Travel agents play a critical role in the global travel industry, accounting for up to 70 per cent of airlines’ business. They are key facilitators of domestic and international travel. The Star’s Martin Mwita spoke to the Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) chairperson SHAZMIN MANJI, on the industry and future of the travel sector in post-pandemic period. 

Tell us about KATA

The Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) is the industry body for the travel agents’ sector. It represents businesses that are primarily dealing with airline ticketing, weather it is for corporate, business travel, medical, leisure travel and other purposes. Our mandate is to protect the interests of the travel industry. That includes lobbying and advocacy with government and IATA (International Air Transport Association). We also focus on building partnerships and facilitating business opportunities. We have been around for 43 years now with a membership of 232, majority who are IATA members.

How many destinations do you connect the Kenyan market to?

We connect the country to the world. There is no destination a Kenyan cannot reach and there is nowhere in Kenya a foreigner cannot reach through various connections.

What strategies have you put in place to grow travel and connectivity?

One of them is engaging with the government and national carrier-Kenya Airways on the open skies conversation. Obviously, the more airlines you have flying into the country, the better connectivity you have. We are also hoping we can get more information and understanding on KQ’s strategy so that we push for open skies. It is in relation to the growth trajectory that Kenya Airways has. The more seats and capacity, the more passengers fly the more trade, growth of tourism and the economy.

What challenges would come with the open skies? 

As we talk open skies we have to talk about infrastructure, facilities and products in place. Let’s take Mombasa as an example, and we compare it to Zanzibar as a key competitor destination. If we were to give access to all the flights that we are asking for, do we have sufficient product available to cater for demand? And does it meet international standards? Have the products been upgraded and are we able to command a price that will then enable them to be sustainable in the long-term? We have to ask those questions. If we are going to open skies then bring the investments later, then it is not going to work. The investment has to be in place before open skies come. 

How would you define the country’s domestic travel?

Domestic travel has been growing since around 2005. We have seen a steady increase and when Covid happened, the importance of domestic travel was really felt. They were the first to be able to travel and take up opportunities in the market. They played a critical role in cushioning the sector. Hotels, parks and destinations all responded by offering favourable rates. This gave Kenyans the opportunity to experience more than in the past, a trend we expect to see continue. Kenyans are passionate about their country.

How has the revenue performance been in the travel industry? 

In 2019 we closed BSP sales at over $500 million (Sh61.6 billion). In 2020, we closed at $222 million (Sh27.4 billion) and January to July 2022, we had exceeded 2021 and we were seated at $242 million. That means by the end of this year we will match or surpass the sales volume of 2019. This suggests that the industry is back to recovery. During Covid, the impact was significant like everybody else in the hospitality industry. We  went from sales to no sales. There were job losses, unpaid leaves and pay cuts. But as we speak, most of the companies have been able to recover though there has been loss of talent and knowledge as some people opted to leave the industry and seek employment elsewhere.

Travel agents vs tour operators, who handles what traveller?

Travel Agents handle a lot of business travellers coming into the country for meetings and conferences, but majority of leisure travellers are handled by tour operators. The economic contribution by travel agents has however not been quantified by government nor the private sector. This is something we want to do next year by commissioning a study on the same.

How much business does travel agents handle in the airlines industry?

About 70 per cent of all airline seats sold are by travel agents.

How is product pricing compared to other destinations? It is cheaper to go to Dubai than destinations in Kenya

I think if we were to compare Kenya to destinations like Tanzania, the neighbouring country is more expensive. But I don’t know how much cheaper we want the Kenyan product to get until we destroy it. Cheap has a consequence and we are seeing that for example in the Mara. But also, it goes down to economies of scale. The products in Kenya are not developed to accommodate large numbers say a thousand and more at a go. I think the biggest hotel we have at the coast can only accommodate 600-700 people. If you take a four-star equivalent product in Dubai, it can accommodate over 1,000, in Mauritius and other beach destinations, they can accommodate more which makes their prices lower.  But I don’t think as a country we can go so cheap if we want value for money.

How is the cost of travel in post covid era

The cost is higher and that is one of the reasons why we are seeing the recovery of the BSP figures reaching 2019 levels, yet capacity is not the same, meaning sales volumes are there but the number of seats sold is less.

Any partnerships in place?

Post Covid-19 recovery has been and still being largely driven by collaborations. We have established solid relationships with destination management companies abroad. We are also facilitating business linkages and working with everyone mainly service providers in the industry. We also have familiarization trips to help agents understand products and be able to sale better.

