Flight Centre Independent, the retailer’s ITC division, has appointed Shelley Daniels to serve as National Sales Manager in charge of a major acquisition strategy to attract more members.
Daniels, who is based in Cape Town, and who was formerly Beachcomber Tours Co-Sales Manager, will officially take up her post, a newly created role, on May 3. She will also serve as a member of the brand’s senior leadership team, reporting to the Independent Brands GM, Chantal Gouws.
Gouws welcomed Daniels’ experience at Beachcomber Tours, her established network and good standing in the industry, saying they were major wins for the ITC division.
Flight Centre has invested heavily in growing its ITC operation, both in South Africa and Australia. South Africa is the second market after Australia to launch ‘Home’, a new, purpose-built travel ecosystem for ITCs, a portal for everyday use.
Gouws said a soft launch of Home was likely to happen in South Africa in May, and that the system would be rolled out to ITC members in the next two to three months.
“Shelley has got the relationships that we need. We have an acquisition strategy, and Shelley will be responsible for having those conversations, for explaining to potential new members our unique selling points, for talking about our booking tools and amazing resources that there are for independents.”
Gouws added that potential ITCs were assured of a better deal than they would get on their own, thanks to Flight Centre’s big-group buying power. “Many independents don’t realise the importance of falling under a global consortium. Shelley will have those conversations with ITCs in the industry. She’s going out to look for ITCs who want a Home to be part of.”
Daniels said she was looking forward to working with a team she felt she already knew. She left Beachcomber Tours in April 2021 after more than 10 years with the company and is now delighted to be re-entering the travel industry. “Flight Centre has invested a lot into the brand and this is a brand-new role. There is no better time to join than now. I enjoyed my 12-month hiatus, but I am looking forward to being back and also to working on the other side (of the sales chain).”
At the start of 2022, Flight Centre’s target was to recruit 200 ITC subscribers this year. ITCs pay a R1 800 monthly membership fee (excluding VAT), with the first three months of a new subscription free of charge.
