OPERATOR NEWS
Kuoni seeks buyer for tour op business
Kuoni is set to pull out of tour operating, after confirming it intends to sell its UK outbound operation, as well as its operator interests in Switzerland, Benelux, China, India and Scandinavia. Following a strategic review, the Swiss-owned group has decided to
prioritise its ‘core business as a service provider to the global travel industry and to governments’, with a specific focus on pursuing growth in developing markets such as Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Te company confirmed its UK managing director Derek Jones and
his senior team would remain in place while a buyer is found, and that customers and their bookings would not be affected. Te move, which affects around 38,000 staff, has surprised many in
the industry, with Kuoni enjoying a reputation as one of the premier tour operators in Europe, with a turnover in 2014 of CHF2.2bn (£1.42bn). However, the company described its outbound business as facing
‘increasing challenges from changing market conditions’, adding it believed its tour operator interests could be ‘better developed under new ownership, potentially leveraging scale or specific local strengths’. Kuoni Travel UK group brands include Kirker; it also has 35 retail outlets.
kuoni.co.uk
Members update
G Adventures has launched an UberMassive Incentive campaign offering agents the opportunity to win trips for themselves and up to seven friends. All agents who book a trip with the adventure operator between 1 January and 31 March are eligible, with agents receiving one entry per traveller booked.
gadventures.co.uk
Norad Travel Group has acquired Wiltshire-based Howard Travel. The acquisition will boost Norad’s luxury and niche offering, and create a group with a workforce of 52 and turnover of £32m. Norad launched in 1981 and has offices in Hampshire, Wiltshire, Somerset and Kent. Both companies are members of Advantage.
noradtravel.biz
Belleair Holidays has rolled out a new online booking system, designed to be easier for agents to use, alongside a new logo and strapline.
The Malta specialist operator has also launched a revamped brochure, which for the first time features holidays to Italy, with new packages including Sardinia, Sicily, Sorrento and Ischia.
belleair.co.uk
Sovereign has launched a new strapline, Paradise Found, and a new visual identity as part of a repositioning strategy designed to help it stand out from other luxury travel companies. This has been accompanied by a branding and digital campaign, and the rebranding of its hotel collections product.
sovereign.com
Spear Travels has agreed to buy Tickets Anywhere, an agency in Thame, Oxfordshire, whose owner Bryony Hordern is to retire. The shop will be rebranded Spear Travels, with the acquisition taking the company’s portfolio of shops to 10.
speartravels.net
Martin Randall
CHIEF EXECUTIVE, MARTIN RANDALL TRAVEL
Arranging for a boiler to be serviced or haggling over an insurance claim… the thought of dealing with many service suppliers makes you sigh. We tour operators should be proud. Many of us offer a level of customer care far ahead of other sectors.
‘It’s easy to be nice to customers – employ nice people.’ A good start, but not enough. When we won Best Holiday Company for Customer Service at the 2014 British Travel Awards, I told my staff to enjoy it for five seconds, then start rethinking all aspects of the service they provide. Self-satisfaction leads to complacency, which is the road to ruin.
Which element of our tours least satisfy our clients? Perhaps the guiding. Our reputation depends on the quality of the lecturers on our tours, but at many sites they’re obliged to be silent by the monopoly enjoyed by local guides. Were they reliably good, this closed shop would be acceptable, but good guides are the exception. This diminishes the experience. Maybe digital alternatives will sweep them away.
A reputation for excellence is a two-edged sword. A first-time client recently wrote, ‘if you were [named competitor], we’d rate this holiday good or average. But as you’re Martin Randall Travel we rate it unsatisfactory’. Managing expectations is key, but how do we tell potential clients we’re not infallible? My mantra is while we strive to be the best, sometimes some competitors do some things better. Hardly an award-winning slogan. Just carry on the struggle, or KBO, as Churchill would say (ask your father).
ONE ON ONE
www.countrybycountry.com
February 2015 ABTA Magazine 15
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