Carter, who sets up international markets for the new luxury expedition line, said Atlas had now grown its brand awareness in the UK, thanks in part to the work it has done with its principal sales agent in the UK, The Cruise Line.
Speaking to TTG, Carter confirmed Atlas was now moving on to its second brand growth phase and is developing trade relations in this country. “We’re working with The Cruise Line to get a cohesive trade structure,” he said.
“The first part of this project was building brand awareness – now we are focusing on travel agent partnerships.
“We’ll have a booking tool and a trade programme in place by the end of the year.”
In the coming days, Atlas will also launch a new trade booking engine in partnership with The Cruise Line.
The platform is designed to make it easier for agents to book, manage and track their clients’ bookings. Carter revealed the trade programme will feature details of fam trips, trade communications, online training and sales support.
Atlas last month decided to fix pricing in US dollars on its website each quarter to help the international markets, which Carter now oversees.
Carter and David Smith, managing director of The Cruise Line, will share latest pricing with UK agents through weekly virtual sessions.
"There is a growth in demand for our product,” Carter explained. “It’s rapidly moving to a point where we’re hitting capacity targets and we’re looking to increase our prices.
"We’re never going to do dynamic pricing, but we do review our pricing structure. As with any start-up, it’s a journey of knowledge.”
Carter also ruled out recruiting additional staff to support him in the UK.
