Astute discounting can have its place A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
During the peak selling season, the dreaded D word is invariably a source of concern and frustration for travel agents. It may be trade-facing suppliers being perceived to be too quick to discount headline prices, thereby hampering agents’ commission- earning potential. But often the frustration is directed at rival retailers who are willing to undercut going rates in the pursuit of volume sales, with fears of the market being trashed before a peaks punch has really been thrown in anger. Despite this understandable desire to avoid large-scale discounts and send the wrong message to consumers, long-established early-booking offers show there is still a place for financial incentives to book if they are well thought out.
This week we spoke to ArrangeMY Escape’s Jennifer Lynch, who clearly thought long and
hard before sending out money-off vouchers to established customers prior to the peaks to stimulate interest (page 4). On the face of it, the move could be seen as a gamble, with each £100 voucher chipping away at commission earnings on any resulting sale. But with a minimum booking price stipulated, Jennifer felt the pros would outweigh the cons of reduced margins. As she tells us, she certainly believes the ‘gamble’ has paid off, with sales up year on year and clients whose interest has been piqued by the offer regularly being upsold. With the market looking relatively strong but still failing to fully ignite for some, it is great to see an agency thinking strategically about its marketing (including the D word) and seeing its decisions bearing fruit.
Lucy Huxley, editor-in-chief, Travel Weekly Group CONTENTS NEWS
Agents welcome Celebrity’s river move 4 Agency’s £100 voucher spurs bookings 4 Storm shuts shops but fails to dent sales 5 Domain names for sale; Aito agents poll 6 Agency opens eco-pod; Riviera plans 8 comment
globes glory
Share in the winners’ joy with our photo special pages 31-65
Photo: Sarah Lucy Brown Steve Dunne: BA’s move makes sense 10
NEWS YOU CAN USE Product APT, Classic, Tui, Contiki, Gold Medal 13 African Pride, Travelsphere, Jet2
FRONTLINE agent diary
Helen Parry: DIY-ers are the real rivals 22 Your Stories Oasis Travel’s Angela Taylor on winning AAAs honour 24 26
close-up Photos of the week
FRONT COVER AND THIS PAGE: Shutterstock/Happypix, MrVander; Rio Tourist Board; Harry Zampetoulas; Steve Dunlop; Sarah Lucy Brown
travelweekly.co.uk FOLLOW US: Your bumper photo special 31 DESTINATIONS
Winter sun Festivals: Add some fun to your clients’ winter getaways with our pick of the best festivals worldwide
14 Carnival, HAL, Fred Olsen, Seabourn 16
WHAT LUCY DID THIS WEEK
ORecorded webcasts with Wendy Wu Tours, Virgin Atlantic, Celebrity Cruises, Royal Caribbean, Titan Travel and Seabourn.
OCaught up with Nicki Tempest- Mitchell for her first interview since taking over as managing director of Barrhead Travel and heard about her plans for the agency.
OWent to a comedy bingo night hosted by ‘Kitty Cassis’ for my friend’s 50th. Didn’t win a thing!
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Alternative Asia: Less-visited islands 70 Greece & Cyprus Rhodes: Fuse luxury hotels with ancient ruins and classic flavours on this ever-popular Greek isle 72
BUSINESS NEWS
competitions Cruises and more 28 @travelweekly
IAG boss questions UK’s SAF funding 78 Deadline looms for card fees lawsuit 79 Ryanair and easyJet quarterly results 79 Chancellor eyes growth via aviation 80
travelweeklyuk @travelweeklyuk 30 JANUARY 2025 3
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