NEWS p with chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said ahead of its Vivolution conference in Cadiz, Spain
Lo Bue-Said: Look to the future with our core values
It’s safe to say no one knows Te Advantage Travel Partnership beter than chief executive Julia Lo Bue-Said. She started 24 years ago in a
commercial role, then became commercial director, head of leisure, managing director and now chief executive. “I know the business
Julia Lo Bue-Said, Advantage
Forty years and counting: Consortium reflects on agents’ changing challenges
Te biggest challenges facing independent agencies over the past four decades has been the “march of the multiples” and the ever-evolving face of marketing, the boss of Advantage says. Julia Lo Bue-Said said the
dominance of the “big four” multiples – Tomson, Airtours, First Choice and Tomas Cook – in the late 80s and early 90s was the hardest challenge to overcome. She recalled: “Independent
agencies were geting constantly squeezed. Te march of the multiples was as a result of increasing consumer demand that led to increased shop openings
by the likes of Lunn Poly (owned by Tomson) and Tomas Cook, which saw rife discounting in these vertically-integrated establishments. “For independent agents,
through consortia such as Advantage, access to more-affordable holidays through the big four was an opportunity, but discounting by the multiples meant Advantage was becoming much more relevant as more agents required enhanced commercial support to compete.” Lo Bue-Said also identified
stricter barriers to entry in the industry as something consortia had had to increasingly help
members with over the years – along with a ‘sea change’ in consumer habits with the rise of the internet and social media. Te biggest shiſt has been in
marketing, she said. “In the old days, it was newspapers, radio and advertising; nowadays, it’s everything from social to online, websites and targeted emails. “Marketing can be the driving
force behind a business or where it goes wrong. Tat’s why our market- ing portfolio, and all the technology that forms part of it, has been the biggest investment we’ve made.” She added: “As our members’
businesses have become more complex, we’ve become more complex too. We’re someone for members to lean on and we can put our arm around them to support them through the different trials and tribulations of running a business – which can be really lonely sometimes.”
travelweekly.co.uk
intimately,” she said. “But because it’s grown so much, I’m reliant on having great people around me and bringing fresh talent in. “Te downside is having
knowledge of lots of detail, which can bog you down at times. We are a complex business: not just a retail business but an international business with an insurance company and meetings and events company. It’s a broad business, but that makes it exciting, and over time we have become a loud voice for our members, and the independent sector. “It helps that I’ve been here for
so long. I can constantly remind people why we do what we do. All too oſten we are running at 100mph and thinking about the next big thing – but it’s important to remember the core values.” One of the reasons Lo
Bue-Said is so invested in the company is that its members are its shareholders, which she says is unique for a travel consortium in the UK. “Our overarching goal is to drive value for our shareholders, who are our members too. We don’t have external shareholders to please, so it is all about what benefits those individual businesses. I really believe that and see an exciting future, and a massive opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses.”
16 MAY 2019
21
PICTURES: Shutterstock; Matt Sprake
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 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100
