ITC numbers and sales expected to grow in 2017 - TIR · ITC numbers and sales expected to grow in 2017 BY SARAH ROBERTSON ITC numbers and sales rev- ... gral part of the product mix

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Travel Industry Review

High-end clients have high demands, read the Luxury Travel feature from page 8.

Discipline is key to balancing life as an independent, page 11.

Win with Delta & TIR!Win two economy class flights to any city in the

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Beachcomber recently took a group of agents to its Seychelles Sainte Anne Resort & Spa. The group, pictured above, enjoyed a cooking class with one of the resort chefs. Back row (l to r): Mashuda Joulay, Flight Centre Eastgate; Fiona Watermeyer, Aeroplan Travel; Tracey Trautmann, Pentravel East Rand Mall; Tamaryn Kruger, Sure Stellen-bosch Travel; Karien de Villiers, Pentravel Centurion; Justine Davies, Travel by Investec and Nikki Briant, Beachcomber Tours. Front row (l to r): Tanja de Bruyn, Simply Travel; Sandra Touzel, Pentravel Gateway; Bernadette Berriman, Pentravel Mall of Africa and Andrea Vermeulen, Pentravel Fourways Mall.

It is time to enter the Delta flight competition – final question is on page 4.

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Kulula holidays sent best wishes to the trade for the New Year and a thank you for the loyal support. Pic-tured left is the Johannes-burg team, back row (l to r): Tracey, Karen, Bongi, Benson, Moses and Lemo. Front row (l to r): Nathan, Megan, Chantelle, Bev, Mamagae, Gomo, Mosi-ma, Lucille, Michelle and Zahedah.

ITC numbers and salesexpected to grow in 2017BY SARAH ROBERTSON

ITC numbers and sales rev-enue have continued to grow this year, with the sector gen-erating between five and 35 percent of suppliers’ revenue. Although the eTravel and Travel Counsellors models consist entirely of ITCs, tra-ditional retail groups report that their affiliated ITCs still account for a relatively small portion of their total sales but that it consistently shows growth each year. Andrew Stark, Flight Cen-tre Travel Group Managing Director, said the group had 55 of what it calls Flight Centre Associates. Although small, Mr. Stark reported they had shown 100 percent growth over the past two years and now contributed five percent of the group’s sales. The company aims to grow associate numbers to more than 100 by 2018. eTravel has a portfolio of 200 ITCs and the group ex-

pects to have achieved sales growth of between four and eight percent for 2016. Jo Fraser, Club Travel Fran-chise Director, also reported growth from the company’s independents, which now number 330. “Our franchise division has grown by 30 percent this year, with ITCs generating 32 percent of Club Travel’s revenue,” she said. Monica Hor n, Har vey World Travel Product Man-ager, said it was difficult to measure the exact growth in ITC business due to indi-vidually-managed revenue reports but it has definitely seen an increase in business from the group’s 50 ITCs. Suppliers also reported growth from independents. George Argyropoulos, Cruis-es International Chief Execu-tive Officer, revealed ITCs now contribute approximate-ly 15 percent of the compa-ny’s sales revenue. “Selling cruises in an inte-

gral part of the product mix sold by ITCs. Its high rev-enue/low volume proposition allows ITCs to achieve high revenues without the need to hire additional staff to cope with the volume of work, al-lowing them to keep costs down and increase profits by working from home or a small office,” he explained. The growth trend is ex-pected to continue, due to reduced overheads and the flexible lifestyle that the ITC model provides. Ms. Horn explained that, as economic conditions wors-

continued on page 2

SAT reveals strategyunder its new CEOBY SARAH ROBERTSON

SISA Ntshona, SA Tourism’s new Chief Executive Officer, said last month that the cur-rent tourism strategy was in line with the 2013 National Development Plan and prom-ised it would substantially grow tourist arrivals. “Tourism currently con-tributes nine percent to our GDP but the sector has been identified as having the po-tential to contribute much more in the long term. The commodity market has tra-ditionally been South Af-rica’s biggest income gen-erator but as South Africa is effectively a price taker in this market, we have been put

under substantial pressure from the finance minister to grow tourism further in order to diversify our GDP earn-ings… It is vital that we not only grow tourist numbers but also contribute positively to economic growth in South Africa…” While a target for 2017 had not yet been finalised, Mr. Ntshona said double digit growth in the high teens was an achievable figure. SAT’s long term strategy is to grow tourist arrivals by an addi-tional five-million per an-num over the next five years. Four of the five-million additional tourists are ex-pected to be from interna-

continued on page 2

News Digest

2 TIR Southern Africa • December 2016

“Our franchise division has grown by 30 percent this year, with ITCs generating 32 percent of Club Travel’s revenue.” – Jo Fraser, Club Travel

en, overheads would contin-ue to put pressure on busi-nesses, making the option of a home-based ITC more appealing. Mr. Stark advised that FCTG had created a dedi-cated support team for their associates in anticipation of future growth. Gaynor Neill, Cruise Va-cations General Manager, said the ITC sector had huge growth potential as high-end clients tended to follow a preferred consultant who was able to meet their needs wherever they were working. Ms. Fraser added that most of Club Travel’s growth had come f rom ITCs moving

ITC numbers and salesexpected to grow in 2017

... strategy under new CEOtional markets and one-mil-lion from regional markets. Five-million tourists ar-rived in South Africa be-tween January and June this year, compared to 4.3-mil-lion during the same period last year. The country has seen positive growth in ar-rivals across all provinces and a 24.8 percent increase in total tourist direct spend increasing to R39-billion for January to June. Mr. Ntshona admitted that much of this growth could be attributed to recovery after a dismal year for tourism in 2015 due to the negative ef-fects of immigration act im-plementation and the Ebola virus scare. “The latest fig-ures really reflect an average growth of about three per-cent when compared to tour-ist numbers over the last few years. This is in line with our

continued from page 1


from other consortiums over to Club but that the group was now also being contact-ed by employed consultants wanting to work from home to have flexibility to be with their families. Annemarie Lexow, Travel

Vision Sales and Marketing Manager, predicted the ITC sector would grow in future but the growth may have an expiry date. “Current ITC agents have come through the ranks of traditional high street retail offices, who have built up a following of cli-ents. I am not sure if the mil-lennials will follow the same

GDP growth but we should really aim to achieve a mini-mum of four percent average growth in line with present world tourism growth,” he maintained. While the majority of tour-ists to South Africa are still coming from Europe and the US, Asia shows the strongest growth at 40.7 percent, fol-lowed by the Americas at 17.5 percent. One of the challenges identified by SAT is decid-ing where to most effectively use the limited promotion-al budget to market South Africa. Currently it has pro-grammes in about 30 coun-tries which only covers 10 percent of countries with po-tential. SAT will now focus on de-veloping markets in Asia and Australasia which are show-ing strong growth. Some Af-rican destinations with high

Flight Centre launches new brand THE Flight Centre Travel Group launched its Stage and Screen brand last month. The new division will focus on the sport and entertainment industries. Robyn van Staden, Gen-eral Manager for Stage and Screen South Africa, said these industries had different re-quirements to other travellers. “Sports teams have large

path,” she said. New technologies geared towards the ITCs are also being developed. Mr. Wolff said GDS systems were slow-ly but surely beginning to enhance their online booking tools to suit the ITC market.

And Ms. Lexow said Travel Vi-sion communicated with ITCs through

webinars. Ms. Fraser agreed developing technology would lead to growth and said the advanced technologies em-ployed in Club Travel’s inter-nal systems such as Fare Star International, the Club API aggregator and Trip Case Itinerary Management gave their ITCs an edge. Mr. Argyropoulos said

spend per tourist will also be targeted. An example is An-gola, whose citizens have the highest spend of any tourists visiting South Africa. Indaba will remain a three-day midweek show again next year due to positive feedback from exhibitors and interna-tional participants who found the midweek schedule to be more productive. Another focus is the de-velopment of local tourism, safety and quality assurance. “South Africa does have its challenges but so do other countries in the world,” said Mr. Ntshona, “We need to talk about positive things when interacting with poten-tial tourists rather than the negatives. Brazil, for exam-ple, is better known for the samba and the beauty of their beaches rather than for the crime which is also a chal-lenge of theirs.”

