WeTravel, a prominent booking and payments platform, has announced its membership with the Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (Atas). The company emphasizes the pivotal role played by travel agents in this vibrant sector.
This partnership aims to enhance agents’ efficiency by offering robust tools for managing communications, automating payments, and streamlining operations, thereby enabling them to focus on business growth.
Simplifying Workflow for Travel Agents
WeTravel’s collaboration with Atas is set to revolutionise the way travel agents operate within the adventure and touring sector. The platform provides an array of features designed to simplify agents’ workflows, including scheduling client communications, automating payment collection, transferring funds, and paying suppliers with ease.
Shayna Zand, Director of Partnerships and Enterprise Sales at WeTravel, explains, “Our goal through these offerings is to simplify administrative work and streamline payment collection, allowing travel agents to focus their time on more important tasks, like growing their business.”
Enhancing Agents’ Capabilities
WeTravel’s membership with Atas opens up new opportunities for travel agents, enabling them to offer better services and exclusive benefits from touring and adventure suppliers. Zand states, “Our platform’s capabilities align well with the professional needs of travel agents, so naturally, they are a customer demographic that we keep in mind when developing new features.”
WeTravel’s tools are particularly beneficial for agents involved in adventure travel, helping them to manage and grow their clientele effectively.
New Features and Innovations
Earlier this year, WeTravel launched its Winter Product Release, a suite of features designed to empower travel businesses. These new tools aim to extend traveller reach, streamline resource management, and simplify the booking process.
Zand highlights, “We have some exciting plans for the remainder of 2024 that include continuing to publish free educational resources to our WeTravel Academy, releasing a range of new platform features and hosting our second annual virtual summit.”
WeTravel’s innovative features such as Inventory Management, unlimited package add-ons, and calendar view are crafted to help travel agents meet the increasing demand for custom trips and personalised itineraries.
Emerging Trends in Travel Bookings
WeTravel’s second annual Travel Trends Report, released in January, provides valuable insights into current booking and payment trends. The report, which includes data from over 500 travel businesses, indicates that booking lead times are shrinking, with most travellers opting to book trips less than a month before departure.
Additionally, there is a growing demand for customised travel itineraries, which can pose a challenge for agents. Zand notes, “These two emerging trends can easily leave travel agents scrambling to keep up with multiple custom trips on a reduced timeline.”
Supporting the Adventure Travel Sector
WeTravel has a strong focus on the adventure travel sector, viewing it as not only about offering thrilling experiences but also fostering a sense of exploration, connection, and personal growth for travellers. Zand elaborates, “This sector is well-suited to take advantage of the features we offer here at WeTravel, reducing the time spent on tedious admin tasks and opening up more time to adventure.”
By leveraging WeTravel’s platform, travel agents can significantly reduce their administrative workload and focus more on delivering exceptional travel experiences.
Atas Welcomes WeTravel
Claire Brighton, Atas Director, expresses enthusiasm about the new collaboration, stating, “It’s great to announce yet another new member for Atas and I’m looking forward to hearing more about what they can offer agents.”
According to Brighton, the team at WeTravel is focused on working with travel agents in the touring and adventure sector to free them up to concentrate on securing more sales.
Future Plans
Looking ahead, WeTravel has several initiatives planned for the future. These include ongoing enhancements to its platform features, continuous publication of free educational resources, and the organisation of its second annual virtual summit.
These initiatives aim to provide travel agents with cutting-edge tools and insights, ensuring they remain at the forefront of the touring and adventure travel industry.
WeTravel’s new membership with Atas marks a significant step towards supporting travel agents in the touring and adventure sector. With innovative tools and a strong focus on simplifying workflows, WeTravel is poised to empower agents, enabling them to deliver exceptional experiences to travellers.
As the travel landscape continues to evolve, this collaboration highlights the essential role of technology in enhancing the capabilities of travel agents and driving growth in the adventure travel industry.
