Rail Plus is expanding beyond its roots through the launch of a wholesale brand, Tailor Made by Rail Plus, with Canada the initial focus.
The rail specialist described the move as a “natural expansion” as it aims to sell non-rail, land-based product to attract the FIT market
“We are becoming destinational experts, not just rail experts,” general manager marketing Greg McCallum said.
Japan is the likely second destination under the Tailor Made brand.
The development is a significant one for Rail Plus which has spent the best part of 25 years specialising in rail travel.
While that focus will not change, the move into non-rail demonstrates a desire to “evolve” and seek additional revenue streams, McCallum told Travel Today.
“Rail continues to grow in popularity, but it’s not always easy to grow organically. This is about diversifying,” he said. “We already have a deep understanding of Canada having worked with Rocky Mountaineer and VIA Rail for many years, so moving into non-rail product is a natural expansion for us.
“We already have the knowledge so we now want to become Canada specialists, not just rail specialists in Canada.”
McCallum insisted the expansion would not see Rail Plus take its eye off its core rail product which will “always be our bread and butter”, he said.
“We won’t lose focus on rail. We’ll maybe look at hand picking three destinations for the Tailor Made brand where we are already strong in rail.
"Japan would seem an obvious choice but we’ll probably stay away from North America and Europe as those markets are already well covered by other wholesalers.”
The debut program, Tailor Made Canada, which has been developed in partnership with the Canadian Tourism Commission, will see the distribution of a Canada sales manual to agents.
The manual will provide consultants with information on experiences and examples of FIT packages, in addition to rail journeys.
Product, including city stays, sightseeing, accommodation and packages will be loaded onto a dedicated website while a consumer brochure will be produced further down the track.
McCallum said that while the Canada program will feature year-round product, the focus will be on winter.
“We sat down with 29 suppliers from Canada and they were almost pleading with us to look at winter,” he said. "There is a gap in the market as there aren't many Australian wholesalers selling FIT winter product that well.
"We think we're better off trying to get half the 20% of Australians who visit Canada between October and March rather than 2% or 3% of the 80% who travel in summer."
Rail Plus will source much of its product through Canada-based Discover Holidays and Rocky Mountaineer Vacations.
Meanwhile, staff dedicated to Tailor Made Canada will receive additional training, although McCallum stressed they already possess a deep understanding of Canada.