Pentravel recently held its year-end Penpalace awards in Johannesburg to recognise its top performing employees and industry partners. Chief Executive Officer, Sean Hough, pictured above, along with the group’s top 10 consultants (l to r): Jeanetta Kearney, Salome Douglas, Deirdre de Swardt, Bridget Marshal, Marelize van Zyl, Francesca Galassi, Sandri Jones, El-Marie Pretorius, Mel Tester and, in front, Number One Con-sultant, Kait Edward.

Cruises International ena-bled ITCs to manage their sales completely online and provided its Shipmates trade support system which offers

ITCs access to training, mar-keting and sales tools, as well as quizzes and games which help consultants gain knowl-edge while earning prizes.

The industry consensus seems to be that, despite a tough economy, ITC num-bers and sales revenue will continue to grow in 2017.

amounts of luggage... and they often comprise a large number of business class trav-ellers requiring group treat-ment. Stage and Screen is able to negotiate special ex-tra baggage rates with travel providers and source various options for transporting large amounts of equipment,” she said. “Many performers are ad-

amant about having their in-struments in the aircraft with them and not in the hold. Not only are there large amounts of additional luggage, but also odd dimensions. “For touring celebrities privacy is essential…” The Stage and Screen brand has already been op-erating in Australia, the UK, US and Canada.

Seasons’ greetings from World Leisure Holidays’ Johan-nesburg sales team. Pictured (l to r): Tanya Viljoen; Lauren Blaine; Lesley Smith and Mario Baccani.

Briefly.Delta Air Lines will debut its Delta Pre-mium ser v ice on select international flights in late 2017. It will feature more space, elevated ser-vice and upgraded amenities . Take a 360° tour at:news.delta.com.

News Digest


Enter to winwith Delta & TIR!DELTA Air Lines, in conjunction with TIR, is providing two confirmed return tickets to a city of your choice in the Continental US served by Delta to a lucky travel agent and partner. Enter by answering three easy questions from the October, November and December 2016 issues of TIR. The answers come from a news item related to Delta in each issue. Entries must be submitted online at www.tir.co.za between December 1 – 31, 2016. All three answers will be required on the en-try form, so make note of your answers from each issue – TIR has an online archive of past editions available at www.tir.co.za if you missed either of the previous two issues. The winner will be announced in the February 2017 issue of TIR. Below is the final question…

*Competition only open to retail travel agency consultants and staff.Q What is the name of Delta’s new premium

economy service to be introduced late next year?

Bartender senton training course

Waiters briefedon daily specials

Special dealnegotiated onnew table linen

Loan for outdoorfurniture approved

Railing treatedfor rust

Wheelchair accessto patio upgraded

As a hospitality establishment, we understand that the phrase “summer holidays” hasa very different meaning for you. Instead of being the season of relaxation, it is thebusiest and often the most stressful time of your year. And that’s why we’re here to help.

The Tourism Grading Council of South Africa offers you a variety of services and benefi tsthat can help equip you for the peak season. These offerings include funding, exclusivediscounts, legal and labour advice, access to our Market Place as well as a network ofquality CVs – ultimately helping you enjoy the summer as much as your guests will.

Get graded today, and let us be your travel companion on your journey to success.Visit www.tourismgrading.co.za or contact us on [email protected]

TOO MUCH ONYOUR PLATEBecause we know that for you,holidays are hard work.

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Travel agents urged tocheck ICE statementsASATA has urged members to check ICE statements daily to ensure the Interna-tional Air Transport Asso-ciation has received payment and allocated it to the correct billing. This is to avoid un-necessary defaults or being blacklisted. One travel agent, Rachael Penaluna, from Sure Mari-time, recently saw her ticket-ing terminated as a result of a misallocated payment. Ms. Penaluna reported that she had paid her weekly bill-

BY SHANNON LATIMER ing on the days the billings came out. But she received a call to say she had short-paid and was given until the end of the next business day to pay. However ticketing was terminated the same day. IATA ultimately admit-ted funds received had been misallocated, the technical default had been withdrawn and her account reactivated. “The problem with IATA is that they do not facilitate discussion with agents. We are not entitled to discuss any billing queries with them and they give us a very short

period of time to rectify any discrepancies. The only way to communicate with them is through the IATA portal, which takes ages and often the person on the other side does not understand the dis-cussion. No agent on the por-tal can make a decision; it always has to be escalated to ‘the team’ which can take days,” said Ms. Penaluna. IATA misallocated the agency’s billings two weeks in a row and it was only recti-fied after Ms. Penaluna noti-fied them through checking the ICE statement and in-forming them through the portal. The problem was ex-acerbated by IATA having no representation in South Africa. “ASATA members need to know that even if you have made your BSP payment on time and breathed a sigh of relief, it is not enough. You need to check your ICE state-ment daily to make sure pay-ment was received and in-deed, allocated to the correct billing,” she said.

Pictured above: A group of local travel agents were recently hosted by kulula holidays on a Mauritius edu-cational to visit a range of three- to five-star hotels — and they didn’t leave home with-out an issue of TIR! Back row (l to r): Janine Johansson, iGo Travel; Kunal Ghurbhurrun, Maritim Crystals Hotel Sales Executive; Rebeccca Bryer, kulula holidays; Shelley Jor-dan, American Express; Fatima Lakhie, Acquired Travel; Liesl-Mari Mcilwraith, kulula holidays; Elizabeth Simelane, eBucks and Azigi, Maurtourco. Front row (l to r): Felicity Loibenbock, Trip Travel; Addelice Tekane, kulula holidays; Margaret Siyachitema, Tour Africa Travel; Nicole Vorster, Harvey World Highway; Tinu Hargovan, kulula holidays; Shelley Vey, Sure Giltedge Travel; Candice Giloi, True Blue Travel and Chantal Consul, Amazing Holidays.

Fastjet launches flightbundle for frequent flyersFASTJET has introduced FlexiTrip, a f light bundle which allows frequent f ly-ers to purchase 10 one-way flights at a fixed price, inclu-sive of taxes and fees. Flights can be booked up to six hours before depar-ture and the bundle is valid for travel within a year of purchase. The flights can be used by any of three passen-gers nominated at the time of making the booking.

“Fastjet has responded to the needs of its frequent f liers, many who have last-minute business meeting re-quests or spontaneously want to visit family and friends...” said Nico Bezuidenhout, fastjet Chief Executive Of-ficer. “This added service offer-ing makes it possible for our frequent flyers to plan regu-lar trips more efficiently and also budget better due to the

fixed ticket price,” he added. The product is available for flights in Tanzania on all routes between Dar es Sa-laam, Kilimanjaro, Mwanza, Mbeya and Zanzibar at a cost of R15,000, and within Zim-babwe between Harare and Victoria Falls for R11,250. It is also available for Ha-rare – Johannesburg and Vic-toria Falls – Johannesburg at a cost of R22,500, inclusive of two free check-in bags.

AIRBNB has thrown down its biggest challenge yet to the established travel agency industry, with the launch of Trips. The new feature expands beyond accommodat ion, which already diverts a sig-nificant amount of business from travel agents, to include Exper iences, Places and Homes. More significantly, Airbnb has plans to expand into

flights and other services. Cape Town is one of the first cities worldwide to be included in Trips. Others in-clude Los Angeles , San Francisco, Miami, Detroit, Havana, London, Paris, Flor-ence, Tokyo and Seoul. 500 Exper iences have been included already. Places features guidebooks, meetings with locals and audio walks. Homes is its existing ac-commodation product, which now enables booking of a total land package.

Industry faces Airbnb onslaughtBY JOHN WARDALL No introductory date has

been announced for f lights and other ground services but that will mark the launch of Airbnb as a total online travel agency.

