Internova Travel Group president Gabe Rizzi told TTG that after bedding in "dozens" of acquisitions over the past decade, the objective now was to expand the reach of its UK-facing businesses – including Barrhead and those within the Global Travel Collection.

"We’re seeing really positive bookings out of our UK teams," said Rizzi. "With some metrics, we’re at or have even surpassed 2019 levels which is exciting. We’ve not arrived yet, but we’re seeing some positive signs. These businesses in the UK are critical to our growth formula."

Rizzi said the pandemic has underlined the importance of "operational excellence and efficiency in the mid-office". "It’s not a matter of putting things back together the way they were in 2019," he explained.

He said the business would look to operate smarter by automating some manual processes so staffing resources could be redeployed to service more valuable activities and spend more time with clients "rather than moving data around internally". "At Internova, there are functions we describe as being ’at centre’," said Rizzi. "These central functions are allocated according to what the service needs of our brands are.

"What we have, and what a lot of companies have moved to, is a matrix-managed environment. There will be folks who are dotted-lined into the business units and solid-lined into the centre so one doesn’t act without the other’s alignment. This really creates a lot more efficiency and teamwork. ’Build it and they’ll come’ doesn’t work, build what they ’want’ and they will come."

Rizzi, though, didn’t rule out further acquisitions in the UK, and said the financial challenges posed by the pandemic would continue to present "really interesting consolidation and combination opportunities".

However, he stressed the immediate focus would be organic growth. "Growing organically is the hardest thing you can do, but it’s a true sign of business health," he said. "Our businesses here are growing their distribution. They’re attracting new contractors, which is exciting. It means the value we’re providing them is resonating. They wouldn’t join us if they didn’t find value in it."

Rizzi said Barrhead would continue to grow "smartly"; the Scottish agency chain is preparing to open a new store in Northwich, and will look to reposition some existing outlets. It recently relocated its Dundee store to a new shopping hub to reflect the changing retail landscape in the city.

"Organic growth within Barrhead is more about expanding business with clients who have travelled with us before, growing that base, upselling to existing clients and improving our conversation rate against enquiries," Rizzi continued.

"All of these things drive organic growth without having to expand the actual footprint. It’s about how we provide more services we can monetise and with which we can create revenue opportunities."

Bucket lists becoming ‘to-do lists’

Rizzi added that while he saw opportunities to grow experiential travel, especially culinary or "foodie" trips, and adventure travel, it was the luxury sector Internova had identified as having the greatest potential for growth.
"I’ve been with some of our largest independent contractors here and asking them what they were seeing with their largest luxury clients," he said. "And they’re seeing demand for ’uber-luxury’, taking things to the next level.

"The folks that had terrific financial wherewithal weren’t impacted negatively like a lot of people were during the pandemic, some of them got wealthier. They’re looking at ways to take privacy to another level through villas, private yachts and private jet charter.

"Trips are getting longer, people are hosting family reunions. One of our partners at Royal Caribbean recently told me, ’it’s no longer a bucket list, it’s a to-do list’. Folks are saying, ’I’m not going to live forever, who knows what the next variant holds?’. They’re not waiting, they’re booking these trips now."