5 2
Revealed: adults who seek advice then book online
Ian Taylor
ian.taylor@travelweekly.co.uk
Travel Weekly research on how consumers booked their most recent overseas holiday suggests those most likely to consult an agent may be least likely to book with one.
A study of more than 1,300 UK
adults by research firm TNS found respondents aged 25-34 were most likely to consult an agent, but the least likely age group to book in an agency or by phone. Conversely, over-55s were more likely to research a holiday online but also more likely to book with an agent or by phone. TNS asked people whether
they had taken, booked or were planning a holiday this year or would do so next. Then it inquired how they researched their most- recent trip, what their main source of information was and how they booked the holiday. Two-thirds (64%) said they
did some research online, almost
three out of five (57%) identified the web as their main source of information, and two-thirds (68%) booked online. However, just half (52%) of 25-34-year-olds researched online and fewer than half (45%) said the web was their main information source. That contrasted with 70% of over-55s and 78% of 45-54-year- olds who researched online, and 60% of over-55s and 66% of 45-54s for whom the web was the main source of information. More than one in three (35%)
of 25-34-year-olds visited a travel agency or spoke to an agent on the phone, and one in four (25%) said they referred to travel brochures. Yet when it came to booking, just one in 10 (10%) of this age group booked in an agency or by phone, and 85% did so online. By contrast, only 15% of over-
55s consulted an agent in person or on the phone, but one in five (19%) booked with an agent, and another 12% booked through a
combination of phone and online. › TNS research, pages 86-88
Steven Wynter (centre) with his team
Wyntersun eyes carnivals market
Lee Hayhurst
lee.hayhurst@travelweekly.co.uk
London-based travel agent Wyntersun Holidays has set its sights on becoming the world’s largest carnivals specialist tour operator, as it launches its first dedicated brochure.
The firm unveiled its carnival
holidays brand at last weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival, where clients joined the Wotless ‘mas’ band for the parade. Steven Wynter, a former
Going Places agent and business development director of Wyntersun, believes carnival- themed holidays is a vibrant niche travel sector with huge potential. “I’ve been a travel agent since
I was 16 and I’ve been going to Notting Hill Carnival since I was a child,” he said. “I know there’s no one you can go to that specialises in this type of holiday. “We’ve got a lot of expertise in
carnivals around the world within the team, and it’s that what people value, because they need advice and want to know about the bands, the music and the atmosphere.”
“There’s no one that you can go to that specialises in this type of holiday”
Within five years, Wynter
said he hoped to have built partnerships with 10 carnival ‘mas’ bands at each of the 10 events featured in its brochure. As a member of the Travel Trust Association, Wyntersun, which has been in business since 2011, operates under the consortium’s Atol and offers commission to sell packages through other agents. The first Wyntersun Carnival
Holidays brochure, which Wynter said had taken a year to put together, offers a range of packages for carnivals in Brazil, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the Caribbean. Wynter is planning a brochure
launch in London. He will promote the programme on specialist London radio stations, through its partnerships with each of the bands, and at Carnival Expo, which takes place in London in May.
1 September 2016
travelweekly.co.uk 5 3 STORIES HOT
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