Etihad introducesnew DreamlinerETIHAD Airways has in-t roduced a Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the Johan-nesburg – Abu Dhabi route. The new aircraft started to operate on the daily service last month. The new aircraft features 28 Business Studios and

271 Economy Smart seats. Business Studios feature a fully-flat 80.5-inch bed with in-seat massage. Full mobile and Wi-Fi service is available with USB and power points located at every seat. Peter Baumgartner, Eti-had’s Chief Executive Of-

ficer, said the decision to up-grade to the Dreamliner on the Johannesburg route was to meet the growing num-bers of business and leisure passengers travelling to and from South Africa.

Peter Baumgartner

Club Med launched its first ‘Club Med Shop in Shop’ in the Western Cape at Harvey World Travel Blue Planet Somerset Mall. The ‘shop’ has a Club Med specialist and clients can use a virtual reality oculus headset to experience the group’s resorts. Pic-tured at the launch (l to r): Marco Cristofoli, COO: Leisure, BidTravel; Ina Schlothauer, Co-owner HWT Blue Planet; Norma Templeton, Co-owner HWT Blue Planet; Seymour Brugger, Indirect Sales Manager Club Med and Olivier Hannaert, GM Club Med SA.

MSC launchesworld cruiseMSC Cruises has opened sales for its first world cruise on the MSC Magnifica. The 119-day voyage depar t s Genoa on January 5, 2019, visiting 32 countries. Round-trip embarkation ports include Civitavecchia, Genoa, Marseille and Barce-lona. Highlights include New Zealand, Fiji, the Maldives and a tour of nine off-the-beaten-path Caribbean is-lands, three full days in Ha-waii and San Francisco and two in Los Angeles.

Bartender senton training course

Waiters briefedon daily specials

Special dealnegotiated onnew table linen

Loan for outdoorfurniture approved

Railing treatedfor rust

Wheelchair accessto patio upgraded

As a hospitality establishment, we understand that the phrase “summer holidays” hasa very different meaning for you. Instead of being the season of relaxation, it is thebusiest and often the most stressful time of your year. And that’s why we’re here to help.

The Tourism Grading Council of South Africa offers you a variety of services and benefi tsthat can help equip you for the peak season. These offerings include funding, exclusivediscounts, legal and labour advice, access to our Market Place as well as a network ofquality CVs – ultimately helping you enjoy the summer as much as your guests will.

Get graded today, and let us be your travel companion on your journey to success.Visit www.tourismgrading.co.za or contact us on [email protected]

TOO MUCH ONYOUR PLATEBecause we know that for you,holidays are hard work.

100

2107

1JB

/E

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EDITORIAL DIRECTORJohn Wardall

MANAGING EDITORSarah CornwellTel: 021 789 0053Mob: 072 772 [email protected]

ASSOCIATE EDITORDominic Wardall

CONTRIBUTORSRichard HolmesSarah RobertsonKate ElsShannon Latimer

PUBLISHERJohn Wardall

ADVERTISINGDominic WardallTel: 021 789 0053Mob: 082 620 [email protected]

Andrew WatsonTel: 021 447 1724Mob: 071 677 [email protected]

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ADMINISTRATIONNerina Nicholson

HEAD OFFICE9 Ruby TerraceNoordhoekCape TownPO Box 745Noordhoek, 7979Tel: 021 789 0053

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THEBAD THEUGLY

Industry ViewPassenger satisfaction depends on technology

Fears over the decline of the GDSs due to initiatives by the airlines, which appeared to many to put them in jeopardy, appear unfounded as they continue to develop more trade-friendly solutions.

Predictions that foreign visitor numbers to the US will plummet following the elec-tion are pretty unlikely. Tourists heading for Disney World are more interested in seeing Donald Duck than avoiding Donald Trump.

United Continental is the latest airline to hit economy passengers with extra charg-es for previously standard features. The usual, disingenuous rationale: “Customers have told us they want more choice”. Re-ally? That isn’t a choice they want.

CONGRATULATIONS to Candice Giloi, from True Blue Surf & Island Travel, who was spotted with her TIR in front of the highest waterfall in Mauritius.Candice is the winner of an American Tourister Lightrax suitcase, valued at R1,999!

Get ready to travel in style with the sporty looking American Tourister Lightrax range. Loaded with func-tional features, this lightweight luggage of spinners (from 2.6kg for the 55cm bag) incorporates a new kind of luggage lock to prevent any movement of the zippers by locking them securely into the body of the bag, preventing any-one breaking into your luggage through the zipper while in transit. Available in black, tur-quoise and raspberry.

Airlines and airports making the most of innovations in technology will have a competitive edge, according to results of a passenger survey by the International Air Transport Associa-tion. IATA said the feedback proved travellers were happy to share personal information if it meant fewer hassles…

Business challenges will continue in 2017AS we reach the end of the year, it must be admitted that this has not been a banner year for business. There have been ups and downs and some have been doing much better than others. But most travel agents and tour whole-salers have been feeling the pinch. Unless there is a last min-ute surge in bookings, even the end of year holidays will not provide the usual icing on the cake. The cake did not meet expectations. It is not a worldwide phe-nomenon. There have been political issues and security concerns in a number of usu-ally popular tourist destina-tions but that has not deterred

markets in other parts of the world from travelling to al-ternative places. As inflation has been neg-ligible in other markets, ours has continued to climb and, forget official figures, real in-f lation for the South Afri-can population which forms the vast bulk of international travel prospects has been much higher. The rand has f luctuated erratically all year, with sharp spikes defining the perpetual political crises and social un-rest, which continue to plague us more than 20 years after the majority got the vote and the ANC came to power. And there seems no end in sight. Price rises rationalised by

rand declines never get re-versed when the exchange rate improves. A lack of confidence in the economy and the political di-rection of the country deters investment, makes people nervous for their jobs and the future and causes many to put the brakes on discretion-ary spending such as travel. The middle class, the for-gotten group most impacted by tax increases and costs associated with formal hous-ing, motor vehicles, school-ing and utilities, is under great pressure. Even credit, on which a disproportionate number of South Africans depend on, particularly, dis-cretionary spend for which

they pay extortionate inter-est, is losing its appeal as ser-vicing the debt becomes un-manageable. And this is the group on which travel suppli-ers and retailers depend. High earners too are now reviewing their travel plans as many have seen their in-vestments flagging. Travel packages to all parts of the world, including Eu-rope, Asia, America and the Indian Ocean, which often provide by far the best val-ue for families, have seen an overall drop in sales, for some in terms of customer num-bers and others in terms of price. This is a bitter pill for retailers, for whom they pro-vide high-return sales.

While airline sales to some destinations have risen, al-though yield is often down, many customers have been searching for cheaper ground arrangements and turning to providers as Airbnb, down-graded hotels or staying with friends and relatives. Next year may well provide little relief. If South Africa’s economic prospects are them-selves downgraded by one or more of the ratings agencies, the rand, jobs, investment and sentiment could all take a further beating. Neither have we seen the end of political turmoil and social unrest. We are in for another challenging year. Enjoy the holidays and fingers crossed for 2017!

