Experiences to suit every type of traveller
THE US is as diverse
as it is vast. It has
something to offer every
traveller, so the key to selling
the destination is a clear
understanding of what kind
of experience your client is
looking for.
Theresa Szejwallo, md
of The Travel Corporation
in South Africa, says: “The
US is a country with a
diversified tourism offering
that will appeal to a very
broad demographic of
travellers. From Washington
to the Wild West, the US
is a mix of 52 very diverse
states, each extremely
different from the next. This
means that the country
really has an experience for
every traveller and is sure
to leave no one indifferent.
The key for travel agents is
to understand what their
clients want and match
their expectations with an
experience and destination
within the US.”
Proper planning
Annemarie Lexow, sales
and marketing manager of
Travel Vision agrees. “Every
state in America is diverse,
with vast distances to travel
between destinations.
Travellers who only have
seven to 10 days for a visit
might need to consider flying
between points to make the
best of their visit.”
Although flying internally
will affect a budget,
Annemarie encourages
agents to spend time with
their clients to determine
exactly what they want
to see and experience to
ensure proper planning of
an itinerary. “If it’s big cities,
then ask them to decide if
they want to do the East or
West coast as opposed to
both. If country and blues
music is what the client
is after, send them down
south to Tennessee. Nature
lovers have a huge range
of options to choose from
in America, from the Grand
Canyon in Arizona to Niagara
Falls, and everything in
between.”
Escorted tours
Escorted tours are a
great way to experience
such a vast destination.
Janine Pienaar, sales and
marketing manager – Globus
Family of Brands, suggests
two escorted touring
brands in the US – Cosmos
Holidays for a three-star-plus
experience and Globus
Holidays for four-star-plus
clients.
She says one of the
main benefits of escorted
holidays is the amount
of ground travellers can
cover at an affordable cost.
One of the top sellers for
Cosmos Holidays is the
Trans-America Adventure,
which is a 23-day crosscountry
road trip from the
Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
Beginning in New York, it
takes in America’s mustsee
sights and cities such
as Niagara Falls, Detroit,
Chicago, Minneapolis, Mount
Rushmore, Yellowstone and
Grand Teton National Parks,
Salt Lake City, the Grand
Canyon and Las Vegas,
finishing in Los Angeles.
US cruising on the up
THE number of South
Africans choosing to cruise
out of American ports is
increasing.
This is according to
Thaybz Khan, brand
manager of Cruises
International, who confirms
that Caribbean cruises
are the operator’s second
most popular option for
South African cruise
clients. Although Cruises
International doesn’t
handle the land portion
of bookings, it is aware
that many clients add a
stop at Walt Disney World
before or after the cruise.
She says: “South Africans
prefer to cruise out of
Florida, and favourites are
the Eastern and Western
Caribbean cruises.”
MSC Cruises has seen
consistent growth out
of American ports, says
Ingrid Roding, pr agent of
MSC Cruises. “Over the
last three years we have
seen an increase year
on year in the number of
South Africans who are
booking cruises in the US.”
Cruises to the Caribbean
often start in Florida, home
to Walt Disney World.
John Ridler pr and media
manager of Thompsons
Holidays, agrees that
families sometimes opt
to extend a cruise with a
few days at Disney World
before or after their cruise.
“A short stay at Disney
Orlando, Universal Studios
and Kennedy Space Center
is the perfect add-on for
families on a cruise out of
Florida.” He says Florida
Keys and the Everglades
are also popular
destinations.
The introduction of
an Emirates flight to
Orlando has opened
up connections to
Cape Canaveral, Fort
Lauderdale and Miami,
says Annemarie Lexow of
Travel Vision. “It’s so much
easier to arrive on time
for cruises.” She adds
that most people prefer
to stay in Orlando before
continuing on a cruise.
The most family-friendly holiday on earth?
DISNEY remains a firm family
favourite for the SA market.
John Ridler of Thompsons
Holidays says: “Disney is one
of the most family-friendly
holidays on the market. The
entire Disney operation is
geared to entertain people
of all ages. Their operations
are very well organised, from
transport to accommodation
and, of course, the wonderful
attractions. This is one of
the best ways to stimulate
creativity in children.”
A trip to Disney is not
just about the rides and
attractions. Says Annemarie
Lexow of Travel Vision:
“Orlando has so much to offer
with Downtown Disney (Disney
Springs), Universal Studios,
the Kennedy Space Center
and so much more. Staying
at a hotel inside Disney
World offers you benefits like
extended hours in the parks
as well as transport between
parks and resorts.” She adds
that guests residing inside the
resort are also able to make
use of the complimentary
Disney Magical Express to
and from Orlando airport and
port.