Outbound travel, where is the traveller going to most?

Mostly it is destinations where visa is not required or easily available. Dubai is the number one travel destination for Kenyans going outside the country. It has easy access and is affordable whether its for business or leisure. Europe and the US are popular destinations but access to visa tends to be a hindrance especially post Covid where we have had delays in getting the travel document. But it is growing. We expect numbers to South Africa to grow with the visa waiver in place.

What is your take on the EAC single visa?

It is working well in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda. Tanzania is the one that is yet to embrace the single visa.

What is your expectation from the government?

The economy cannot grow without travel. We are aiming at building relationship with the government especially transport and tourism ministries. There is also a need to ensure regulations tare in place to facilitate growth of the travel industry. The sector also needs support. For instance, during the pandemic, no body thought of supporting travel agents who are handling the numbers. It is our hope we can put structures that will protect sector players and allow both airlines and the travel agent industry to grow in a sustainable manner. We also need a framework that will improve payments. For instance, government can take up to six months without paying their bills. This affects the businesses where agents must pay IATA every two weeks. We need to streamline the industry starting with credit, payment solutions, financial securities, and then regulatory frameworks.

What impact did the recent Kenya Airways’ pilots strike have? 

As soon as the strike happened, the airport was a mess and travel agents were working 24 hours to rebook passengers. There was a major cost implication to the travel agents and travellers. We focused more on rebooking than new business for almost a week. Such strikes are unfortunate in the industry. We have seen a lot in Europe this past summer, the impact is normally huge. We however later met with KQ management to find out how we can better work together in the future.  We want to build their relationship with the traveller such that KQ is the preferred carrier. We want to be confident to tell the traveller, fly Kenya Airways.

How is demand for travel this festive season compared to last year?

Last year was chaotic. Dubai was open for tourism and suddenly locked and Kenyans had booked by thousands and suddenly they could not travel. We had a lot of cancellations, people lost money because hotels did not necessarily refund, and people had to find alternative destinations. This year is different, more destinations are open, and the volumes are significantly higher.  

How can the country build a reputable travel sector? 

Agents are bound by a code of ethics. I am sure you are familiar with cases where travellers have lost money to briefcase operators. We are heavily naturing the next generation, currently partnering with the Kenya Utalii College, Strathmore University, and other institutions of higher learning. We are keen to influence the next generation of travel consultants. We want to be more involved in developing the travel industry curriculum. 

What would be your message to travel agents on the road to recovery?

We need to be cognisant of the fact that technology is changing very quickly.  Businesses need to be alive to threats and opportunities and transition with it. They must embrace change at a much earlier stage than try to resist and then find they are not relevant or unable to operate.

Why travel agent when I can book online from my living room?

When you get stuck because of an airline strike or face any challenges when connecting. That is when you will know the importance of a travel agent. You try calling the airline, which has limited capacity to manage the consumer. A travel agent will research, find easier and affordable routes, and give you options. They will take care of you, in the event of an emergency when travelling.  They offer a wholesome package from airport transfer, flight, hotel among others which makes your travel easier.

Any opportunities coming with the African Continental Free Trade Area?

One of the agendas for 2023 is to have an engagement with the industry on opportunities and future growth.  One of the key opportunities is the intra-Africa travel and you will find that all the AU heads of states are committed to the Visa openness index. This will enable the African passport holders to freely move across the continent both for business and leisure. Under the African Continental Free Trade Area, Kenya has identified travel and tourism, financial services, eCommerce, insurance and legal services as priority areas. We are looking forward to tapping the opportunities. 

Source: The Star

Kenya is targeting travel agents in a renewed strategy to grow international tourist arrivals, with numbers projected to nearly double this year and triple next year.

Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage Cabinet Secretary Peninah Malonza on Wednesday said the government will collaborate with agents to drive the numbers.

“We can set targets collaboratively and provide market development while they provide actual and real time bookings for tourists,”Malonza said.

She spoke during a Kenya Association of Travel Agents (KATA) forum in Nairobi.

Malonza said the country must also create viable tourism circuits, adding KATA is best positioned to help develop new circuits and improve on the existing ones.

Kenya currently has seven key circuits, mainly on Safari and beach.

These include the Western Kenya circuit, Coastal Circuit, Southern circuit (Tsavo Amboseli regions), North Rift circuit (Laikipia-Marsabit-Turkana), South Rift Circuit (Mara-Lake Nakuru region), Eastern Circuit and Nairobi circuit.

