Checkout Tours reaches out to the trade

CHECKOUT Tours is focusing on
fostering relationships with its
preferred consortiums and travel
agents this year, with a number of new
initiatives.
The operator will host educationals,
visit travel agents around the country
and hold a number of road shows, says
Checkout Tours director, Giles Clinton.
 “We find that networking and chatting
with agents face to face helps build up
relationships and allows agents to put
a face to the name of the person they
are actually dealing with,” he says.
Ultimately, Checkout hopes to
establish itself as “more than a call
centre” for agents, Giles adds. “More
often than not, agents get through to
call centres and deal with a number of
different people, which takes away that
personalised feel.”
Giles started his career in retail
travel where he says he learned that,
when it came to relationships with
tour operators, it was important to
use specific consultants for certain
destinations. This is why Checkout
Tours employs consultants who
specialise in particular destinations
that they themselves have visited,
he says.
“In line with this, we will be holding
a number of educationals this year
to Zanzibar as well as to Thailand.”
Checkout has partnered with the
Tourism Authority of Thailand in South
Africa to make the educational to
Thailand possible.
“My hope is that these educationals
will not only assist agents in learning
more about the destinations, but also
strengthen our relationships with them
and enable us to work more closely
together in the future,” he says.
The tour operator has also recently
become affiliated to Asata in the hope
that this will give agents the confidence
that they are booking with a reputable
supplier.