Avventura Travels launches to trade with price parity pledge

The operator, set up earlier this year by former Abercrombie & Kent managing director Richard Hadfield, said he wanted agents to see the business as a “supportive and flexible” partner to agents.

“Agents are at the sharp end of our industry and deliver a fabulous service,” said Hadfield. “They build relationships with clients where trust is an imperative.

“We will help build on that trust by saying openly we’re not trying to be all things to all people; we will only have a small portfolio of destinations to ensure we know them backwards and can deliver to clients’ exact requirements.

“We do have a direct proposition, but we will 100% honour our direct prices with agents. Our wonderful industry is tough enough without undercutting our friends and allies.”

Avventura currently offers travel to Costa Rica, Colombia, Southern Africa, Vietnam and Cambodia, and has just debuted its first Madagascar tour. It is also planning to launch a tailor-made service later this year.

“We have spent months researching and visiting our chosen destinations,” said Hadfield. “Over the coming months, we will provide bespoke itineraries but again, only in our chosen destinations.

“We will not cut corners. If an agent gets in touch with an enquiry for a destination we’re not completely familiar with, we won’t try to busk it. That’s the way to lose trust, something we’re not prepared to do.”

Avventura’s vision is of a proposition combining high-quality experiences with a “do your own thing” ethos in more sparsely frequented destinations. “We want clients to be able to have those once-in-a-lifetime experiences without feeling their travels are a route march from one photo opportunity to another,” said Hadfield.

Hadfield, a former director at Thomas Cook and lastminute.com, added ethical, responsible and sustainable travel principles would be woven into its trips.

The operator is a member of the Travel Trust Association.