“We need to leverage on KATA operators in targeting our key source markets , as South Africa does , let’s use KATA directly to drive numbers,” Malonza said.

There are over 400 registered travel and tours agencies in the country with more than 240 being members of the association, accounting for up to 70 per cent of travel and bookings.

Leveraging on the agents, the government believes, will help the country achieve its post-Covid recovery targets set at 1.4 million this year, from from 870, 467 recorded last year.

Tourism Research Institute (TRI), the sectors statistician, projects this year’s earnings will also grow by 81 per cent to Sh265.4 billion.

Total arrivals for the year to August were 924,812, up from 483, 246 international tourists who visited the country in the same period last year.

This came with a jump in inbound tourism earnings which more than doubled to Sh167.1 billion, compared to the Sh83.2 billion recorded in a similar period last year.

The government expects the sector’s earnings to further grow 35 per cent to Sh359.1 billion next year, and then Sh396.1 billion the year after.

Kenya forecasts to have 1.9 million international tourists next year with the number expected to grow to 2.2 million in 2024.

The country’s best year currently remains 2019 when arrivals hit a high of 2.04 million visitors with earnings of Sh296.2 billion.

To drive numbers, the Kenya Kwanza administration is seen to embrace the Open Skies Policy that industry players have been calling on, mainly allowing more commercial flights to the coast region.

“We should continue to adopt a liberal aviation policy through bilateral and multilateral Open Skies Agreements (OSA), to give airlines the flexibility to respond to market opportunities, especially within the African Continental Free Trade Area,”the CS said.

KATA chairperson Shazmin Manji said the association is keen on how both the government and private sector will collaborate in supporting recovery, even as she cautioned that current global factors remain a challenge to the industry. 

“As much as the outlook for air travel looks bright, at least for now, there are signs that the global economic outlook may get bleaker. That the industry’s recovery coincides with a looming recession, is a cause for concern,” Manji said.

The agents met to deliberate on the current trends and the future of the travel business.

According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Economics Aviation report released in September 2022, the travel and aviation industry has witnessed a continued recovery of passenger demand.

This was after the relaxation of the mobility restrictions in major business and leisure destinations worldwide.

This growth has been witnessed by the impressive sales performance of the Kenya travel agents.

Collectively, travel agents had generated over $380,000 (Sh46.5 million) in gross IATA sales as of October this year, which is 11 per cent below 2019 levels.

Travel Agents in Kenya contribute over 75 per cent of the passenger number bookings on national carrier-Kenya Airways and other multinational carriers operating in Kenya.

Source: The Star

Twiga Tours is basking in glory after it was named as the World leading Safari company during the World Travel Awards (WTA), 2022 held in Muscat, Oman on Saturday night.

The Kenyan company emerged the best among other world best hospitality industries during the 29th anniversary Grand Tour – an annual search for the finest travel and tourism organisations in the world.

Founded in 1980, the firm which prides itself on offering highly personalised African Safari experiences in Kenya and the East Africa region, has stood the test of time, winning prestigious awards in the global arena.

“This is a great achievement for the company and the entire team. Winning this award on a global level is a testament to what our company stands for-quality and unique experiences. We take this opportunity to thank our amazing guests and partners across the globe for their confidence in us,” the company’s Chief Executive Officer Minaz Manji told the Nation.

” It has been a hard journey since our company’s inception 42 years ago but sheer hard work, dedication and the passion to create and provide the highest level of personal service has seen the growth of the company. We are proud of our achievements on the global platform,” he added.

Other winners in the ceremony include Maldives which claimed the ultimate honour of ‘World’s Leading Destination’ with Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC) taking the title of ‘World’s Leading Tourist Board’.

Vietnam also claimed the headlines winning five major honours:. ‘World’s Leading City Break Destination’ went to Hanoi, ‘World’s Leading Nature Island Destination’ was presented to Phu Quoc, ‘World’s Leading Town Destination’ was won by Tam , ‘World’s Leading Regional Nature Destination’ was awarded to Moc Chau, with Vietnam winning ‘World’s Leading Heritage Destination’.

Other big destination category winners included Jamaica which took a hat-trick of honours, winning ‘World’s Leading Cruise Destination’, World’s Leading Family Destination’ and ‘World’s Leading Wedding Destination’. 

