inside
VIEW FROM THE TOP
VIEW FROM THE FRONT
Paul Melinis UK DIRECTOR OF SALES
How long have you been an ABTA Member? For about 30 of our 40 years.
How has your business changed since you first became a member? Our guests are mainly aged 50-70, and are fitter and more active than ever before. They don’t want to sit on a beach; they want authentic experiences but with a balance of free time. Touring used to be about large
notch experiences. These include aſt er-hours access to the Doge’s Palace in Venice, VIP cooking lessons and encounters with people such as a childhood friend of Elvis Presley at Graceland. This year, the range has been expanded to
include Australasia, South East Asia and more India itineraries.
HOW DOES IT WORK WITH THE TRADE? Trade sales in the UK account for 80% of Insight’s business and will remain the company’s distribution channel of choice — globally, this fi gure rises to 95%, underlining the importance of the travel agent to Insight. “For the trade, we are right product, right time, and because we’re a premium product the potential earnings for agents can be very high,” says Boulding. He believes that trade sales will dominate for
years to come. “People want reassurance and recognise they can save a lot of time by doing it through an expert.”
WHAT’S NEXT? Next year will see a Luxury Gold UK programme added. It will be a way to see the British Isles in style, with the added dimension of travelling companions from all over the world.
groups visiting key sites with meals included. Now it’s all about the magic of travel; how the tour directors bring the country to life, about having hand- picked hotels that are in the right place. Dining has really changed; people
want to eat in good local restaurants and look to the tour director’s knowledge to find them. Transport is another thing — we’re
diff erent to any other brand in that we use 40-seater vehicles, which mean more legroom; plus, in the UK, we off er private chauff eur pick-up.
What’s the biggest challenge to your business? The independent traveller who researches their own holiday. They’d benefit the most from an Insight tour because we take away the hassle and clients travel with like-minded people from around the world.
What does the future hold for Insight? It’s bright, because we listen to our guests and our agent partners. People tell us they want more luxury and more far-away destinations, so we launched Luxury Gold as a standalone brand off ering South America, South East Asia and Australasia with VIP experiences.
Tim Pendlebury EUROPEAN TOUR DIRECTOR
How long have you worked for Insight Vacations? I joined in 2005. I’m based in Krakow as I specialise in Eastern Europe.
How did you end up in your current position? I started in 1998 with our youth brand Contiki. Before that I was an aircraſt engineer in the Australian military. Over the past 20 years I’ve taken people through around 30 countries.
Tell us about a typical day. From January to April I work very closely with our tour planners, giving personal input into itineraries. On tour, before breakfast I prepare
for the coming day and weeks, liaising with restaurants, hotels and signature experiences. At 9am we meet the local guide who takes us off the beaten track and to the signature experiences. Aſt ernoons are free for guests to
explore and evenings include things like a Danube dinner cruise or a Vienna Strauss concert. Then I spend another hour making sure everything is in place for tomorrow.
What are the particular challenges of your role? There’s plenty of potential for disruption to the day and it’s my job to take care of it.
What do you enjoy most about working for Insight? We really do everything in style, from our coaches to hotels in the heart of cities. Plus showing guests experiences and people they would never encounter on their own. For me, it’s a wonderful experience — I couldn’t do any other job.
countrybycountry.com | ABTA Magazine
41
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
