NEWS SPECIAL REPORT
The US and Canada are the fastest-growing destinations for Travelmood, the trade-only Travelopia brand launched last year. By Juliet Dennis
California. Left: Suzanne Harvey (far left) and Lesley Rollo
Travelmood trumpets US triumphs
The growth potential for the US market lies in multicentre trips that go beyond traditional gateways, according to one of the newest players on the block.
Travelmood was launched last
October as a dedicated trade-only brand to court independent and third-party agents. It is part of Travelopia, the new
name for Tui’s specialist division that is to be sold off by Tui Group.
Market
The US and Canada is a sector ripe for further growth, according to Travelopia managing director Lesley Rollo. The recent
fall in the value of the pound to a 31-year low
against the dollar in the wake of Britain’s decision to leave the EU will not have been welcome news for operators to the US, but Rollo remains confident. “There is no doubt Brexit is
playing a large part in everyone’s mind at the moment, and there is still much uncertainty as to how this will affect holidays,” she said. “As exchange rate movements
are notoriously hard to predict, the impact on future currency and exchange rates is not yet clear. “What we do know is that the US has continued to be a really buoyant destination [since the Brexit vote] in terms of sales and is certainly remaining stable.” Even before the vote, US sales in general were strong, said Rollo, although Florida had been “flat”,
The operator is focusing on
“We are trying to push multicentres because New York and Vegas are very price-sensitive”
suggesting price concerns had hit the price-sensitive family market. “The US has been really strong
for us since the middle of last year and it’s gone from strength to strength. Florida has slowed, but it’s not a focus for us,” she added. Travelmood’s decision to focus
on tailor-made, multicentre trips will, she believes, play to the strengths of the US market and fill a gap in demand from agents’ clients for more experiential holidays.
what Rollo calls holidaymakers’ “second choices”, such as Boston or California, below the firm favourities of New York and Florida, and opening up new areas and experiences in the US. She added: “We have already
invested in places we would not normally have gone to like Portland, Oregon and Seattle.” Suzanne Harvey, general manager for the USA and Canada, said: “And now we are offering bike tours where we didn’t before, or farmers’ markets and wine tours. “We are trying to push multi-
centres because New York and Las Vegas are very price-sensitive: everyone is fighting in that market. “Multicentres are complex and that’s where our expertise comes
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travelweekly.co.uk 7 July 2016
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