Saint Lucia, Dubai took the title of ‘World’s Leading Business Travel Destination for honeymoon

Abu Dhabi won ‘World’s Leading Sports Tourism Destination’ and Oman claimed top honors for ‘World’s Leading Nature Destination’. ‘World’s Leading City Destination’ went to Porto with the exciting title of ‘World’s Leading Emerging Tourism Destination’ being awarded to Batumi.

Speaking during the award ceremony World Travel Awards founder Graham Cooke told all the winners and hospitality industry to continue raising the benchmark in the industry.

Voting audience

“I would like to personally thank all of the winners tonight. You have been recognised by our global voting audience as the leaders of tourism excellence. I know that your commitment to becoming the very best will in turn serve to drive up standards across the industry and will raise the collective benchmark.” Mr Cooke said.

In the aviation sector, Qatar Airways  was named as the ‘World’s Leading Airline’ while Emirates took the title of ‘World’s Leading Airline Brand’ together with ‘World’s Leading Airline to the Middle East’, ‘World’s Leading Inflight Entertainment’ and ‘World’s Leading Airlines Rewards Programme.

Oman Air claimed the awards for ‘World’s Leading Airline – Business Class’, ‘World’s Leading Airline Lounge – Business Class’, and ‘World’s Leading Airline – Customer Experience’.

‘World’s Leading Airline – Economy Class’ was presented to Etihad Airways which also won the prize for ‘World’s Leading Airline Lounge – First Class.’ Oman Airports claimed a double honour by taking the awards for ‘World’s Leading Regional Airport 2022 (Salalah Airport), and World’s Leading Airport – Customer Experience (Muscat International Airport).

Sandals Resorts International were once again crowned ‘World’s Leading All-Inclusive Company’ with Beaches Resorts awarded ‘World’s Leading All-Inclusive Family Resort Brand’. The title of ‘World Leading All-Inclusive Resort’ went to Sandals, Grenada.

Source: Nation

Travel agents, sometimes called advisors, have seen many changes through the years, but the pandemic altered their profession in unimaginable ways. And that upheaval’s not dying down anytime soon, with booking travel becoming more complicated and advisors seeing their roles as even more necessary.

Lynda Phillippi has ridden the ups and downs of travel many times during her 18-year career as a travel agent, and seen her profession go through just as many wrenching changes.

Then along came Covid. In a job that has been redefined countless times, through the rise of online travel booking sites, to mobile phones, to the collapse of storefront retail, Phillippi, an agent at Oregon-based agency Renaissance Travel, said the past two years have been like no others in how much her world has changed.

“What’s shifted the most (in) post-pandemic travel — if we are even there yet — is how much more time it takes to plan, book, and get a trip successfully completed,” said the 62-year-old Phillippi, who added she works the usual more than 40 hours a week, just in different ways. “We have to stay on top of destination requirements for vaccines and testing, and help clients arrange for those tests in many cases.”

When travelers started preparing to get back on the road after the pandemic halted their planned trips, many of them turned to travel agents, or advisors as some prefer to be called, for guidance — returning in many cases to professionals who had lost ground to travelers choosing to book trips themselves and online travel agencies a tremendous boost.

The emphasis here? On the advisor part of the job.

But the increased consumer traffic is far from the only change travel advisors have seen in their profession in recent years. The metamorphosis is just a fact of life. They are being asked to play different roles to help consumers navigate an environment still replete with travel restrictions and constantly changing Covid regulations. And now, as this summer has laid bare, travel chaos at all levels.

Travel advisors are adapting in a changing travel landscape by providing expertise on previously unfamiliar scenarios and engaging in a different kind of counseling to customers. Think part-crisis manager, part-shrink.

Phillippi offers this: “An example is a family heading to Italy for a cruise. They want to see Rome for a few days, but they need a recent test to board the ship. Fortunately the hotel concierges are a great resource to assist clients during their stay but it’s a conversation prior to booking to reassure the family that things will go smoothly — well, unless they don’t. One positive test in the group and the family doesn’t board the ship. Now what? What are the quarantine protocols? What’s the retesting process? Do they try to meet the ship somewhere or go to plan B and scramble to salvage their vacation? Some countries have opened up entirely while others still require various protocols, including masking.”

A 2021 poll by the American Society of Travel Advisors found 76 percent of advisors saw an increase in customers compared to prior to the pandemic while 81 percent said they were hearing from consumers who had never used an advisor. Justin Smith, the owner of Evolved Traveler, a member of agency consortium Ensemble Travel Group, appreciates the additional workload as well as the growing interest in advisors’ services. But he acknowledges they’re dealing with never-ending work.

