The new brand will be fully launched in time for peaks and will sell via the trade as well as direct as an OTA. Initially, destinations will centre on India, Costa Rica, Indian Ocean and Egypt.
Alan Meadows, who founded the Simply Cuba brand, said he had met with former Holiday Place colleague Adarsh Shah at WTM London following Holiday Place’s collapse in 2019. Holiday Place was the largest independent operator to Cuba before its failure.
“We talked about launching Exotic Escapes first, but the gap in the market was B2B to Cuba, so we put Exotic Escapes on hold and launched Simply Cuba in 2022,” said Shah, the new brand’s managing director, who said the delay has enabled systems to be perfected.
“The plan was always to spread, we feel we are ready to scale. Our systems are connected to suppliers now, we are ready to quote. We can usually tailor-make in 24 hours.”
Shah said a soft launch in September had secured trade interest, adding Exotic Escapes would specialise in multi-city destinations and offer tailor-made touring itineraries. The pair eventually plan to offer “the whole of the Caribbean”, plus the US and Far East.
“Our time at Holiday Place means we have good relationships with suppliers. I was there for over 20 years and Alan for seven years,” Shah said. Meadows added the planned Egypt programme was the result of 16 years spent with specialists Longwood Holidays. “It’s not something I plucked out of the air," he added.
Shah said there was a twin strategy for the new venture. “The plan with Exotic Escapes was always to promote to the consumer and trade, but so far we have only focused on selling to the trade and we will make a decision whether we create a new brand to sell direct.”
However, Meadows, trade sales manager, added: “Because of the relationships we have had with many, many agents over the years, we believe the strength in building the brand will come from B2B.”
The pair were speaking as Cuba’s eastern region was being battered by Hurricane Melissa. Meadows said Simply Cuba had no clients in the area. “One thing about Cuba is the size of the island,” he said. “Even though Cuba will take a battering, they are evacuating, and Varadero and Havana (in the north) are not affected.”