Trafalgar Tours has
itineraries that offer families
a Disneyland extension. Says
Theresa Szejwallo: “Families
who want to treat their
children to an unforgettable
Disney experience can, for
example, opt for Trafalgar’s
‘Western Discoverer with
Disneyland extension’. This
16-day itinerary not only
includes a full day at
Disneyland Park or Disney’s
California Adventure Park, it
also lets travellers explore
three different US states.”
A tour like this visits two
national parks, the major
metropolises of San
Francisco, San Diego and Los
Angeles, wine country as well
as the ocean and deserts.
Five great specials
Thompsons Holidays is
offering a special rate of
R11 534pps for a threenight
Halloween cruise
on board the Disney
Dream. The rate includes
return transfers, three
nights’ accommodation
in a deluxe ocean-view
stateroom, three meals
a day, daily on-board
entertainment, taxes,
fees and port expenses.
The cruise departs from
Port Canaveral, Florida
and visits Nassau and
Castaway Cay in the
Bahamas. Valid for set
departure on Sep 22-25.
Travel Vision’s
Northeastern USA Rail
Tour package starts
from R21 785pps for
eight days. Travellers
will visit Boston, New
York, Philadelphia and
Washington DC.
Rates include seven
nights’ accommodation,
Amtrak rail ticket between
cities, admission to
Newseum and airport
shuttle transfers in
Washington DC. Valid
until October 31.
Kulula holidays is
offering a special Boston
to Washington DC by train
package starting from
R20 985pps. Rate
includes two nights in a
three-star hotel in Boston,
two nights in a three-star
hotel in New York and
two nights in a threestar
hotel in Washington
DC. It also includes
second-class rail tickets
between the three cities,
Beantown Trolley tour in
Boston, hop-on, hop-off
bus tour ticket in New
York and DC monuments
by moonlight tour. Valid
until September 30.
Thompsons Holidays’
five-night Walt Disney
World packages start
from R25 707pps
ex-JNB, R27 420pps
ex-DUR and R28 445pps
ex-CPT. Rates include
return flights to Orlando
(incl. taxes), return
Disney Magical Express
transfers and five nights’
accommodation at
Disney’s Pop Century
Resort. It also includes a
four-day Magic Your Way
ticket with Park Hopper
option, permitting entry
to more than one of the
following theme parks per
day: Magic Kingdom Park,
Epcot, Disney’s Animal
Kingdom and Disney’s
Hollywood Studios. Valid
between August 13 and
September 28.
Travel Vision’s sixday
Walt Disney World
packages start from
R25 409pps. Rate
includes return airfare
and taxes from
Johannesburg, five
nights’ accommodation
at a Disney All Star
Resort (weekdays only),
five-day Magic Your Way
Base Ticket, roundtrip
airport transfers by
Disney’s Magical Express
and complimentary
transportation throughout
Walt Disney World. Valid
from August to October.
THE new presidency in America
may have implemented some
policies and be discussing
others that could affect
travel into the US, but most
operators in South Africa
believe that local travellers
are more affected by the
rate of exchange than
what the President and his
administration are doing.
Annemarie Lexow of Travel
Vision says people are more
sensitive to how the rand is
performing against the US
dollar when making a decision
to travel to the States. Janine
Pienaar of Globus Family of
Brands agrees. “We have
noticed that Cosmos Holidays
are still popular. This is
Globus’s value product offering
as opposed to its four-star
product. Travellers still enjoy
the benefit of escorted travel,
with ample free time to explore
their destination the way
they want, as well as longer
stays in key cities to immerse
themselves in local culture.”
“There is no reason that
Trump will dissuade tourists at
this stage,” says John Ridler of
Thompsons Holidays. “There
are pending new restrictions
in applying for US visas but
this will not affect bona-fide
tourists.”
Theresa Szejwallo of Trafalgar
agrees. “The new presidency is
contemplating putting a certain
number of travel restrictions in
place, including a tightening of
the visa process.”
There is some concern that
additional travel restrictions
may be a deterrent for
prospective travellers. Theresa
says: “When the UK decided
to introduce visas for South
African travellers a few years
ago, we saw a massive drop
in demand for the UK. We
decided to change our entire
Europe programme, allowing
travellers to bypass the UK
and rather start and end their
Trafalgar trip in continental
Europe.”
However, as Trafalgar’s US
travel director, Gregg Martin,
explains: “Politics shouldn’t
break your travel spirit. Some
of the best experiences have
nothing to do with the Statue
of Liberty, Hollywood signs
and Trump.
