NEWS CONFERENCE REPORT
Global Travel Conference 2017: More than 160 agents attended the consortium’s annual conference last week. Lee Hayhurst reports from La Manga Club, Spain
Agents pose
with Five After Midnight, the
third-placed act in last year’s The X Factor,
who performed at the gala dinner
Facebook ‘crucial tool for local agents’
Facebook is becoming a vital online shop window for independent agents, whose local presence enables them to build trust and promote their services.
Agents at last week’s Global
Travel Group Conference in Spain shared their experiences of selling via social media and claimed they have an advantage over big online competitors. Mia Gambrell, director of Manchester-based Footprint Travel, which was set up by her father last July, said small agents have the advantage. “It’s an important place to be and the bigger brands don’t really have a reason to be there,” she said. “People want local brands with
a face and a name, so it’s a really good opportunity.” Gambrell said she follows a
Facebook group call Prestwich People, describing herself as a “lurker” looking out for posts requesting holiday advice. Homeworker Mair Jones,
co-founder of Bordessa Travel, has identified 162 groups in Wales and the southeast. She said 98% of her business comes from Facebook, on which she spends up to 15 hours a day engaging with customers. “I have a shop – it’s my Facebook
page,” she said. In January, Jones filled two
coaches of holidaymakers after posting about a deal for Disneyland Paris. Lakh Hayer, head of sales for
Honeymoon Dreams and Pure Destinations, said bringing social marketing in-house was the best decision it ever made. He said the operator had taken
Global marks 25th with surprise initiatives
Global has promised some surprise initiatives as part of its 25th anniversary celebrations. Delegates were told that this year’s VIP trip is to Singapore and Bangkok, with a two-night trip on the Eastern and Oriental Express. Seven agents who log bookings from May 1-July 31 on selected trips with fellow dnata Travel-owned operators Gold Medal or Travel 2 will be picked to join the fam.
on an apprentice to befriend people on Facebook so they are tagged in to selfies and videos they post.
› Talk Back, page 18 › Caught on Camera, page 37 › Facebook ‘disruptor’, back page
Woo millennials by selling the experience
Travel agents need to focus on selling the experience when marketing to younger consumers, Global Travel Group delegates were told. Oliver Yeates (pictured),
chief executive and founder of digital agency Clicky Media, gave tips on how to target millennials, the generation that has grown up with the internet. Drawing an analogy with the online unboxing phenomenon – involving people filming themselves unpacking a new product – Yeates said this generation “wants to see inside the holiday”. Yeates added: “Be as visual as possible. That captivates people’s interest. “They’re willing
to spend on experiences over
possessions, and often have more disposable income because saving for a house or marrying are not key. “They [millennials] will do far
more research than any other generation.” Delegates were urged to
use Instagram and Facebook Stories to help customers see what is going on and what it is really like to visit a destination. Yeates said being on mobile
was vital for targeting younger clients: “If you get your social right, you get your brand promoted for you.” He said it was also important to adopt online chat helpdesks; to be open and engaging on review sites; and to use analytics to monitor website performance.
12
travelweekly.co.uk 1 June 2017
PICTURE: ARIF GARDNER
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