NEWS event, which was themed Shaping the Future. Juliet Dennis reports from Thessaloniki, Greece
‘Talk to us’: Agent urges operators to develop links
A
From left: Chris Rowles, Aito; Eleni Skarveli, GNTO; Voula Patoulidou, Olympic gold medallist and deputy regional governor of Central Macedonia; and Amrit Singh, TransIndus; flanked by host attendants
Chris Rowles
n Aito travel agent has made a plea to tour operators in The Specialist Travel Association to encourage more of them to work with the trade.
Westway Travel owner Ian Prior called for “deeper
conversations” between Aito’s core operator members and its Aito Agents arm, noting this could attract more agents to the association. Aito currently has about 100 operator members,
with 130 brands. Among the 100 operators, about 75 are ‘willing’ to work with agents, of which 35 do ‘a lot’ of agent bookings and 15 do ‘some’, according to Aito. Prior said he was keen for Aito operators and agents to
work more closely together, particularly as many members offer niche products suitable for agency clients with specialist interests. Speaking on a panel, he appealed to operators to make
agents “an integral part of the association”. He said: “I believe agents can be an important part of
your sales and marketing mix. We don’t have the expertise you have, but we have other skills. We can manage problems for you. Aito should continue to push the conversation. Talk to us.” Having more agent-friendly operators within Aito,
which is owned by its operator members, would draw more agents to Aito Agents, he said, adding: “We’ve
o embrace generative AI
Thompson, who hailed the technology as a time-saver for travel companies and a tool to create content and reduce business administration. He said it would not provide all the
answers, adding: “Clearly it’s not perfect – it will not complete a task for you. “But it provides a great start and will
save you time.” Thompson said travel companies
that had started to test out generative AI should be “applauded”. But he agreed there was a need to
consider regulation, saying: “There is absolutely a need for a degree of regulation.”
From left: Ian Prior, Westway
Travel; Libby Cookson, Spear Travels; Bridget Keevil, Travel Stop; Volua Patoulidou; and Peter Cookson, Spear Travels
got to educate agents on what they are missing out on.” Chairman Chris Rowles endorsed Prior’s plea, saying:
“It’s about breaking down barriers. We have great specialist agents. One of the things about working with agents is you only pay commission if you get the business.” He admitted the association should look at ways to work
“as one organisation”, and added that Aito operators should also consider working more closely with each other.
Carrick: It’s time for an Aito brand makeover
The Specialist Travel Association (Aito) should rethink its image to help it to grow, according to industry veteran Richard Carrick. Carrick said he believed the
association had had an “identity crisis” for “quite a while”. His comments came as Aito
chairman Chris Rowles said four new members had joined this year but admitted membership growth in the past 12 months had not been as fast as hoped. Last year Aito announced its aim
to grow from just under 100 to 150 members by 2026.
travelweekly.co.uk Carrick said: “It’s time for a
brand makeover. I don’t think the perception of Aito is strong enough.” But he noted: “I don’t
think there is any difficulty in doubling the size of Aito
Richard Carrick
membership by thinking imaginatively or creatively.” Former Celebrity Cruises
EMEA vice-president and managing director Jo Rzymowska suggested Aito could set its sights higher. “I’d be looking at how we get to 500 members,” she said. In response, Rowles stressed
the importance of Aito remaining relevant and sticking to its expansion plans, but could not envisage Aito having 500 members. He said Aito could be perceived
as old-fashioned but said: “We have to make sure we stay current.”
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