IATA’s 2016 Global Passenger Survey gath-ered information from 7,000 air travellers of every age, class and gender in more than 140 countries. The findings showed passen-gers were looking to technology to improve their travel experience. Passengers want to be able to do more of the traditional airport process off-airport by taking advantage of digital self-service op-tions. In 2016, the percentage of passengers who checked-in online and used a mobile boarding pass increased to 71 percent. 33 percent want to self-tag their luggage and 39 percent would use electronic bag tags. A considerable number of passengers would like to travel to the airport baggage-free: 26 percent want their luggage picked

up from home and delivered to the airport and 24 percent wanted to be able to drop off their luggage away from the airport. 61 percent expressed interest in tracking their bags throughout the journey. IATA said airlines were facilitating this by adopting baggage resolution 753, which tracks bags at major journey points, such as loading and unloading. “Passengers want to arrive at the air-port ready to fly… If the industry meets its internal programme goals, then by 2020, 80 percent of global passengers will have access to more self-service options,” said Pierre Charbonneau, IATA’s Director, Pas-senger and Facilitation. Passengers identified airport security and border control processes as two of their biggest pain points. The top frustrations

were the wide variation in security screen-ing procedures at different airports and the intrusiveness of having to remove personal items. A majority of passengers only want to pass through security and border control once. “With 40 percent of passengers choosing their route based on airport transfer experi-ence, airlines and airports can’t afford to ignore passengers’ wishes,” IATA said. Passengers want airlines and airports to offer them a more customised travel ex-perience, with 85 percent willing to provide more personal data to make this happen. Airlines and airports that make the most use of technology innovations will ultimate-ly edge forward, IATA maintained. Passen-

gers want to be fully connected onboard, preferably through their own devices; 51 percent of passengers, a 12 percent in-crease on 2015, would prefer to use their own devices onboard to access entertainment op-tions. “With availability of Wi-Fi connectivity continuing to have a direct impact on the overall air travel experience, adopting the latest onboard Wi-Fi technol-

ogy remains an effective way for airlines to distinguish their brand,” IATA said. Nick Careen, Senior Vice President for Airport, Passenger, Cargo and Security, added: “Passengers want convenience and quick results with their bookings and check-in, a seamless and secure airport experience and uniquely tailored experiences through-out their journey. They are ready to embrace the benefits of new technology when it comes to enhancing their travel experience. Airlines and airports that recognise this and provide passengers with easy-to-use mo-bile services, self-service options and one-stop security checks will improve the travel experience and passenger satisfaction.”

Read the full GPS report here:www.iata.org/gps

>

TIR Southern Africa • December 2016 7

Merry Christmas from Beachcomber Groups and Ad-min. Front row (l to r): Lee-Ann, Janine, Raffi, Lizelle and Marlene. Back row (l to r): Nina, Sandra, Anlerie, Zainny and Carine.

Demand remains for Mauritius luxuryBY RICHARD HOLMES

LUXURY resorts in Mauritius are reporting firm demand from South African travellers, with value rather than price the decid-ing factor. “Luxury travellers are still willing to pay for their comfort,” said Karen Camm, kulula holi-days Product Manager – Indian Ocean Islands, and while there was price sensitivity in the mar-ket, “we are still seeing a modest demand for luxury product in Mauritius”. For Ms. Camm, the St. Regis Mauritius in the south-west of the island is a hot property for luxury clients thanks to its Manor House Ocean View Suite and St. Regis butler service. Constance Belle Mare Plage, on the east coast, is also popu-lar due to its facilities, including access to two championship golf courses and two spas. The resort reopened in July after an exten-sive refurbishment. Its sister re-sort, Constance Le Prince Mau-rice, is particularly sought-after by the luxury market thanks to its food and wine. With 25,000 bottles in the cellar, the resort has the largest wine cellar anywhere in the Indian Ocean. “There is definitely still a de-mand for top luxury product,” agreed Sue Howells, Constance Hotels & Resorts South Africa representative at African Syn-ergy. “Those that appreciate the finer things in life will often rec-ognise the quality and value of their overall experience, which still takes preference over price.” Although the luxury end of the market is affected by exchange rate volatility, “a holiday to Mau-ritius offers exceptional value for money”, said Joanne Visagie, Beachcomber Tours Sales & Mar-keting Manager. “The all-inclu-sive offers at Beachcomber are also a big draw card as people can budget well in advance.” The key message is that high-end travellers are willing to spend, but want to see value in the level of accommodation, services and added extras. “Luxury spend has been cut, but we find that these consumers do not forego their annual family holiday,” noted Alexis Bekker, LUX* Resorts and Hotels – Head of Sales & Marketing South Af-rica & Africa. “However, they do need to be certain that they are receiving the best value and qual-ity for their spend.” “But luxury means different things from person to person,” said Ms. Bekker. “We focus on perfecting the priorities, while peppering the environment and your experience with pop-up treats and uplifting moments.” For LUX* that means including surprises to make a stay more memorable, from cinema screens on the beach to ice cream ven-dors. Guests staying in club suites at Beachcomber’s Dinarobin have access to the Club at Dinarobin, plus a dedicated concierge ser-vice, complimentary early check-in and late checkout, as well as complimentary food and bever-

age inclusions. At Beachcomber’s Royal Palm, the emphasis is on be-spoke personalised service from the beach to the din-ner table. Guests at Royal Palm, Dinarobin or Paradis can also reserve a private helicopter transfer from the airport. The key consideration for high-end travellers is to balance a memorable expe-rience with above average value and competitive pric-

ing. Luxury travellers “will not compromise on the qual-ity, but will certainly shop around within the luxury sector”, said Flora Fubbs, The Holiday Factory Senior Manager: Contracting, Mar-keting and Operations. The Holiday Factory port-folio, Heritage Le Telfair, St. Regis, Shanti Maurice and Constance Prince Maurice are top-sellers. “What sets them apart is the quality of

guest experience, but still offering outstanding value for money within the sec-tor,” said Ms. Fubbs. Added-value at these re-sorts include dine-arounds, butler service, in-room amen-it ies and complimentary sporting activities, which are crucial selling-points. Luxury clients are in-creasingly looking at exclu-sive-use villas offering im-proved security, service and privacy.

Negotiation is thekey in air charterALTHOUGH there are many opportunities for agents to boost their turnover in a field most are unaware of or afraid to tread, there is no payback without asking when charter-ing a private aircraft. That is the message from the private charter companies in South Africa. The standard is that agents receive no special rates or commissions, unless they have negotiated individually with the charter companies. “Generally speaking our prices are nett prices, and agents are welcome to add a mark up. However, on con-tract we are prepared to lower our prices slightly to build in a commission,” said Odette Bertasso, Charter Manager at Execujet. Adri Pr insloo, Char ter Operations Manager, Fed Air concurred: “We don’t work with commissions and deal exclusively in markups.” But she explained that, if an agency was willing to negoti-ate a long term contract, Fed Air would be prepared to be flexible. Petro Jacobs, Admin Man-ager at Zenith, said the com-pany worked only through markups on nett prices. She said this was due to the fact that most of the company’s aircraft were currently leased out as air ambulances, with only one Hawker 700A avail-able for occasional charter

BY SARAH ROBERTSON flights to corporates or tour-ists. UK-based charter com-pany Air Charter Services, however, claimed it had no fixed system, and insisted that everything was nego-tiable, based on the needs of the agent, the client, and the frequency of charter. Deb-bie Rowland, Senior Broker for Air Charter Services in South Africa, explained that commissions were a possibil-ity and advised agents to dis-cuss the issue when enquir-ing about specific charters. “Usually we set a price and leave it up to the agent as to whether they want to mark things up, though absolutely everything is negotiable un-der the right circumstances,” she said. The reason for the general no-commission policy is the nature of the private aircraft charter business. Each rental is calculated on an individual basis, based on varying fac-tors such as how many people are f lying, the dates of the trip, the length of the jour-ney, what the landing strips can accommodate at the des-tination, and what services are to be offered onboard.

Ms. Prinsloo explained, “A group of 15 might be keen to fly up to a game lodge on the same plane but, while the lodge itself might accommo-date dozens of people, the airstrip may only be built for small twin-prop planes re-quiring we fly people up on two separate aircraft.” In all instances agents can negotiate rates for clients. Scheduled char ters are shuttle services with set de-par tures offered by some charter companies and usually fly set routes. Nik Lloyd-Roberts, Com-mercial Manager at Federal Airlines, said that the com-pany flies two daily charter flights specifically aimed at tourists destined for game lodges and not wanting to waste many hours reaching them by car. “We do one f light to the Lowveld region daily for those going to Kruger, Sabi Sands, Timbavati, Thorny Bush and so on, and one di-rectly to Madikwe,” he said. Prices for those flights work the same as commercial air-lines and come in at between R3,500 and R4,500 per per-son each way.

