Face-to-Face: Tony Marshall
Contributors are not employed, compensated or governed by TD, opinions and statements are from the contributor directly
1) As the fastest growing global travel provider what are the key factors that differentiate Tourico holidays from your competitors?
Our ‘Exclusive Deals’ are what sets us apart from the others. We offer select hotels in key destinations guaranteed revenue in return for the best rates in the market. I believe we are the only wholesaler working with this model and the numbers speak for themselves. These deals equate to 40% of our total revenue. Another point of difference is our unique source markets, being truly global and having over 30 locations worldwide, the Tourico business offsets traditional seasonality.
While everyone has been contracting and laying off their staff to cut costs, Tourico is expanding. We have experienced a 36% increase in sales year-to-date and from this we have now opened new offices in Beijing and Bangkok, with Sydney due to open in August 2010. We have more than tripled our team in Asia-Pacific in the last six months.
2) What are the objectives and strategy for your ongoing major expansion in the Asia-Pacific region?
Our objective is to become a valuable add-on partner to the Asia Pacific travel industry. With over 4,400 clients spread over 100 countries, Tourico has a well qualified platform to bring incremental business from regions which traditional marketing strategies and partners are unable to provide. We have already partnered with some strategic players in the region such as AirAsia and China Southern Airlines with a number of further announcements planned in Q4. We have very close ties with seven major airlines globally and are in talks a number of others within Asia Pacific and around the world. What we need to capitalise on is our demand. The number of searches our clients submit through our channels is staggering, so our job is to convert those searches to bookings with the acquisition of quality, qualified product throughout the region.
3) How has Tourico’s 16 years of experience in USA, Latin America and Europe helped offer superior products in your Asia Pacific push?
With Tourico’s experience globally over the last 16 years, we are now able to offer our current and potential clients in Asia Pacific over 17,000 products in the form of hotels, cruises, tours, attractions, flights and car hire. For industry partners such as hotels and attractions, we bring our already established clients and their demand with us. We will reach over two billion searches for our products from our clients by the end of the year. Investing, opening new offices, bringing on new strategic partners, all at the right time, we have done it successfully before and are now lucky enough to be doing it here. We are opening up Asia Pacific destinations to our loyal clients who have been with us over the last 16 years as well as offering our new regional clients a world of product.
4) What experience will you and your management team be bringing to your Asia Pacific expansion in order to maximise success?
Personally I have worked in nearly every segment of the industry, from wholesale to hotels, online travel agents to inbound tour operators. I have enjoyed 16 years now in the industry. The experiences, contacts and knowledge you pick up along the way are invaluable. One strong principle I have developed over this time is to surround myself with strong people. I am in the process of recruiting the best in their field. Whether it is the product contractors or sales staff looking after the needs of our clients or the directors who will ensure these teams are delivering what our partners require.
5) What specific plans do Tourico Holidays have to target the Indian market?
India offers Tourico Holidays many opportunities. We are committed to opening an office in India by the end of the year and I’m currently in the process of recruiting both sales and product staff. We have very strong global demand for hotels in Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru and Chennai amongst others, so much the same as our other Asian destinations, sourcing the right products in India to meet the needs of our clients is critical. We are currently working with 50 clients in India in the form of Wholesalers, Travel Agencies and OTA’s and as our presence grows in the region, our strategy is to partner with many more.
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