Speaking to TTG on Monday (26 September), UK and Ireland national account manager Tom Dumbrell – who rejoined the brand earlier this month – said the escorted touring and river cruise specialist hopes to increase its trade links through in-person meetings, virtual events and training initiatives.
"I’m very privileged to have a solid base of existing travel partners who have held up extremely well, and lasted excellently through the past challenging few years," he said.
"Their fierce loyalty means our booking levels are as healthy as they were a couple of years back, which is really great to see. But it is now time for us to be more visible with our partners, by reaching out to them more, as a way to say thank you for their loyalty."
Dumbrell said the brand wants to become a "household name" in the UK – "as it is in the US" – by working with agents to "relay the brand’s ethos" to their customers.
"It’s a staple of quality. We are a non-discounting company which represents quality and value, and right now those are the types of bookings our agent partners are looking for and the ones we are looking for," he added.
"Once we sit down with an agency and get that message across, they’ll book a client, and then they’ll have 10, 15 or even 20 years of great bookings with us."
He further outlined the company’s plans to host in-person trade training events in November, where Tauck senior leaders will be present to engage with agents.
"We want to engage with anybody who wants to work with us, we know we have a great product which we can all benefit from," Dumbrell continued.
"We really have something for everybody, whether it be closer-to-home tours, or a bucket-list river cruise. But there is, of course, room for improvement, as we have been in a position for a while where we have not had much of a sales presence in the UK."