Sainte Anne Marine National Park, Seychelles

Which island? The Inner Islands cluster mainly around the principal islands of Mahé, Praslin and La Digue and are where most accommodation is. The outer islands comprise 72 low-lying sand cays and atolls, with untouched habitats for many species of wildlife.

Opt for villasIf you are dealing with groups, explore villa options. Most of the luxury resorts have a villa option, which can be good value-for-money for families or groups.

Consider CruisingThere is a special cruising itinerary for divers in the heart of the archipelago, but also those who want to island hop can opt for a cruise or yacht.

Travelling between the islandsThere are various ways for clients to get to their final destination – boats, flights or luxury air-conditioned aerial limo service. Regular ferry services run between Mahé, La Digue and Praslin. There is also the Cat Cocos catamaran between Mahé and Praslin and another catamaran service from Praslin to La Digue.

More than just resortsAdvise clients to take day trips. Seychelles is made up of 115 islands, each with its own character. Day excursions to the marine parks are highly recommended and the Sey-chelles has some of the best diving and fishing in the Indian Ocean.

Selling the Seychelles

Briefly.Regent Seven Seas’ Majestic Peaks itinerary in-cludes stays in Banff, Vancouver and Kamloops, a trip on the Rocky Mountaineer and a 10-night all-inclusive cruise from Vancouver to San Franciso. Departs July 3, 2017, from €6,699pp.

All included • All-suite, all-balcony accommodations • Shore Excursions • Luxury Hotel Package in Concierge Suites and Higher† • Unlimited WiFi for all suite categories • Unlimited Beverages Including Fine Wines and Premium Spirits • Open Bars and Lounges PLUS In-Suite Mini-bar Replenished Daily • Choice of gourmet restaurants • Pre-Paid Gratuities • 24-Hour Room Service

Terms and Conditions apply, and can be found in the Guest Ticket Contract at www.RSSC.com.

General Sales Agent: Janine Pretorius

Tel: 012 664 [email protected]

www.RSSC.com

THE MOST INCLUSIVE LUXURY EXPERIENCE™

SEVEN SEAS MARINER®

Vancouver to Vancouver7 June to 14 June 2017 (7 nights)

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Monte Carlo to Barcelona11 to 18 June 2017 (7 nights)

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(Civitavecchia), Sorrento/Capri, Provence (Marseille), Sanary Sur Mer


Barcelona to Rome (Civitavecchia)18 to 28 June 2017 (10 nights)

Concierge Suites from US $6,599 ppPorts of call include: Valencia, Palma De Mallorca,

Palamos, Provence (Marseille), Monte Carlo, Antibes, La Spezia (Cinque Terre), Porto Vecchio (Corsica),

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Rome (Civitavecchia) to Dubai27 October to 14 November 2017 (18 nights)

Deluxe Veranda Suites from US $6,899 ppPorts of call include: Palermo, Valletta, Heraklion, Cairo (Port Said), Luxor (Safaga), Aqaba, Salalah,

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Singapore to Hong Kong

5 to 17 December 2017 (12 nights)Deluxe Veranda Suites from US

$6,799 ppPorts of call include: Ko Samui, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City

(Saigon), Nha Trang, Sanya

Guests in all suite categories can enjoy

a choice of either a 3-Night Angkor Wat from Singapore pre-cruise land program or a

3-Night Beijing & the Great Wall from Tianjin post-cruise land

program on this voyage.

Guests in all suite categories can enjoy a

choice of either a 3-NIGHT SAMPLING OF SINGAPORE pre-cruise land program OR a 3-NIGHT JEWELS OF HONG

KONG post-cruise land program on this voyage.


Singapore to Beijing (Tianjin)05 to 29 December 2017 (24 nights)

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Ports of call include: New Castle, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin, Liverpool, Cork (Cobh) and Dartmouth


Barcelona to Rome (Civitavecchia)04 to 12 November 2017 (8 nights)

Deluxe Veranda Suites from US $7,199 ppPorts of call include: Valencia, Palma De Mallorca,

Provence (Marseille) Monte Carlo, Portofi no, La Spezia (Cinque Terre) and Florence/Pisa (Livorno)


Expert feedback:Luxury cruise benefits

What makes luxury cruise lines different?Luxurious, spacious and stylish suites, private butler service, intimate restaurants, rich amenities and personal service.

What is unique to Cunard? The Cunard Grills tradition began aboard Queen Mary in 1936, when guests paid for ex-clusive access to an evening of speciality dining and dancing in the Verandah Grill. Today, 80 years on, Cunard continues the legacy of The Grills suites and restaurants which have consistently ranked amongst the finest at sea. Cunard offers a mix of experiences – luxuri-ous and stylish suites, some with double storey apartments, with butler service, intimate restaurants, rich amenities and personal service – while offering all the facilities of a large ocean liner; cinema, libraries, the only Planetarium at sea on Queen Mary 2, theatres with private boxes, several swimming pools, a golf simulator and ballroom dancing.

What makes luxury cruise lines different?The all-inclusive nature of luxury cruise lines is what sets them apart. And, by all-inclusive, I’m not only referring to the inclusions of drinks, specialty dining, Wi-Fi, or the entertain-ment, but the attention to detail and personalised service that creates that all-inclusive experience. This is what Crystal Cruises offers. Service is of utmost quality and No is not an option. The guest-to-crew ratio is much higher and excursions go well beyond the typical experiences. On a luxury cruise the client enjoys truly unique, personalised and customised experiences.

What is unique to Crystal Cruises? Crystal Cruises now has a portfolio of four different types of cruise experiences – ocean, river, yacht and air cruises. The most unique being air cruises. Crystal AirCruises’ maiden journey, in partnership with The Peninsula Hotels, will take guests on lavish adventures in the comfort of Crystal’s privately owned Boeing 777-200LR. On the river cruises we offer ships with a much smaller complement of guests, more dining options and longer cruises which start and finish at the same port, always with an overnight before departure.

What makes luxury cruise lines different?One of the key differences with luxury cruise lines is suite/stateroom sizes, space to pas-senger ratio is normally higher and a wide range of amenities. Silversea suites include a walk-in wardrobe, bedroom and separate seating area. Focus is on personal attention, with a butler attending to your every need, including making restaurant and tour reservations to unpacking, packing, cleaning spectacles and polishing shoes. Luxury cruises tend to offer a more personalised service to guests.

What is unique to Silversea? Silversea cruises are the only Relais & Chateaux associate at sea, with a huge emphasis on cuisine. Added features include a pillow menu as well as a choice of amenities with the standard being Bulgari, but also a choice of Ferragamo and a Hypo-Allergenic option. Scenic River Cruises have a unique Scenic Sun Room feature, where the balcony can be closed at the touch of a button with a glass window, giving you the use of this space even in inclement weather.

What makes luxury cruise lines different?Luxury ships tend to be small or mid-size, with suites generally being more spacious. Walk-in closets and more spacious bathrooms. And, of course, the all-inclusive fare. Then there are thoughtful touches like fresh flowers or binoculars for wildlife viewing. The luxury amenities on a Regent Cruise include fine linens, marble bathrooms with L’Occitane ameni-ties and interactive flat screen televisions. Gourmet dining is a cornerstone of the Regent Cruise experience. Luxury ships focus on providing memorable on-shore experiences and enrichment programs.

What is unique to Regent Seven Seas?Regent offers unlimited Wi-Fi and choice of shore excursions in each port of call included in the fare. Guests that book a Concierge suite or better, have included benefits of a one-night pre-cruise stay in a luxury hotel, priority online shore excursion and specialty dining reservations, 15 minutes of ship-to-shore phone calls, a 10 percent discount on premium wines and liquor, a five percent discount on Regent Choice shore excursions, hotel and land programs and in-suite niceties.

