Travel 2, a UK-based long-haul tour operator, is set to launch its biggest travel agent campaign for five years, with a focus on turning the Caribbean and the Indian Ocean into its ‘cornerstone’ destinations.
The tour operator will invest more than £250,000, and partner with companies including British Airways and resorts including Sandals and Elegant Resorts, to launch the six-month marketing initiative.
Agents can win weekly shopping vouchers as well as four seven-night holidays a month, and places on two mega-fam trips to the Caribbean and Indian Ocean in May 2014. As part of the campaign, agents will not know until they get to the airport where they are flying to.
The travel agent campaign has organised nine ‘beach’ parties across the country between now and March. The first two, which took place last week, in London and Birmingham, hosted more than 100 agents each and included beach-themed games, cocktails and spot prizes.
Agents can also vote for their choicest destination via the operator’s Facebook page to win £20 shopping vouchers.
Travel 2 sales and marketing director, Gordon McCreadie, said: ‘We want to put the fun back into travel and make these destinations cornerstones of our business, which they haven’t been before.
‘I want to make the brand as ‘sticky’ as possible to become the operator of choice and a credible player in these destinations,’ McCreadie said. Not a ‘large enough percentage’ think of booking Travel 2 for the Caribbean or Indian Ocean, he added.
The company organised a similar campaign two years ago with a focus on the Middle East, making it the operator’s third-biggest seller. Previously it was not in the top 10.
In the travel business for more than 30 years, Travel 2 is claimed to be a specialist in personalised holidays to Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific, Asia, Africa, Middle East, America, Canada and Latin America, as well as for round the world travel. Presently, Travel 2’s top destinations are the US, Australia, the Middle East and Asia.
Specialising in holidays for the independent traveller through travel agency partners, Travel 2 works with some of the world’s top airlines, hotels, car hire and cruise operators. Travel 2 is part of Stella Travel Services, a UK-based integrated travel business.
