Agents key but need to "add value"

Agents key but need to "add value"
By admin


Travel agents remain at the heart of UK hopes to increase arrivals from Australia but work still needs to be done to move tourists beyond London, tourism leaders have said.

VisitBritain chairman Christopher Rodrigues said he “got the sense” from discussions with Australian retailers that Aussies still view the UK as purely London.

He said he was surprised that more open jaw tickets are not sold in Australia and admitted it was up to VisitBritain to educate both consumers and agents of the possibilities.

The Qantas alliance with Emirates – with whom VisitBritain this month struck a global marketing agreement – will be a pivotal factor in driving traffic to the regions, he said.

“Open jaw flights are the oldest trick in the book and I am surprised that more people are not doing it,” Rodrigues told Travel Today. “We need to do more work with the trade to show them the possibilities.”

With 75% of UK sales from Australia booked through agents, working in partnership with retailers was the central pillar of its distribution strategy, he said.

But he warned that agents need to raise their game if they are to remain successful.

It was not about simply “processing tickets” but providing a quality service and selling “dream experiences”.

“And that comes with knowledge. It’s not about selling Big Ben in London,” Rodrigues said. “We need to provide them with the product, to tell them what’s new. For agents to remain successful they need knowledge. There needs to be coalition of the willing.”

VisitBritain overseas network director Keith Beecham stressed the importance of traditional distribution channels but said agents must give consumers a reason not to book online.

“The way they can do that is to add value,” he said. "Online is how we talk to consumers but in many markets, and Australia is one, the trade is very important at the purchase point. Consumers go online, they do their research, but they still rely on traditional retail outlets.

"Of course people go online but it's still really important that our travel partners have a suite of products for their clients."

Beecham added: “I can remember maybe 10 years ago people said that within three years everyone will be online and travel agents will be dead. Well it’s a decade on and they are still here. What they have to do is add value and by participating and partnering with VisitBritain we’ll bring them exciting new product ideas.”

He said that VisitBritain was making a “global commitment” to put marketing cash on the table and run co-operative campaigns.

“We can’t do everything everywhere but if we identity partners in the industry who are prepared to cooperate to extend their product portfolio of Britain then we are going to be your best friend," he said.

Meanwhile, Beecham told buyers from Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa at Destination Britain in Bangkok that their region was becoming increasingly important for Britain.

While generating 13% of international visitors, it was contributing 28% of total spend.

“Since 2003 the number of visits has grown 30% but spend has increased 75%,” Beecham said.

One tourist from APMEA is worth three from Europe in terms of revenue and 1.5 visitors from North America.

Beecham said Britain needed to work on streamlining visa applications in some markets – or “myth-busting” false perceptions – and extending a warmer welcome to tourists if it wanted to hit its 2020 targets of attracting 40 million overseas visitors.

“We also need to find customers in emerging markets and refresh our appeal in core markets,” he added.

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