Cunard – Shaun McCarthy, Whitestar Cruise & Travel General Manager

Crystal Cruises – George Argyropoulos Cruises International CEO

Silversea – Gaynor Neill, Cruise Vacations General Manager

Regent Seven Seas – Janine Pretorius, Encore Cruises General Manager

World cruise launches from CPTBY SARAH ROBERTSON

CRYSTAL Cruises’ Crystal Symphony will commence its world cruise from Cape Town in 2018. This is the first time South Africa has been chosen for the start of a world cruise and the event is ex-pected to raise South Africa’s profile as a desirable cruise destination. Fares are from US$54,000. The Crystal Serenity will join in Sydney on February 17, when guests will be able to continue on the Symphony to Fort Lauderdale or embark on the Serenity en route to Rome. George Argyropoulos, Cruises International Chief Executive Officer, said Cape Town had been chosen as the

boarding port for the cruise due to its consistent ranking as one of the top ports vis-ited by Crystal passengers. He explained benefits to the country would be substan-tial, including large world-wide advertising campaigns promoting Cape Town as a cruise destination, in addi-tion to the tourism revenue generated by the passengers and crew through pre cruise accommodation, meals, en-tertainment, sightseeing and souvenirs. He added that word of mouth promotion by passen-gers would also be beneficial. According to Mr. Argyro-poulos, cruise volumes from the South African market were showing strong growth due to the value of cruising

and said many local passen-gers were expected to board in Cape Town. Crystal’s new air cruises itineraries will be released before the end of this year and will vary from 14 – 21 days. Some will offer in-depth ex-plorations of a country; oth-ers will feature the best golf courses or UNESCO World Heritage Sites. These trips will be aimed at the high-end luxury mar-ket s t a r t ing f rom about US$100,000 fully-inclusive. The aircraft will accom-modate 84 passengers and feature onboard butlers, bars, restaurants, lounges and a wine cellar. Guests will be accommo-dated in five-star hotels in each destination.

Pictured above: how breakfast is done in a Queen Vic-toria suite onboard the Queen Mary.

Luxury clients expect special treatmentBY SHANNON LATIMER

LUXURY clients live and holiday differently, so the ap-proach and considerations that come into play when booking holidays and dealing with these clients is differ-ent too. “ W h e n d e a l i n g w i t h luxury clients, you literally have to up your mindset. Our service should always be client-centric however, when dealing with those who have no budget restraints or larger travel budgets, the service you offer should be unique and cater to their every whim,” said Claude

Van kei rsbi lck , Tour vest Chief Sales & Marketing Of-ficer. Sean Hough, Pentravel Chief Executive Off icer, commented that high-spend clients insist on dealing via mobile and will not call a reception or a call centre: “They will also call at any time during the day or night and do not stick to off ice hours. They form a relation-ship with experienced con-sultants and will never deal with anyone else, especially a newbie.” Because of this a very strong relationship de-velops, based on knowing what the client likes.

“I find that most high-end clients are just as value-con-scious as budget travellers, perhaps more so,” said Wally Gaynor, Club Travel Man-aging Director. “They want quality at a good price. They may have money, but expect the best for what they pay.” Joanne Visagie, Beach-comber Sales and Market-ing Manager, explained that although their clients may be considered luxury clients, they are also young couples on honeymoon, parents who have saved in order to give their family a holiday and, sometimes, the rich and fa-mous.

“Our approach is the same whether it’s to the honey-mooner or the rich and fa-mous. And our success is shown in the multitude of people who return. We offer a very personal booking ser-vice and great care and atten-tion to our clients throughout the process of booking and holidaying.” “It is about the experience from the first point of contact through to the last goodbyes. Our marketing material must portray our message in a lux-urious way that will appeal to them and we must always focus on our professionalism and forging bonds of trust,” said Pieter Beyers, Insight Vacations General Manager. “We are aware that not ever y th ing is about the price. These clients who pay a premium do want to get exceptional service, added extras and little touches,” said

Cathie Bester, World Lei-sure Holidays National Sales Manager. Service levels need to meet a client’s expectations, added Lieria Boshoff, Uni-world Boutique River Cruise Collection Brand Manager. “When dealing with luxury clients it is important to un-derstand their needs... they are often looking for exclu-sive, truly unique voyages that provide unparalleled ex-periences...” “We need to always be at

the top of our game in terms of researching new destina-tions or adventures before our clients become aware of anything newly available,” said Monica Horn, Harvey World Product Manager. Rebone Motsatsi, Execu-tive Commercial Avis Rent a Car SA, said the company understands their luxury cus-tomers are discerning and re-quire extraordinary service. “Our entire process... aims to exceed our customers’ ex-pectation.”

Support and self-disciplinekey to being a successful ITCBY SHANNON LATIMER

ITCs have generally report-ed a positive 2016 and say support is key in managing through heavy workloads while remaining flexible and balancing family life. “It has def initely been an interest ing year, with the rand on a yo-yo. Previ-ous years’ booking patterns have been non-existent, but for myself it has still been a busy and productive year,” said Tamarin Seymour, Gold Travel Counsellor. “My busi-ness is growing year on year and I have a strong and loyal client base.” Susan Williams-Knill, Su-san’s Travel, a Club Travel affiliate, also had a positive year, however she believes you can never take anything for granted. “This year has been a good year. I am very lucky that I have fabulous clients, but that is because I work on my relationships with them. The harder you work the more it will pay off.” “2016 has been a very dif-ferent year but a successful one,” said Dawn Stockwell, Travel the Globe, an eTravel agent. “We have had to work much harder and smarter in an economically tumultuous year.” Support is key to keeping ahead in trying times. “Our strong support and consist-ent innovation from Travel Counsellors is what helps us stay ahead and continue selling, even in a difficult market,” said Ms. Seymour. Travel Counsellors offer continued training and ad-

vice, “and our world class IT team never misses a day in creating new and improved systems for us to offer our clients better and more cost-effective products”. “Having the backing of eTravel is invaluable as we have an amazing suppor t team in both the eTravel man-agement and staff but also the preferred partners, which gives us an edge in the mar-ket,” said Ms. Stockwell. For independent consult-ants, these ITCs offer some advice. “Keep your head up and look ahead. Offer your clients a service that they will not get anywhere else that keeps them coming back to

you and only you,” said Ms. Seymour. Price is important but she emphasised: “We are work-ing in times where clients want us to know them, know what they want and like, know that we will source only the best for them and they are willing to pay for that. Also don’t be afraid to tell people what you do and definitely don’t undersell yourself… our knowledge and expertise cannot be bought on the In-ternet.” “The most important thing to remember being an ITC is to run your desk like a busi-ness, not like a consultant; if you can get that balance right you will do very well,” said Ms. Williams-Knill. Maintaining the balance

between work and family life is not difficult for an ITC if they have self-discipline. “Knowing that you have only yourself to rely on is a big wake up call. I have a home, husband and two children that need me to pull my weight, so when I work I apply myself wholly to my work so that I have the time to spend with my family. The fact that I know I can go watch my children play sport and keep them home when they are sick is a big motiva-tor. My clients are also aware that I am sometimes working from next to the rugby field or on the beach and I think they respect that, no matter where

I am, I am available to them,” Ms. Seymour explained. “Being an ITC is a privilege. I get to do what I love and be flexible. Some days I

work from home, some days from my office, some days from my car. The best part is that with technology you can work anywhere and any-time,” said Ms. Williams-Knill. Ms. Stockwell reiterated the need for self-discipline. “One has to be very disci-plined, as I often find myself working late and on week-ends as my office is right there,” said Ms. Stockwell. Roshnee Govender, Travel Counsellors, agreed: “My aim is to complete the major-ity of my work before fetch-ing the kids from school… There are also many nights when I need to put in extra hours, however this may only be during a very busy pe-riod.”

“Being an ITC is a privilege. I get to do what I love and be flexible… The best part is that with technology you can work anywhere and anytime.” – Susan Williams-Knill

Travel Counsellors took its top performers on a river cruise from Budapest to Vienna, as part of the company’s Gold Weekend. Travel Counsellors who had reached Gold status, reaching commissions of R1,130,736, pictured above celebrating their achievement on the Jewel Space-Ship (l to r): Peter Higgins; Frikkie Thiron; Jeanne Thirion; Marc De Jager; Louie Rossouw and Charmaine Higgins.

