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In this video you'll hear from Explore's agency sales manager Philippa Baines, and TTG's partner content editor Jessica Reid.
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Video transcript
Jessica: Welcome to our In the Spotlight video with Explore! Philippa, can you first tell us what agents need to know about Explore?
Philippa: Of course, hi Jessica. I suppose the USPs are the important thing just as a reminder. We're all about the unforgettable experiences, so that's really about bringing customers closer to the people, the places, the culture in really impossible to replicate ways. It's about delivering those once in a lifetime experiences, but every single day of their trips. Size matters with Explore as well – very important. We are a small group adventure company, and the small groups are only 11 people on average, and 16 is a maximum – perhaps 18 on a family adventure. Our leaders are the best in the business. We truly believe they are. They're like our extended Explore family. They're local wherever possible, of course. They have encyclopaedic knowledge. The difference with Explore is that we handpick our leaders and we do train them the Explore way, so they will make what is already a fantastic trip completely extraordinary. We are responsible at heart, and B Corp certified, with lots of sustainability initiatives on our website. We have flexible booking policies, so we really look after your customers as well. And of course we have guaranteed departures, which is really important when you're booking a touring holiday to know it's not going to be cancelled at short notice because of low numbers. Our tours will always go ahead, which is fantastic. So some very important USPs there.
Jessica: Amazing! I hear you have some exciting new itineraries coming up?
Philippa: Yeah we are pretty pioneering to be honest. We are not afraid to go to the unknown and pick out the lesser-known destinations, and Tunisia did really well when we launched that last year. So off the back of that, we've actually got a couple of new itineraries for Algeria – we haven't been there for a few years. One is the wonders of ancient Algeria and covers the M'Zab Valley as well. It can be put back-to-back with our Sahara Desert itinerary, which is further south – so that's the Algerian Sahara Desert Adventure – it's called – and that's really off grid. It's away from civilisation. You won't get a mobile phone signal, there's camping involved, so it's completely off the radar – but really great for those adventurous customers that want something a little bit different. And of course, Japan. Simply Japan has been our best seller for a couple of years. We've been told it's the most comprehensive, best price itinerary for Japan on the market – I wouldn't disagree with that at all, it's a fantastic itinerary. And this new one, it's a highlights tour covering Kyushu island, so it's good as an add-on, so a good upsell opportunity to add that onto Simply Japan. Or, just those that have been to Japan before and want to try the less-visited part of Japan, going onto that third-largest island as well. So it's great in terms of getting the vibrant cities, the culture – of course – dramatic landscapes and the hot springs. It's a great itinerary. That coupled with more in our upgraded range – so we've got a fantastic premium accommodation with that immersive spirit thrown in as well. There's Columbia, there's Andalusia, there's more in India, more in South Africa. And we've got a couple of new family adventures also, which are fantastic. So we're now doing Amalfi Coast, we've also got Borneo Wildlife for the families and also walking in the Dolomites – and they're coming through all the time, so there's always something new with Explore.
Jessica: Does Explore have any other important updates to share with agents beyond the itineraries?
Philippa: Yeah, they'll be excited to know that we're actually got our partnership with Incredible Journeys. So if agents are looking for another dynamic package solution to enable them to package our trips around tailor-made itineraries, so if they want to do pre and post- beach stays, for example, book a whole package including the flights as well, then they get it all under one Atol bonded package. That's fully commissionable. So that's another good offering that we've got now just gone live. So really exciting news there.
Jessica: Brilliant! Finally, can you tell us what trade support Explore offers agents?
So much. I'll start off with our brochures because they are amazing. We are 100% trade friendly and we have got total price parity, of course. And just to mention that any campaigns and promotions, discounts are all available through the trade. We don't direct discount. Even our loyalty discounts – which encourage our repeat customers to book again and again – are passed on to trade partners and it doesn't affect their commission. So it's fully funded by us, which is good news. But our brochures – I don't know if many other operators or if any operators do this – we've got a double-page spread that's got a call-to-action for travel agents and it lists the six reasons to book with a travel agent. So agents absolutely love that. In addition we've got our own marketing hub of course. We've got our own dedicated Facebook page, Explore Agents. It's a brilliant Facebook community actually. And lots of concessions, last minute offers that we offer just to the trade as well. We work with travel marketing systems, you can connect with us on Hablo. So much stuff! In fact, the team has expanded, so we've actually got coverage now, on the road, in all corners of the UK, including Northern Ireland. So we've got somebody in the Scotland and Northern Ireland, we've got a north BDM, myself covering sort-of central, and a south BDM as well. So we are fully supportive of the trade completely. We really value our partners.
Jessica: Thank you so much for sharing all of that information and advice, Philippa, and thank you for watching our In The Spotlight video with Explore.
Philippa: Thank you.
