Independents told to watch where the big guys are going
Independent agents at this week’s Global Travel Conference in Orlando were told to keep an eye on what the ‘big guys’ are doing to identify potential new markets.
Speaking on the first day of the conference sessions, the consortium’s managing director Andy Stark said agents often shy away from destinations that bigger companies are expanding into.
"Often agents will think that they should look elsewhere for opportunities because the big guys have got it covered, but they should be capitalising on this," he said.
"When a tour operator or airline decides to expand into a new market, it will have done considerable research into these destinations and will have identified a big demand, so other agents should follow the lead."
Stark told members the group had seen sales rise by 20% this year, with particularly strong sales of cruises. Click here to see what else he had to say.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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