Suppliers adapt to challengesof working with independentsSUPPLIERS often find ser-vicing independent consult-ants more challenging than high-street agents due to the private home locations they are based and the non-tra-ditional working hours that many follow. George Argyropoulos, Cruises International Chief Executive Officer, said that in addition to physical barri-ers, his sales and marketing team had found there was a ceiling to the revenue that in-dependent consultants could reach, as higher sales rev-enues would require the ITC to hire staff, purchase ad-ditional equipment and move to larger offices. Gaynor Neill, Cruise Va-cations General Manager, explained that a good ITC should not be restricted by the range of product they were able to offer to clients and needed to decide for

themselves where supplier restrictions should lie. ITC companies generally agreed the best method for tapping into the ITC market was through strengthening relationships with their cen-tralised support staff. “Make sure that the par tnership with the host company is a win-win and that it is cor-rectly managed with ongoing feedback,” said Garth Wolff, eTravel Chief Executive Of-ficer. Monica Horn, Harvey World Travel Product Man-ager, agreed, stating that sup-pliers should also be open to assisting telephonically and via email rather than just through a face to face visit. Andrew Stark, Flight Cen-tre Travel Group Managing Director, added that suppli-ers could tailor their product offerings and services to suit the ITC’s customer base and Jo Fraser, Club Travel Fran-chise Director, maintained other interactive opportu-

nities to communicate with ITCs were webinars, indabas and trade functions. “We stay in contact with the consultants via weekly communications and regu-lar training breakfasts,” said Annemarie Lexow, Travel Vision Sales and Marketing Manager. Mr. Argyropoulos said Cruises International offered training modules and sales support initiatives to ITCs, in addition to incen-tives. It has also introduced a programme coaching ITCs to become cruise specialist consultants. Ms. Neill explained that-Cruise Vacations focused on building strong relationships with ITCs and offering them personalised service. “Part of our service offering is to work alongside our ITCs... to offer specialist training, be-spoke client events, personal consultation with expedition exper ts and personalised branded campaigns.”

BY SARAH ROBERTSON



HWT launches ITC model H A RV EY World Travel launched its ITC model last month. It will comprise a small number of ITCs, giving the group the ability to offer tailor-made services. Managing Director, Mar-co Cristofoli, said: “Harvey World saw a need for its own ITC model as a means of re-taining experienced agents and growing its business.” Travel agents will have ac-cess to the full suite of tools needed to run and manage their travel businesses, in-cluding the ITC platform,

ticketing and technical sup-port. Mr. Cristofoli said that through the BidTravel group, HWT aimed to offer ITCs networking opportunities and access to special fares and volume deals. ITCs will pay a monthly fee, but no sign-up fee. Rev-enue split will based on vol-umes generated by the ITC. Initially, agents will fall under HWT’s IATA bond and will not have to contrib-ute to the guarantee, how-ever, Mr. Cristofoli said this may change in the future.

Pictured at eTravel’s Open Forum last month in Cape Town (l to r): Truda Louw; Tammy Hunt; CEO Garth Wolff; Avril Shackleton and Maree Adkins.

ITCs diverting sales from the high streetBY SARAH ROBERTSON

WHILE a precise meas-urement of ITC revenue is difficult to determine due to much independent sales revenue being attributed to consortiums, the independ-ent segment has continued

to grow this year, accounting for five to 15 percent of total industry sales. However, many consorti-ums and suppliers are quick to point out that the tradi-tional high-street retail office still brings in the majority of revenue and that model

remained relevant due to the face-to-face interaction de-manded by many travellers. Monica Horn, Product Manager, Har vey World Travel, said many customers still preferred face-to-face communication in accessible shopping centres and office parks. Andrew Stark, Managing Director, Flight Centre Travel Group, commented that one model would never replace the other as they attracted different customer bases and George Argyropoulos, Chief Executive Officer of Cruises International, concurred stat-

ing that marketing to tradi-tional retailers and ITCs had helped Cruises International reach the different market segments. However, Garth Wolff, Chief Executive Of-ficer of eTravel, predicted the ITC model would con-tinue to divert sales from tra-ditional offices. “Our business model is based on ITCs and if our business is growing it has to be coming from somewhere,” he said. Ms. Horn maintained trav-el was largely relationship-based and clients would often follow a consultant. “It is not the location of the agency but the calibre of the consultant that retains cli-ents. If a high-street consult-

ant becomes an ITC you will find that his/her clients will often follow them,” added Jo Fraser, Franchise Director of Club Travel. Gaynor Neill, General Man-

ager at Cruise Vacations, confirmed a large percentage of high-end bookings came from ITCs who had long-established relationship with the client.

TIR Southern Africa • November 2016 13

by John Wardall

Distant places have more appeal

continued on page 16

W


Personally Speaking

PS

PS

hen I was in England and Ire-land a couple of months ago, I visited a number of tourist

attractions and activities, something people rarely do when they return to a place they know well, particularly if they have lived there. That’s why tourists often see and ex-perience things, which residents frequently aren’t aware of or don’t bother to explore; it’s always there, so you can see it anytime but just don’t bother. Distant places have much more appeal. What this visit did was make me aware that there are so many additional opportu-nities for travel agents to sell commission-able add-ons, which they frequently ignore, either because they don’t know about them or simply don’t think about it when making their clients’ travel arrangements. It is a strong incentive to increase prod-uct knowledge and training and something which again makes the case for education-als, the most effective way of suppliers and destinations informing agents and creating the most enthusiasm for selling their prod-ucts. There is absolutely no substitute for personal experience. Educationals have dwindled to a fraction of what they were many years ago, often because airlines won’t come to the party, and I believe it is a missed opportunity to increase business for all concerned. I would challenge any supplier, which invests in educationals – and there are still a few which strongly believe in them and organise a number of them each year – to say they do not pay off in increased sales. And most agents, who participate in them, return to their offices and share their experi-ences and knowledge with their colleagues, building enthusiasm for the product.

It will be interesting to see how the pro-posed wine tourism strategy to boost in-bound tourism develops. Visiting the winelands is identified by SA Tourism as being the second most popular experience for foreign visitors. But there is no way a wine experience stands alone as a potential draw for most tourists. It has to be integrated into a broader package and the wine industry will have to understand and work together with the wider tourism industry to have any significant impact on visitor numbers. I like wine, enjoy visiting wine farms and have done so all over the world but it was never an overriding reason for visiting any country or region.

I suspect that is the case for most people, who are disinclined to adopt the pretentious posturing of faux wine fundis and just enjoy a glass of plonk with dinner. So, the general interest in including a wine visit as part of a broader tour is large but the market for specialised, dedicated wine visits is probably smaller than the tour-ism and wine industries might wish. In that case, it is a special interest, like any other, and therefore a niche market. I actually started to organise a wine tour for Canadian wine makers a few years ago, to be led by a friend, who had a wine farm in the Niagara-on-the-Lake region, an area which produces the best wines in Canada and pioneered growing a variety of grapes which had never been grown in cold cli-mates before. He also created the delicious and unique ice wine, which became a big seller in France. Unfortunately, we had one of our political bunfights, which got some play on Cana-dian television, and the group cancelled.

British Airways is to follow a number of other airlines by increasing its capacity on 777 aircraft by 52, changing the economy configuration from nine to 10 across from 2018. Go to the loo before you fly because that means one toilet for around 30 people on-board. We can expect more of the same from all carriers as they try to squeeze passengers – who are getting bigger – into seats, which are getting smaller. The rationale is that it will lead to lower costs per passenger and lower fares. Dream on. The airlines blow smoke by saying they are introducing better entertainment sys-tems, bigger screens and other, increasingly extra-cost, features. Who cares? The one thing passengers want more than anything else is more space. It isn’t happening. I recall being at the Boeing plant in Seattle when the 747 was being introduced and being told how much more space it would provide and how much faster boarding and deplaning would be because of all the exits. The extra space was soon filled by more seats than originally envisaged and who ever came across an airport which could handle more than two aircraft exits? I was talking with a friend last month, who takes his large family on a couple of long-haul overseas trips a year and always flies – or should I say flew – business class.

