Hundreds of Club Travel ITCs, staff and suppliers turned out for the brand’s first Indaba product workshops since the pandemic. Workshops were held both in Johannesburg (October 26) and Cape Town (November 3), allowing the brand’s network to reconnect and reboot before the end of the year.
Jo Fraser, Executive Manager: Franchise, said there were almost 300 partners and ITCs at both events. Forty-nine travel brands were exhibited, including tour operators, car-rental companies, airlines, accommodation and cruise brands.
Club’s sales have recovered by roughly 39% since February, and it now has approximately 400 active ITCs, having managed to retain most of its ITCs during the pandemic (about 50 ITC memberships were lost).
Addressing the crowd at the Cape Town event, which took place at the impressive DHL stadium business venue in Greenpoint, Fraser said business was booming.
She was ecstatic to reconnect with ITCs and reboot the brand’s ITC division, which will continue to be the focus into 2023. She said 75 new ITCs had signed up already this year.
Social events
Club’s ITC and franchise division has been busy with fun food jam functions and other social events, and recently hosted Club Travel’s first exclusive educationals since COVID-19 (to Seychelles and Beachcomber resorts in Mauritius). Fraser said more trips were in the pipeline. “My drive for this year has been re-engaging and looking after our existing partners. It hasn’t been about new business or new partners. Retention was our biggest priority.”
She said the biggest challenge agents faced at the moment was the cost of airfares, particularly for domestic travel. But business is booming. “Every ITC I speak to wants to employ somebody to help them. They are so busy, they can hardly cope,” she said.
Suppliers happy
Cruises International (CI) gave away a four-night Royal Caribbean cruise ex-Singapore in a balcony cabin for two people (an agent and their partner) during the Cape Town event. Barry Daum, CI’s Business Development Manager, was happy to be involved. “Club Travel is a phenomenal partner. This is our way of saying thank you and it reflects our commitment. It’s an absolute privilege to be here and to be able to do the giveaway,” he said.
Daum said the ‘#ClubTravelIndabaReboot’ workshops were a good opportunity to build more brand awareness. “The free-flow format is excellent as it allows for extra time with people who want to spend time with us,” he said, adding that he hoped more ITCs would suggest cruise holidays in the future.
Virgin Atlantic was excited to launch its new Cape Town-London Heathrow service at the events. The seasonal service, which resumed on November 5, will add 100 000 seats between Cape Town and the UK between November and March.
Lois Gibbs, the owner of Travelwiz, a Club Travel ITC, said she had given up a lucrative non-travel job to get back into travel after the COVID lockdown. “I am happy to be back. You have got to do what you love!” said Gibbs.
She said travel demand hadn’t dropped off yet and believed that there had been real value in being a member of Club Travel during the recovery. “It is nice dealing with people who have your back, especially when airline service leaves a lot to be desired.”
Harold Cox, owner of Kenilworth Travel, added: “I am also happy to be back, although I never really left the industry! A lot of my business is repeat and some referrals. After 60 years in travel, I absolutely believe there is value in being a Club Travel ITC.”
Optimistic
Linda Mazibuko, Airlink Sales & Marketing Representative, told Travel News: “We are having lots of discussions around what’s new and what Airlink is offering, including access to SLOW lounges in Jo’burg, Durban and Cape Town for Y-class full-fare passengers and business-class passengers. We are also excited to be launching a frequent flyer programme in March,” he added.
Lizelle van Zyl, World Leisure Holidays Business Sales Executive, said: “It’s wonderful to see the positive energy that agents are bringing to us as suppliers and to see how busy everyone is again.”
Liezl de Goede, Beachcomber Tours Sales Executive, encouraged agents to capitalise on early-booking discounts to grow their business in 2023. There is still limited availability at Beachcomber resorts in Mauritius over December, which De Goede said was good news for agents and customers, given the tendency to book late.
Representing Emirates at Cape Town’s DHL stadium, Sales Executive, Manuela Lotti, confirmed daily flights from Durban to Dubai from December 1, 2022. Cape Town will be serviced with two daily flights as of February 1, 2023, while Joburg will be a three-times-daily service from March 1, 2023. Lotti said: “We are so thrilled, and the agents are thrilled! They need that availability!
“It’s great to see everyone again. It is one of the happiest days I’ve had in three years. Everyone is so positive and seems to be doing so well.”
Fraser concluded: “At Club Travel we stuck together, streamlined the business and did a bit of a huddle. We had to make some tough sacrifices, but we are here!”
