THE ADVISORY BOARD 60 seconds with...
Rick Milne head of sales, Carrier
Q. How did the business perform in 2023? It was a really impressive year for our business. We achieved record departure revenue of £47 million, a big part of which was driven by the strength of our strategic and preferred partnerships with agents. We saw revenue
from our strategic partners grow by 36% in 2023 and five independent agents alone achieved sales of more than £1 million for Carrier, which is truly phenomenal.
Q. You’ve previously spoken about the importance of high-value bookings – does that focus remain? All bookings are important, however it was core to our strategy and it remains a real point of difference for us. Bookings over £75,000 made up 17% of our overall revenue in 2023, whereas they represented only 4% in 2019. We have become the company agents trust with business of that magnitude and value, and we’re proud of that. More agents are coming to us with those high-value bookings and they see the difference we offer to those clients that require extra attention to detail. It’s here where I believe we really excel.
Q. Tell us about your new initiatives It’s all about elevation this year for Carrier. We introduced ‘Beyond The Booking’, which is our way of ensuring the little extras are taken care of. It’s a call that’s done between booking and departure where we run through the itinerary. It helps our team gain insight which we can then use to potentially elevate things. We’re also very proud of what we’re doing with complex touring and tailor-made, which now accounts for 30% of our product mix, with sales up 35% for touring destinations.
Nicola McNeish Celebrity Cruises
celebritycruises.co.uk
John Sullivan The Advantage Travel Partnership
advantagemembers.com
Louise Craddock Oceania Cruises
oceaniacruises.com
Steering the Aspire Travel Club Our panel of travel professionals covers the
spectrum of the luxury market and plays a major role in helping Aspire Travel Club evolve
Amanda Matthews Designer Travel
designertravel.co.uk
Kate Fenton 100% PURE New Zealand
newzealand.com/luxury
Andy Harmer Clia UK & Ireland
cruiseexperts.org
Lynn Narraway Seabourn
seabourn.com
Rick Milne Carrier
carrier.co.uk
Craig Jeffs Kerzner International
kerzner.com
Jeanne Lally Travel Bureau
travelb.co.uk
Priti Mehta Explora Journeys
explorajourneys.com
Lisa Fitzell Elegant Resorts and If Only
elegantresorts.co.uk ifonly.net
Jamie Loizou AmaWaterways
amawaterways.co.uk
24
ASPIRE JANUARY 2024
aspiretravelclub.co.uk
CREDITS: Steve Dunlop; Matthew Burch
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