Suppliers target Travellers Choice members with tasty updates

Travel suppliers, including airlines, cruise companies, wholesalers and adventure tour operators, have been busy targeting Travellers Choice members with an array of valuable – and often exclusive – educational gatherings.

Travellers Choice members celebrated the Year of the Snake, in Brisbane last month, with an exclusive yum cha banquet hosted by Wendy Wu Tours, nib Travel and EVA Airways. The operators further spiced up the “lunch and learn” event by unveiling an exclusive incentive to help agents “slither their way to sales growth”.

South Australian agents also enjoyed some food and drinks at Adelaide’s Alba Hotel while absorbing product updates from Singapore Airlines, Back-Roads Touring Company and Azamara Cruises. The three-hour get-together followed another exclusive briefing recently at Adelaide’s Mayfair Hotel, where a select group of members heard from Intrepid, Scenic Luxury Cruises & Tours, Viva Holidays and Cruiseco.

Meanwhile, Travellers Choice members in Western Australia gathered in Fremantle last month for an inspection of Silver Nova complete with drinks and canapes. Specifically designed for environmentally friendly cruising, it was Silver Nova’s maiden visit to Fremantle and her final Australian port before leaving local waters, bound for Asia.

Not to be left out, Victorian agents recently enjoyed an exclusive tour of Intrepid’s Melbourne head office, followed by a series of presentations on the company’s small group trips, agent portal, marketing support and its Tailor-Made operation.

The events, coordinated by Travellers Choice’s national network of business development managers, do more than simply keep members up-to-speed with product developments, Travellers Choice general manager sales, Nicola Strudwick, said.

“Travellers Choice’s success has always been built on relationships,” she said. “Intimate and targeted briefings such as these nurture and strengthen the bonds between our members and our preferred partners. They also provide an opportunity for independent agents to share information and insights that help their businesses grow.”