CONFERENCE Atas Summit: Members of the Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers hear
Touring and adventure firms urged to help agents match clients to product
T
ouring and adventure suppliers should be “much more specific” about describing their
target clients because the sector is a “minefield” for the trade, according to a specialist agent. Joan Jones, founder of Once in a
Lifetime Holidays, urged operators to list the types of consumers that would suit each tour they sell to make it easier for agents to match itineraries with clients on their databases. She warned that agents have
not yet had time to become experts in the sector, so it is up to touring and adventure operators to make it simpler for them to sell. “Suppliers need to be much more
specific about who their perfect client is and who we have on our books that would fit them,” she said. “We need operators to say to us, ‘If you have a client who has been to
these countries, then they would love this place so you should send them there’. That would help us massively.” Steve Cox, head of retail sales
for Premier Travel, encouraged operators to provide more fam trip places for agents to help them improve their knowledge of the sector and the tours that are available. He highlighted a direct
correlation between agents going on fam trips and their sales increasing and urged suppliers to invite agents if they have any spaces on tours. “There are so many sectors and
operators out there, so agents have a huge amount to learn, and the best way to do that is by experiencing the product first-hand,” he said. “If operators have a tour that isn’t
full, they should put an offer out to agents, as we know sales increase once an agent has had that experience.” Jones said agents should not rely
‘Hone social content to attract the young’
Travel companies need to make their content more accessible to young people if they are to attract new talent, the director of AS Training told operators. Michelle Van Sprang said young people are
Michelle Van Sprang
“more into social media than ever before”, and travel businesses need to invest in building their TikTok and Instagram profiles to appeal to potential employees. She encouraged operators to delegate the responsibility to apprentices or graduates as they will be more attuned to what other young people are engaging with. “It is imperative for travel companies to get on the platforms [young
people] are using,” she said. “Get your apprentices to do it for you, make it part of their portfolio. You need to make your content more accessible to them so they become more interested in joining the travel industry.” She added: “The more travel companies invest in boosting their social
media presence, the more appeal there will be out there online and the more young people will seek a role in travel.”
10 27 JUNE 2024
Steve Cox and Joan Jones
on “handouts” from operators and should be willing to pay for touring holidays out of their own pocket if they want to further their careers. “If you’re serious about being a
travel professional, you should always be prepared to invest those funds to better your knowledge,” she said, adding: “You can’t always rely on handouts from tour operators.”
Sector bookings and revenue continue to rise
Touring and adventure bookings and revenue have continued to increase in the first five months of 2024 compared with the same period last year, data has shown. Agent bookings with Atas members for the first quarter of 2024
were 6% up year on year, rising to 9% ahead by the end of May. Similarly, revenue grew from 10% up at the end of March to 13%
at the end of May, demonstrating “steady growth and strong demand”, according to Atas director Claire Brighton. She praised the performance of agents, saying they were driving
higher average sales compared to direct sales, while average tour costs were “consistently increasing”. She also highlighted the shoulder seasons as particularly popular,
saying the touring and adventure sector is largely unaffected by overtourism concerns in July and August as travellers in the sector tend to go away during school term time rather than the summer peak. “These are exciting times for our sector with new destinations coming through and strong demand for 2025,” Brighton added.
travelweekly.co.uk
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