Creative: No direct sell plan – yet

Creative: No direct sell plan – yet
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Creative Holidays will put all its focus into developing an agent-friendly technology platform before potentially opening up its product to bookings direct from the public, managing director Paul McGrath has said.

In the second of a two-part interview with Travel Today, McGrath stressed the overriding priority was to provide a cutting edge online system for consultants that enabled the wholesaler to compete in an increasingly competitive market.

Only once that was bedded down would the company contemplate making its product available for consumers to book direct.

Creative will move off the Calypso booking system and shift to a web-based platform in November in a major technology project revealed by Travel Today last week.

It will include a far wider range of product, richer content, dynamic pricing and the ability for agents to dynamically package.

McGrath said that while consumers will be able to search for the same product as agents, direct bookings will not form part of the technology overhaul – at least not for now.

“It’s not in our strategy yet, we are still focused on pushing the agency site,” McGrath said. “We need to nail the agency part of the equation first and make sure we deliver that to the agencies and the industry before we really consider anything else.”

McGrath rejected suggestions Creative needed to evolve further by going direct in addition to working with the trade.

Opening up direct bookings now would be too much, too soon, he argued.

“All of our business is with travel agents so we have to deliver, we have to provide something that is unique and special for them. That is our main goal,” he insisted. “After that we’ll have to think [about direct] but it’s just not on our radar at the moment.

“Dealing with consumers is complex and we don’t have the skills or resources to engage and deal with the public. I don’t have res consultants. I have consultants who can assist travel agents. It is a different skill set.

“You also can’t change too much in the business straight up. There is only so much the business can bear. We need to stick to what we do really well and when you’re going through such a massive change, like a change in technology platform, then you need to focus on your core business, and that is working with travel agents.”

McGrath said Creative “will have a consumer offering online” with prices and product all available. But the fulfilment will be through agents.

Creative will also enable agents to select a travel agency and to search on an agency in their area.

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