NEWS — BIG INTERVIEW
Andrew Strong and Liz Hingley Saga Travel CEO and Destinology MD
Over-50s specialist Saga took a 75% share of online luxury tour operator Destinology last week. Saga Travel chief executive Andrew Strong and Destinology managing director Liz Hingley spoke exclusively to LUCY HUXLEY
When someone reaches the age of 51, they might consider a Saga car insurance policy or credit card, but they won’t automatically think they are eligible for a Saga Holiday, according to Saga Travel chief executive Andrew Strong. In fact, most people are in their early 70s before they start thinking about a holiday with Saga, and in their mid-seventies before they consider a Saga cruise. So how do you appeal to
the growing number of people between 50 and 70? “The typical Saga Holidays customer is 72 and the typical Saga cruise customer is 75,” said Strong. “So to attract younger customers, we could try and reinvent the Saga brand. “But if you do that, can you still be true to all the loyal customers?
“Can you really extend one
brand across a huge range of people? Saga is excellent for a certain style of customer and age demographic, but we need other brands to widen our reach.”
Acquisitions
The first part of this strategy was the acquisition of escorted tours operator Titan in 2009, which Strong claimed had unlocked a younger database.
Buying online luxury operator Destinology last week will unlock an even younger one, he believes. The brands’ appeal can’t be tied to simple age brackets, but Strong believes that while Titan has attracted more customers to Saga in their 60s, Destinology will attract more in their 50s. “With more than 22 million people aged over 50 in the UK at the moment, that’s a huge market,” said Strong. “In another 20 years, there will be 30 million over-50s, which means the market is going to grow by eight million.” Acquiring Destinology, founded
by entrepreneur Dominic Speakman, who remains president of the company, was key to ensuring Saga capitalises on that natural market growth. Strong said: “We have brands that enable us to market to slightly younger age brackets, meaning that rather than someone coming to Saga Holidays in their 70s, we have something to attract them that much earlier.” But he
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added that Destinology has its own “very credible set of organic growth plans” on top of this opportunity. Managing director Liz Hingley said: “We’re going to go heavily into touring, multi-centres and cruise. We are also going to offer more in Australia, New Zealand and South America, plus city breaks.” Strong said: “Liz and her team
have a great plan and we’re going to encourage that organic development – and turbo-charge it by exposing it to key parts of our business.”
New leads Strong said Saga had 10.5 million individuals on its database, many of whom could now be exposed to Destinology holidays. “They are all prospects for Destinology. There is a huge amount that it can do under its own steam, but we can give the team thousands of leads,” he said. Strong said Destinology, like
Titan, would remain autonomous. “These brands have their
separate identities and appeal to their own target markets, and that’s what we want. We will have something different as people move through the ages.” With Destinology’s premises in Bolton already at full capacity, Hingley is looking for new offices. Strong said it would recruit more staff to fulfil the demand. Hingley said: “We chose Saga
because of the culture and the fit. It wants us to run a standalone business and so, for the staff, there are only advantages –
ANDREW STRONGAND LIZ HINGLEY 21 August 2014 —
travelweekly.co.uk • 13
We’re going to turbo-charge
Destinology by exposing it to
key parts of our business
more leads and customers. The mood is very upbeat and positive.”
Trade strategy
Destinology’s shop in Wilmslow will remain, still selling only Destinology products, and its trade strategy of selling through select agents, will continue for now. Strong said: “We need to see
how that goes. Titan has extensive trade experience – that’s not a big part of Destinology’s business at the moment, but we want to learn what works well.” Strong will have Speakman’s
input for the next 18 months at least. “I’m impressed with Dominic and his team and there are some very good things about Destinology that will be very useful for Saga too,” he said. Hingley added: “It’s exciting on
every level.”
BIG INTERVIEW
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