Creative continues fight back against OTA "gorilla"

Creative continues fight back against OTA "gorilla"
By admin


Creative Holidays has launched a range of new-look brochures in the latest phase of its plan to improve the fortunes of the brand.

Management hope the redesign will set the business apart from competitors as it battles to stay relevant in the face of vertical integration and increasing competition from online travel agents.

Promoting itself as the ‘travel agents’ travel agent’, Creative has introduced a number of features in the new magazine-style brochures, including DIY package deals and a Creative Club which offers value-added deals.

The Travel Corporation chief executive Brett Tollman admitted to Travel Today that Creative needed to undergo a transformation to keep pace with online competitors.

“Every business has its ups and downs and wholesale FIT is no different,” he said. “The last couple of years we have worked hard to refresh and reinvent the brand and these new brochures are better than ever. They clearly highlight our USP’s and our points of difference.”

Asked why Creative has struggled in recent times, Tollman said: “Getting thousand pound gorillas like Expedia coming into this market and the other OTA’s has been part of it. And in the last eight months we have seen a softening in domestic bookings, and to Bali.

“There are always so many issues, from local market conditions to new competition entering the space.”

He acknowledged that vertical integration also had an impact but stressed Helloworld and Flight Centre remain “great partners”.

“I wouldn’t say it has been a struggle but it hasn’t been fantastic. If your business isn’t growing you always want to do better,” Tollman said. “We are preferred and as long as we stay preferred then we are in there with a shot. We have spent a lot of time, money and creativity to try and make sure that what we bring out is more compelling than it has been, and that we have a point of difference.”

The Travel Corporation Australia chief executive John Weeks, added: "Travel agents also want to see choice for the consumer. It’s fine to talk of vertical integration but travel agents want to deliver choice, and we certainly do that with all our brands.”

Technology is key to Creative’s evolution, Tollman said, with the investment of “millions of dollars” testament to the company’s faith in the FIT sector.

“It reinforces that we believe in the space and that there is a future in it,” he said. “Our general philosophy for any of our brands is that the easier it is to connect with us and book with us as a retail agent then the more likely we are to get their business which is why we feel we have to invest in technology.”

The introduction of new technology, powered by UK-based Travel Studios, has been 18 months in the making and is “getting close”, with June the likely launch date, he said.

The launch was flagged last April by former MD Paul McGrath who described the move off Calypso onto a web-based platform as the most critical transformation in the brand's 30-year history.

Tollman said resources for the travel agent will include the ability to book air "seamlessly" with a user-friendly windows type environment providing "rich content".

More dynamic packaging options are likely to become available later this year during phase two and three of the technology roll out.

Meanwhile, consumers will be able to book through Creative’s new website although Tollman stressed it was not planning an “APT-style Australian Open” promotion, a reference to APT's recent advertising campaign during the tennis Grand Slam in Melbourne.

Creative has always been trade centric “and will always be trade centric,” he argued.

“We believe the value of the travel agent is essential for many people. A travel agent helps with research, provides peace of mind and is always there, as opposed to an OTA,” Tollman said, in a dig at online competitors.

Turning to the new brochure range, Creative’s new managing director, James Gaskell, said the wholesaler has moved away from endless lists of hotels and tried to inspire agents and consumers through imagery, staff tips and destination guides.

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