NEWS gest-ever event had Experience the Moment as its theme. Samantha Mayling reports from Manchester
Giles Hawke, Cosmos
Switch-selling from cruise will boost touring bookings
S
Carole Kirkham, Kirkham Travel
witch-selling from cruise enquiries is a sure way to sell more touring and adventure holidays to
customers looking for a range of experiences, agents were told. Carole Kirkham, of Preston
agency Kirkham Travel, urged her peers to travel on escorted tours themselves. “I sell a lot of cruises, and clients
ask about tours to see more of the places they have visited,” she said. “Once you’ve done one tour, you
can tell customers what it’s all about. You can switch-sell to tours.” Giles Hawke, chief executive of
Cosmos, said: “People don’t say ‘I want a coach tour’ but they do say they want to see jazz in New Orleans or the Calgary Stampede.”
Once you’ve done
one tour, you can tell customers what it’s all about. You can switch-sell to tours
He said escorted tours offered
clients the chance to stay in accommodation they wouldn’t be able to book if travelling independently. For example, Cosmos features
hotels in US national parks, so clients can visit popular sights at sunrise. Guided tours also offer the chance
to avoid the crowds at must-see atractions, such as the Great Wall of China and the Guinness factory in Dublin, he added.
Delegates heard how touring
and adventure holidays offer accommodation ranging from five-star properties to ice hotels and homestays, as well as transport options such as tuk-tuks, 4x4s, husky- drawn sledges, canoes and helicopters. Speakers said dining could also be
more adventurous on tours than on independent holidays, with options such as meals with local families or expert guides. South Africa Tourism’s campaign
and partnership manager, Rachel Lewis, recalled watching the sun set in the Kalahari, while drinking a gin and tonic, and Paul Melinis – Atas chairman and APT UK and Europe managing director – talked about alfresco dining with a family in Sorrento aſter learning about limoncello.
‘You can transform lives of people in poverty’
G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip said travel agents have “an incredible opportunity” to help transform the lives of people in need overseas. “You can educate consumers,” he told
delegates during his keynote speech. Poon Tip said about 10% of consumers
will want something different when buying a holiday – more than a price-driven commodity. “Tat’s the magical moment.
Tey will spend more money and come back and be loyal if you sell on the experience,” he said. “Too many people
Claire Sweeney (left) with Travel
Weekly’s Lucy Huxley
travelweekly.co.uk
overseas live in poverty. Te tourism industry is missing a great opportunity to be the
biggest form of wealth distribution ever seen. “In 10 years, tourism will grow to be 10%
of global GDP – worth $10 trillion – and see 1.8 billion people travelling each year. “You have the customer right in front
of you every day, and you get that one opportunity to sell them an experience.” Poon Tip highlighted G Adventures
projects that blend the customer experience with social enterprises, such as Women on Wheels, which trains women to be chauffeurs for G Adventures customers’ airport transfers in India; Oodles of Noodles, that helps street kids
Bruce Poon Tip, G Adventures
learn to cook; and Bike with Purpose, where schoolchildren lead guided island tours in Belize.
3 OCTOBER 2019 17
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