CONFERENCE 2019 MANCHESTER, SEPTEMBER 18-19
selling tips
How to sell... experiences
Experiences are travel’s most valuable currency, so use them to close a sale, writes Joanna Booth
Experiential travel has been the key phrase on everyone in the industry’s lips for some time now, and no style of travel delivers this more than a tour or adventure holiday. ‘Experience the Moment’ is the theme of this year’s Atas
ORRNLQJ IRU D OLिOH PRUH HUۑXR\ &RQIHUHQFH LQ 0DQFKHVWHU VR LI inspiration, here’s how to translate those experiences into commission.
1. Emphasise local interaction Spending time with communities around the world is incredibly rewarding, but hard to engineer for independent travellers. Outline opportunities to meet people from the local community %H 0\ *XHVW ZKLFK RਬHU FOLHQWV VۑUDJODIDU7 RQ WRXUV VXFK DV the chance to dine in someone’s home, or homestays, which tend to feature on adventure specialists’ itineraries, including G Adventures’ Local Living tours.
2. Sell behind-the-scenes access Everyone wants to feel like a VIP, and again, this is an element FRQQHFWLRQV PDNH DOO WKH GLਬHUHQFH Vۑ\QDSPRF ZKHUH D WRXULQJ Visit Rome with Insight Vacations, for example, and clients will get fast-track entry to the Sistine Chapel, and access to the %UDPDQWH VWDLUFDVH ZKLFK LV Rਬ OLPLWV WR WKH SXEOLF
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3. Highlight thrilling journeys 6RPHWLPHV WKH MRXUQH\ LV SDUW RI WKH IXQ ौULOO FOLHQWV ZLWK WDON of hot-air balloon rides over the rocky landscapes of Cappadocia, 7XUNH\ LWLQHUDULHV RU VFHQLF VۑOHYDU7 RਬHUHG RQ VRPH RI ,QWUHSLG train travel via an operator such as Great Rail Journeys, from the Rocky Mountaineer to the Glacier Express. For active types, hiking and biking trips make the journey the primary focus.
4. Suggest learning a new skill Demonstrate to hands-on clients that trips can allow them to come home with more than just memories, having picked up a new skill while away. It might be camera techniques, via a photographic safari with Exodus Travels, or something physical – Wilderness Scotland organises sea kayaking and open canoeing trips suitable for beginners.
5. Bring the tour to life with videos and pictures ौH VD\LQJ DERXW D SLFWXUH WHOOLQJ D WKRXVDQG ZRUGV ULQJV WUXH especially when you’re selling something experiential. Whether it’s your own footage from a fam, operators’ dedicated content – see Explore’s agent Facebook page or Shearings’ Agent Toolkit site – or posts and videos on Instagram or YouTube, make use of the media that will convince clients and close that sale for you.
September 2019 15
PICTURE: JAN GEERK/SWITZERLAND TOURISM
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