Kuoni’s holiday prices from the trade and direct will be the same from the end of this month as the tour operator removes its 5% online discount.
Instead the tour operator will offer tactical discounts on selected holidays or dates throughout each season and will be available through all channels. Its ‘Late Calendar’ has also proved popular with cash-strapped Brits and will show where consumers can find the best offers.
The move is part of the tour operator’s continued focus on independent travel agents, as well as opening its own stores. “We’ve seen consolidation [in the travel industry] and a directional sales focus,” Derek Jones, managing director of Kuoni UK said at the ABTA Travel Convention this week. “There was a big hole left through the drop of multiples, so we have had to respond with our own shops and independents have become more important to get back to revenues seen previously”.
The tour operator has added a new dedicated brochure display design to its Specialist Agent site and will continue to hold fam trips and product evenings.”We greatly value the continuing support from the trade and trust that this announcement will help our specialist agents to deliver significant growth to their Kuoni business over the coming years,” said Amanda Darrington, national sales manager at Kuoni.