fully- charged camera!" Barbara Charlton, Travel Counsellors
Get booked with Cuba! "For fi rst-time visitors to Cuba
recommend the book: 'My Seductive Cuba'
by Chen Lizra, which gives a real insight into the Cuban way of a life, the scams to avoid and the safest way to navigate Havana in particular. We
found this a must-read before you go.” British MP, wishing to remain anonymous
WIN! Share your secrets for the chance to win goodies from Hotel Chocolat. Send Barbara your name, address and best kept sales secret!
EXPERIENCES I have long been an advocate of fam trips that are truly destination focussed rather than just packed with site inspections. We all know it’s the experiences we remember, rarely the hotel room. Special memories like a dawn balloon fl ight over the outback or bush, a bike ride over the Golden Gate Bridge or quad biking through a dry riverbed have stayed with me far longer than the 'pillow menu' in even the very best hotels. It is fi rst-hand experience of these types of activities that really helps me secure the sales. Whilst searching for a suitable quote
for this month’s column, I found the perfect one (above). It sums up exactly how I feel!
www.sellinglonghaul.com • February 2013 47
RICK BERK
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