FRONTLINE IN THE SPOTLIGHT: DISNEYND PARIS TRADE ROADSHOW


Agents meet Olaf from Disney’s Frozen at the London roadshow


Benjamin Coren spends a day at Disney’s London office to find out what makes its agent roadshows so popular


Nearly 60 travel agents attended the Frozen roadshow at Disney’s UK office in London last month. Following a day of training, and business and product updates, they enjoyed dinner at PizzaExpress and saw the Mary Poppins musical in the West End. The company held six Disney Destinations roadshows and seven Disneyland Paris events in 2019, which were attended by about 1,250 agents.


Max Mason, head of


commercial for Disneyland Paris, said: “It’s important for us to get in front of agents and get out to the regions. The feedback we get from the trade is that not many suppliers come and see them because of their location.” Roadshows are held across


the country in locations including Newcastle, Exeter, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, Nottingham and London. As well as a trade and product update, a different event was held in each location. In Bristol, agents saw The Lion King, while in Nottingham it was Disney on Ice, and in Newcastle and Exeter, Frozen 2.


34 9 JANUARY 2020


Julie Painter, personal travel consultant, Hays Travel


“I love everything about Disney – and put that across to customers. We can tell them what’s going on when they want to visit.”


Kate Marsh, travel advisor, Tui, Colchester “I like to keep up


to date and share what I learn with colleagues. Disney always has magical things going on.”


WHAT THEY


SAID ABOUT THE ROADSHOW


Paul Wells, homeworker, Midcounties Co-operative


“It’s great to find out the latest information, to give customers a different reason to come back to Disneyland Paris.”


Mason said: “We use our four business development managers’ Facebook and social pages to invite agents. They are led by business development manager Michelle Westwood and their pages have 8,000 followers. “The investment we make in


the trade is continuing – trade distribution remains as important as it’s ever been. “Travel agents are selling our


brands and introducing first-timers. They are very important for Disneyland Paris in terms of first-time business. “We impart our knowledge to them, whether it’s at roadshows or through our Disney Stars online training platform. It means they’ve got the tools, knowledge and confidence to sell to customers.” Disney produces a travel agent guide covering Disneyland Paris, Walt Disney World Resort and Disney Cruise Line. Disney also offers price parity for Disneyland Paris, so agents will not be undercut by customers booking direct. Mason said: “We recognise agents do a lot of work investing their time in our brand product.” disneytravel.agents.co.uk


travelweekly.co.uk


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88