Show clients that you care
Scenario: A family holiday for
two adults and their eight-yearold
daughter to Walt Disney
World in Orlando, Florida. The
family would like to travel for
five nights during the October
school holidays – dates were
flexible within that period.
Package should be as fully
inclusive as possible, including
entrance fees to all the parks.
Budget was R25 000 each
and should include a special
for the daughter to share at
a reduced price. All three
agencies were contacted via
email links or addresses on
the company’s website.
Flight Centre, Norwood Mall
I emailed this
branch via
the contact
page on Flight
Centre’s website
and received
an automatic
response saying
my request had
been received and
someone would
contact me
shortly. Michielle Benedetti
called me less than 10
minutes later. The automatic
response form detailed
the dates and information
I had included in my initial
message, a great way to
confirm that I had noted
everything I wanted the agent
to know before she called.
Michielle was excited that
we were planning this trip
and started by checking
the dates I had selected
and whether we had US
visas. Turned out the dates
overlapped the end of the
holiday period so we chose
new dates. I reminded her
that our dates were flexible.
She also asked
whether we would
prefer to travel for
seven nights due
to the distance. As
soon as our dates
were finalised she
asked how many
days we would like
to use for visiting
the parks; I
suggested a threeday
pass and said we’d used
that before at Disneyland
and it was plenty. Michielle
immediately reminded me
that Disney World is much
larger with a lot more parks
to visit and experience, and
suggested she quote me
on both a three- and fiveday
Flexihopper Pass. She
suggested the pass option
that would allow us entry into
more than one park per day,
as well as multiple access to
the same park in one day.
She said Emirates had
a special on and that she
would look at those flights,
promising to get back to me
as quickly as possible
with written quotes.
Michielle called back within
24 hours to say she had
the quotes ready for me,
utilising accommodation in
the All Star Resorts, and
based on that she wanted to
know whether our daughter
preferred movies, sport or
music so that she could
select the ideal resort for us.
She emailed the quotation
through the next day, with
options for three- and five-day
passes. Both quotations fell
within the budget.
Although I didn’t ask
for it, both quotations
included travel and medical
insurance which was a nice
add-on touch and within
budget. I chose Michielle
as the winner based on her
knowledge, confident nature
and constant communication
with me. I felt that she was
really invested in making
sure we had the family
holiday of a lifetime.
Pentraveel, Rosebank
I randomly selected an agent
from the list on the Pentravel
website. That same afternoon
I received a quotation with a
very friendly email advising
that the agent would call
me shortly to discuss the
quotation that had been
sent. The call came through
before I had even opened the
quotation so we were able to
go through it together.
The agent was very
knowledgeable and excited
about our trip and checked
that we had US visas before
getting into the quotation. He
mentioned that he had used
Emirates for the flights as the
airline currently had a sale on
and was the best option for
our needs.
We discussed what meal
packages were available
and he mentioned that food
inside Disney World could be
pricier than eating outside of
the park. His quote included
an add-on meal option. He
selected the All Star Movie
Resort for us, without any
input from me. He also
selected the Park Hopper
option which would allow us
multiple access to the same
park each day as well as
more than one park per day.
Although he had never
travelled to Disney World
himself, the agent was very
knowledgeable about the
destination. He mentioned
that if I took too long
to make a decision the
quotation could be affected
by any currency fluctuations. I
found the Pentravel quote to
be a really user-friendly and
attractive format. I was hardpressed
to choose between
this agent and the winner
and finally based my decision
on the fact that the winner
had been more deliberate
about keeping in contact
with me while this agent only
followed up the initial phone
call six days later.
Sure Interlink World Travel, Norwood
I picked up the agency via
an Internet search and
sent an email to the listed
address on the website.
The email address appears
to be directed at a person
rather than a general info/
enquiry email address, but
I received no response at
all to my email, not even
the usual electronically
generated response that most
companies use.
Michielle’s Top US & Disney tips
Most important is to find
out what the client enjoys
and likes to do in order
to choose the destination
best suited for them.
Ask the right questions to
show them that you care.
It’s important for me to put
myself in the clients’ shoes
and give them the dream
they so look forward to at
good value as well.
Listening is very important
as you need to give them
what they want and not
what you like. We are the
experts,
Take note!
The purpose of the Naked Agent in this series is to assess the experience from only a sales skills
perspective and not the effectiveness of the travel agency. TNW believes that sales skills are
increasingly important to travel agents and, in many cases, improvement in selling skills is the easiest
way to increase the prosperity of the agency and its consultants. The Naked Agent is designed to raise
awareness of the opportunity and build awareness of the need.
