Category Archives: Agents

Reacting to the announcement made by Emirates, Sunil Kumar, National President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) says, “Not only is this an unfair move but also a move that has come at the wrong time. Travel agents have always supported Emirates in a big way by promoting them to their customers. As a result of this move, Emirates will lose its edge as agents will now move to other airlines. After all, why would anyone want to push a product that doesn’t give them any benefit? So, this move will not only hurt the agents but also the airline. The airline has also timed it badly as agents had already committed to a price structure for future bookings beyond April 2017. This abrupt announcement will hurt the agents a lot as the main season starts from April onwards. We were still recovering from demonetisation when this is announced. The team at TAAI is currently discussing what the association’s response to Emirates should be.”

Another large international airline has decided to cut its distribution expenses by revising its travel agent commission from the current three per cent to one. In a letter issued to the travel agents and signed by Essa Sulaiman Ahmad, Vice President – India and Nepal, Emirates, the airline states, ‘…volatility has become the new normal in global aviation. Market, industry and customer dynamics add to the complexity of our business. So as the world economy and industry changes, so are we. Effective April 1, 2017, Emirates in India will revise the standard IATA commission  from current 3% to 1%. All tickets issued prior to April 1, 2017, will continue to attract the current 3% standard commission. We do understand that this move may require a change in your business model, but we hope together, we can emerge better and bigger.’ The letter ends with ‘Assuring you of our support at all times’.

Tour operator, Trafalgar, has reaffirmed its commitment to making it easier for agents to book the brand with confidence, by revealing that 100 per cent of its 2017 Europe and Britain and Asia departures are now definite. Commenting on the milestone ‘Definite Departures’ status, Nicholas Lim, President, Trafalgar (Asia) said, “At Trafalgar, we are wholly focused on strengthening relationships with our valued industry partners, ensuring that they are fully equipped to sell our guided holidays with confidence and ease. We are thrilled to be able to guarantee agents that the chances of winning with Trafalgar are 100 per cent when it comes to selling our extensive portfolio of 109 guided holidays for summer in Europe and Britain and 17 different trips across Asia. Crucial to our brand success is the confidence that our partners continue to place in us, so for that we extend our sincere thanks and wish them all the best for an unprecedented selling season in 2017.” The news on ‘Definite Departures’ complements the latest endeavour from Trafalgar to simplify the sales process for partners. Additional incentives to book Trafalgar include the current Early Payment Discount (EPD) of 7.5 per cent (valid until 30 March 2017) which is combinable with Trafalgar Frequent Traveller discounts, to enable another five per cent savings. On many trips, young travellers (5-17 years old) enjoy up to 10 per cent when accompanying an adult, and solo travellers can save by pairing up with a fellow traveller (of the same gender) in a twin room. If Trafalgar is not able find a match, then the solo traveller can stay in a single room at no extra cost.

Thomas Cook (India) Ltd. in a strategic initiative to expand India’s travel market, has conceptualised an annual property, “The Grand Indian Holiday Sale”, carefully timed to coincide with the peak booking window for summer vacations- India’s largest holiday season. The focused intent to catalyse holiday demand is delivered via a range of specially curated offers and discounts targeting India’s quintessential ‘value seeker’. This intense 10 day sale offers India’s travellers a range of attractive deals and discounts on both domestic and international bookings, covering flights, hotels and holiday packages. To capture its diversity of customers, digitally native and retail, and ensure convenience and easy access, “The Grand Indian Holiday Sale”, is available across Thomas Cook India’s omnichannel network – its online platforms (mobile & website), call centers & extensive offline outlets. Thomas Cook India’s ‘The Great Indian Holiday Sale’ extends across the company’s portfolio of India and International destinations and will be promoted via an intense marketing blitz across outdoor, print and digital over a two week period, across key metros of Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad. Abraham Alapatt, President & Group Head – Marketing, Service Quality, Financial Services & Innovation, Thomas Cook India said, “The Grand Indian Holiday Sale’’ has been conceptualized as a powerful annual property making holidays affordable for every Indian. The initiative is designed to leverage the critical booking period for India’s peak vacation season with exciting deals, thus driving demand and conversions. As a pioneer in the industry, our grand sale in the travel and holiday category intends to build a strong annual property that Indian travellers look forward to every year.” He added, “In addition to the range of attractive …

Sports events travel company, Cutting Edge has been appointed as the exclusive sales agent of Switzerland-based MATCH Hospitality in India for the sale of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Official Hospitality Programme. The Mumbai-based company had earlier partnered with the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa and 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. Mayank Khandwala, President, Cutting Edge, says, “We will bring sports fans in India closer to the most coveted football competition in the world by providing fans with the opportunity to purchase ticket-inclusive hospitality packages to the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well as offering a comprehensive range of travel packages including accommodation, transportation and even sightseeing.” Jaime Byrom, Executive Chairman, MATCH Hospitality, adds, “We know that Cutting Edge are our best partners to open the door to an Indian travel market ready for the extraordinary experiences promised by this exceptional FIFA World Cup environment.” MATCH Hospitality is the exclusive rights holder of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia Official Hospitality Programme and is the only company worldwide that has been officially appointed by FIFA to promote and sell, either directly or via its global network of sales agents, official commercial hospitality packages including guaranteed match tickets.

