Jeri Clausing
Responding to post-pandemic demand for what it calls “risk-free” travel products, the Travel Corporation is making it easier for advisors to tap into and sell the many and often exclusive experiences developed by its global network of destination management companies (DMC).
While better known for its guided travel brands, which include Luxury Gold, Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises and Evan Evans Tours, the Travel Corporation also owns a dozen DMCs that operate as ground handler for its brands.
And this week, the Travel Corporation unveiled a white label product to help advisors customize and sell products from those ground operators under their own brand.
The offerings are extensive and include custom groups, yachts and small-ship cruising, safari operations, meetings, self-drive and rail journeys, private chauffeurs and specialist trips such as culinary or active itineraries.
They also include a number of often exclusive experiences that have been developed over the years by the company’s DMCs, such as a sunrise visit to Bruce Munro’s Field of Light installation at Uluru in northern Australia from AAT Kings; Truffle hunting in Meteora, Greece, followed by a meal of truffle pasta prepared outdoors in the field with Siva Travel; dining after hours in the Vatican with Travel Corporation Europe; or meeting a champion dog musher and his huskies in Alaska with Destination America.
It’s a growth opportunity that Travel Corporation president Gavin Tollman said became apparent over the past year.
“During the uncertainty of the pandemic, we spoke to a number of our partners who were looking for an operational solution with the quality, knowledge, infrastructure, consistency and financial resilience to deliver on the ground in a new post-pandemic world, but they were hitherto unaware of the depth and breadth of the Travel Corporation’s destination management portfolio,” he said.
“They were excited when they realized we could provide that solution across multiple destinations worldwide, affording them deeper access to the award-winning expertise and service for which our brands are well recognized. By launching a dedicated website and a series of new tools outlining the extent of our offering, and the financial strength that supports it, we hope to be able to present this hassle-free and risk-free opportunity to a wider range of leisure and corporate travel businesses.”
The Travel Corporation’s DMC brands include AAT Kings in Australia and New Zealand; Siva Travel in Greece and the Greek islands; Brendan Vacations in Ireland and Scotland; the Travel Corporation’s operations all across Europe, the U.K. and the Eastern Mediterranean; Destination America in the U.S., Canada and Latin America; and a number of Africa specialists such as Cullinan, Thompsons and Grosvenor Tours.
Besides offering advisors the opportunity to expand their portfolio with a trusted line of partners that have robust health and safety protocols, Tollman said, “most importantly they can pay in U.S. dollars and not have to worry about working with an international DMC, with the impact of the dollar. The price they will get from the DMC is the price they will pay, which is a huge advantage in a post-pandemic world.”