As business class fares increased, he started to shop around and take less con-venient flights to reduce the fares. Now, he said, there will be no overseas trip next year because the fares are too much and he refuses to put himself and his family through the airport and inflight experience of economy. Here is an example of high-yield business disappearing and not even migrating to low-yield. It is not the first time I have heard a similar story, particularly from high-end lei-sure passengers – a rare and valuable breed – reducing their frequency of travel and is an issue which may ultimately be cause for a serious, if unwanted, rethink by the airlines. Premium economy partially answers the problem, if it is a good product, and some have created a better product than others. But the ideal answer has not yet been dis-covered.

Heathrow was always the most likely lo-cation to get the nod for London airport expansion and makes most sense from the standpoint of UK trade and connections. But it is the most expensive option and we all know airport costs get passed on to the airlines and customers, so it will cer-tainly add to the cost of fares in and out of London. There is still a long way to go, with vari-ous hearings, objections and parliamentary debates. But, Heathrow it is, and the third runway should be active in 2025. Real estate on the flightpath, some of it the most expensive and desirable in the country will take a nosedive.

Why anybody, particularly the media, con-tinued to get taken in by the terminally un-likeable Hillary is beyond me. But they kept supporting her, even after she lost. CNN – the Clinton News Network – cov-erage of the election was excruciating. Apart from being grossly biased, it was naive and uninformed. Comment and opinion is le-gitimate when it is clearly identified but ille-gitimate when it is disguised as news. Most of the mainstream media crossed the line and CNN was the worst. Our local media naturally followed suit. The pollsters and political pundits can now pack their bags and go home. This discredited bunch of pontificators got it all wrong with the UK election, Brexit and the

US election. Her staggering web of corruption, lies and galactic sense of self-entitlement was disgracefully sanitised by the media and the liberal establishment. The deletion of 33,000 e-mails after receiving a Congres-sional subpoena alone should have been disqualifying, quite apart from being a crim-inal offence. But the personal, delusional and unnec-essary lies to boost her self image are even more indicative of her flawed character:1. She was named after Sir Edmund Hillary: Lie.2. Her claimed family history: Lie.3. She came under sniper fire in Bosnia: Lie.4. She was in New York on 9/11: Lie.5. She claimed to have applied to join the Marines: Lie. I’m surprised we didn’t hear “Liar, Liar, Pantsuit on Fire” at Trump rallies. Oh yes, she’s light-fingered too. Despite being a multi-millionaire, she took china, furniture and art works from the White House when Bill ’s term was up and was forced to return them. And this supposedly clever lawyer failed the Washington Bar exam – as Michelle Obama failed hers – and scooted off to Ar-kansas to take it there. Do you wonder why you never read any of this in the major media? Listening to some of the ‘experts’ on CNN following the election result, they still don’t get it. The mainstream media lost all cred-ibility in this campaign, showing how it is in the pocket of the political and business elite in America. Time magazine, the Huffington Post, the New York Times, the Washington Post and others are all included. Even business reporters announced, grim-faced, that stock markets were “in turmoil” after the result. No, they weren’t; the next day they recorded healthy gains and the Dow Jones hit an all-time high. The media gurus were still on an anti-Trump campaign. The people who the media sneeringly kept referring to as white, working class Americans, the victims of successive liberal policies, finally rose up and the professional pundits got it wrong again. The Hollywood glitterati, who said they would leave Amer-ica if The Donald won, seem to have had a change of mind. Is there any chance they will now spare us their moronic views? I doubt it; celebrity seems to cloak even the most inane with the mantle of intelligence. To show how deluded the Washington establishment is, D.C. voted 93 percent Democrat. And the protests and violence

PS

PS

News Digest


... have more appealPS

In the next issue of TIR

Thank you for all your hard work and support throughout this year. Remember for every discretionary booking you make that turns into a rental you will earn ClubRed Roses, which you can redeem into your ClubRed Visa card or convert into eBucks. This means you can spend your Roses wherever and however you choose. Now that’s just one more way we try harder to make your festive season a little more festive.

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which followed the election result were expected; self-righteous, bullying liberals can never accept opposing views. What do they want, another American civil war? The people movement created Brexit and elected Don-ald Trump. Americans have lost confidence in their country and wanted the rebirth they got with Ronald Reagan. The Trumpet gave them that message. He doesn’t like to lose, and he doesn’t. The West needs to reach an accommodation with Russia for all our sakes and I think he can do it. Hillary would never have been able to. There are clear indications that a similar global revolt against the elite establishment, politicians and bureaucrats is taking place in Europe and we will see major change in France, Germany, Austria, Italy, the Netherlands, Denmark and maybe even the end of the European Union, certainly as it is currently constituted. Don’t count out South Africa either. We are also in for more unrest. The establishment needed a shake-up and I think it is a good thing. As I said in the October issue of TIR, the Trumpet had a better chance of beating Hillary Klingon than any other candidate because of her defects. I thought he would win until the night before the election, when the Looney Tunes pollsters and pundits finally brain-washed me. Lesson learned.

Finally, the politically incorrect trumped the politically correct. Go Donald!

There wasn’t much, if anything, to get excited about in Pravin Gordhan’s medium term budget statement. It was loaded with motherhood and platitudes, absorbed fee in-creases for louts masquerading as students and let us know more tax increases were on the way. And diverting funds from basic education to tertiary deserves a dunce’s cap. His estimate of 0.5 percent growth in the economy was woeful and 1.7 percent next year highly unlikely. He seems to think the government can tax its way out of trouble but all that ever does is make things worse. In the comedy of errors which is the NPA investigation into Prav, SARS official Vlok Symington’s phone call to 10111 was the most astonishing example of incompetent buf-foonery I have ever heard. It was Monty Python on steroids.God help anyone who needs urgent assistance from 10111.

And, on that bright note, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

PSBusabout introduced agents from STA Travel, Pentravel and Club Travel in Cape Town to its new virtual reality videos, accessed through its Busabout360 cellphone app. The videos are a powerful sales tool, enabling travel agents to give their customers an immersive ex-perience. Special viewfinders for use with the app will be distributed to agents across the country.

We take a look at lucrative Seniors Travel product, put the spotlight on Domestic

Travel and have industry experts predict the year ahead in our annual Forecast.

Flight Centre offeringbursaries for tourismTHE Flight Centre Travel Group is partnering with the University of Johannesburg School of Tourism and Hos-pitality to offer full bursaries to two tourism students from next year, in response to the ‘missing middle’ highlighted by the #feesmustfall protests. They are students who are deemed too rich to qualify

for government support, but too poor to afford tuition fees. About 5,000 academi-cally qualified students at UJ are currently classified as part of this group. Diane Clear y, Project Manager of the Flight Centre Foundation, said the part-nership with UJ’s School of Tourism and Hospitality

was open-ended. “It is also our intention to increase the number of students we give bursaries to each year which will cover fees and books,” she said, adding: “Graduates will be required to work one corresponding year for every year that they are subsidised, depending on vacancies and ... grades obtained.”

Regent Seven Seas’ Navi-gator was in Cape Town last month to begin its Cape Town — Cape Town itinerary, which includes stops in Maputo, Durban and Walvis Bay, among others. Earlier this year the ship underwent a complete refurbishment of its dé-cor to bring it into line with the new-build Explorer, launched in July. Pictured onboard getting a taste of the five-course meals their

clients will be enjoying in the ship’s Compass Rose restaurant (l to r): Michelle Rumbelow and Megan Snyders, Cruise Options and Nicky Schmitt, When We Travel.

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ITC numbers and sales expected to grow in 2017 - TIR · ITC numbers and sales expected to grow in 2017 BY SARAH ROBERTSON ITC numbers and sales rev- ... gral part of the product mix