Internet Moguls, a leading tourism and hospitality focussed digital marketing agency, is coming up with one of its kind on-the-job learning programme – Winners Tribe. It is an advanced and comprehensive programme for learning digital marketing for working professionals and people interested to make a career in Digital. Winners Tribe is a broad programme which will enable one to learn, conceptualise, strategise, execute and be a master in digital learning. The course has 21 Modules which will be covered in 80 hours. Apart from training students, freshers and entrepreneurs this programme is also focused on providing training to the working professionals. On the launch, Avijit Arya, Chief Mogul(Founder) at Internet Moguls, said, “In the year 2017, we are witnessing an increased demand for specialised talents with special impetus on upskilling. However, this space is ever evolving and talent needs to be upto-date with the new trends. Therefore, we at Internet Moguls believe that theoretical knowledge alone in digital marketing is not sufficient. One needs to be abreast with the latest trends and follow the drill practically. Our latest initiative called ‘Winners Tribe’  is an attempt to fill the gap from theoretical to practical knowledge. We aim to impart advanced skills to not just freshers but to working professionals as well who are keen to pursue this stream. The distance between having no job or a disappointing job to getting your dream job is eventually about having the right knowledge about it. As it works in golf, when you shift your grip merely by  two inches, the shot lands up right on the target. In the same way, I promise to change people’s lives by teaching them the right lesson to …

Trafalgar is calling on agents to be part of the revolution in guided holidays and join the journey to even greater success, with the launch of its Trafalgar Academy. The holiday operator has unveiled its inaugural e-learning programme, specially created to help agents increase their earnings and make selling more fun. The Trafalgar Academy empowers industry partners with its interactive guidance on how to sell, as opposed to what to sell, and upon completion of each course they are further equipped to learn, earn and travel more. The initial launch phase of the Trafalgar Academy is available now and invites users to discover ‘The Trafalgar Difference’. Following in close succession in the coming months are ‘Converting Opportunities Into Success’ and ‘It’s Lifestyle Not Features That Matter’, with additional courses forthcoming as the programme gathers momentum. Agents registering for the Academy will uncover insights on increasing conversion and commission, as well as enjoying exclusive travel offers. Commenting on the brand e-learning launch, Trafalgar (Asia) President Nicholas Lim says, “We are excited to introduce our latest industry initiative, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to providing our valued partners with all the tools they need for sales success. For those choosing to become Trafalgar experts, they can look forward to seeing conversion, commission and retention rates rise.”

The Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau recently conducted a roadshow for the travel trade and wedding planners in Mumbai, with an aim to increase footfalls to the emerald island. The roadshow saw an attendance of 27 participants from Sri Lanka comprising leading travel companies and hoteliers besides the national carrier, SriLankan Airlines. Speaking about India as a market, Madubhani Perera, Director of Marketing, Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau, who attended and addressed the gathering said, “We have seen an annual rise in arrival numbers from India over the years. The roadshow was conducted to increase destination awareness and highlight the new attractions in Sri Lanka. We hope this event will add a positive impact and further increase Indian footfall in Sri Lanka. We have now planned several promotional activities for Indian markets.” Apart from the roadshow in Mumbai, the SLTPB has plans of conducting roadshows in Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune later in the year. The promotion plans for 2017 also include joint promotions with international partners and a digital marketing campaign targeting potential Indian travellers. Sri Lanka received a 12.8 per cent increase in Indian tourist arrivals in 2016 and are expecting an even better double digit increase in 2017.

Having grown its annual roadshow from five cities to six now, Mumbai-based U&I Holidays is keen on adding Tier-II cities from next year. Shyam Upadhyay, Director, U&I Holidays, says, “This time, we wanted to include a new city so we added Kolkata, which to our surprise was a hit. Most of the participants found good potential there. Every city got more than 100 attendees but Kolkata was at 150 which is really good for a city like that.” The six cities were Chennai, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Delhi, Ahmedabad, and Mumbai. The roadshow had 32 participants from Bali of which 31 were hotels plus one caterer. Speaking about Kolkata, Ashish Indulkar, Director, U&I Holidays, adds, “Although we have been doing some activities in Kolkata, we never ventured full-fledge into the market. We were very happy with the turnout. It is a very interesting market because there are whispers that AirAsia India is planning to launch a direct Kolkata-Bali flight via Kuala Lumpur.” Upadhyay adds that next year’s roadshow will continue to travel to six cities but a new set of cities which will include a Tier-II city like Nagpur, Jaipur or Pune. U&I Holidays sent 15,000 Indian pax to Bali last year. “In 2015, it was 12,000, and this year we are expecting bigger numbers. We are focusing more on MICE as well,” Indulkar adds. U&I has its own office in Bali and they are also a DMC for Maldives. Last year, U&I Holidays entered the wellness segment by opening Ashoka Spa outlet in Mumbai. It opened another one in Bali in December 2016. It will now focus on hotel spas in Mumbai and parts of Maharashtra and are already in talks …

The Board of Thomas Cook (India) at its meeting on February 14, 2017, announced the elevation of Mahesh Iyer as Chief Executive Officer. Prior to his elevation, Iyer was Chief Operating Officer of the company. He assumes direct responsibility for the company’s P&L, day to day operations, strategic planning, management of key relationships, as well as building a sustainable growth oriented organisation that maximises value for all its stakeholders. Madhavan Menon, Chairman & Managing Director, Thomas Cook (India) said, “I am delighted with Mahesh’s elevation as Chief Executive Officer. A Thomas Cook veteran of 22 years, he will now lead Thomas Cook India. He joins the leaders of the group’s other travel namely Dipak Deva of TCI-Sita, Vishal Suri of SOTC and Maria Ng of Kuoni Hong Kong who will have the freedom in managing their respective companies and will report to me as part of the larger group structure.”