“Advisors are fully aware that be it Covid flare-ups, airline issues, or the war in Ukraine, there is still a lot to stay on top of and be prepared for,” Smith said. “No one is ready to exhale yet. We are not even close to that.”

Smith expounded on why travel advisors haven’t been able to feel complacent despite the easing of travel restrictions worldwide.

“The pandemic has put the travel industry in a constant state of flux, whereas before 2020, there was a familiar flow to it,” he said.

“Even with the pandemic seemingly easing, things we took to be ‘givens’ in the travel industry are still off-the-table. Booking windows are much shorter, and advisors and consumers are utilizing what would have been considered shoulder and off-season to go-to destinations for a myriad of reasons. And plans B, C, and D are discussed at the outset.”

Changed Counseling Roles

A major reason why travel advisors believe they have to stay on top of their game is because they’re increasingly playing the role of a counselor. Counseling is not a new duty for advisors, as Steve Orens — president of California-based agency Plaza Travel — believes they were already pushed to assume a consultant role with clients due to the easy access consumers have to technology and the Internet.

But Erin Green, an advisor at Minnesota-based agency Pique Travel Design, describes the sort she’s doing now as trickier, especially when asked about which destinations are safe and other Covid-related issues.

“You know, if a client asks what happens if they test positive, we can kinda give them an answer of what might happen. But it’s not guaranteed,” Green said.

“It’s less of just where should I stay and what sort of experience should I have in this destination. And on top of those … What’s the best sort of test (to) take before I go. Do you know where I could find that? Do you think this trip will move forward in six months? So there’s definitely been another level that’s been added to our job.”

How can agencies prepare their advisors for the changed counseling duties? Green answered that her agency frequently addresses topics pertaining to global issues during their weekly staff meetings, instead of tech issues commonly discussed at such occasions in the past.

“We talk about the war in Ukraine and how to address client concerns about that,” she said.

“The owner of my agency often will write up a sample e-mail that (addresses) these major topics, like the uncertainty of the Coronavirus early on. If someone’s nervous about a Europe trip because of the war, we have a sample response that our agency has developed that we can sort of work off of. It’s just a lot of open communication and sharing between us and agencies globally.”

Otto de Vries, CEO of the Association of Southern African Travel Agents, also agrees that travel advisors are playing more of a counseling role. But he emphasizes the opportunity to drive business as why advisors should develop close relationships with customers.

“When you’re able to build those kinds of relationships with your customers, the value proposition and your ability to deliver on that customer expectation goes into a completely different space,” de Vries said.

But even before getting into a position where they can establish relationships with customers, advisors are spending more time determining what clients would be a good fit for their agencies. With travel agencies such as Green’s downsizing due to financial difficulties caused by the pandemic, some advisors are taking on fewer clients.

“Prior to the pandemic, we had a lot of support staff. We had a lot of projects and initiatives we were working on. And because of the pandemic, when we were sort of forced to downsize, it gave us the chance to focus and (we realized) we want to remain small,” Green said.

“We would rather have less clients, but clients who are a better fit. (And we would like to) focus on the customized, high-end activities that are the bread and butter of what we do.”

How can advisors determine which consumers might be good clients? Green said one step advisors at Pique Travel Design took during the pandemic was to create a document for prospective clients providing detailed information about the agency.

“So now before we take on a client or we get into the planning process, we really take our time to be sure they’ve read that document, they understand what we do, (and) the type of trips we do,” she said about the change in tactics partially inspired by the pandemic, adding that Pique Travel Design is unable to work with every traveler interested a booking a trip with the agency.

“(We have) to weed out clients that are not a great fit and focus in on more that are a great fit.”

Needed Marketing Expertise

But even if advisors are taking on fewer clients, de Vries doesn’t see the expectations for such professionals diminishing — a belief held by many in the industry. A survey by industry website TravelAge West found that 56 percent of advisors view customers are more demanding now than prior to the pandemic. Green acknowledged that consumers expect travel advisors to be prepared with a plan if something were to go wrong during a trip. But she admitted coming up with answers for such a scenario is difficult.

“We always share what we know, and we do have more general knowledge than the average consumer about testing, return times and certain pharmacies in Minneapolis,” Green said. “But it’s a tough expectation to meet.”

Those increased expectations are driving travel advisors to brand themselves as experts in their fields though, de Vries believes.

“And this requires some marketing expertise, whether that means building a personal brand on LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, or writing their own blogposts or newsletter,” he said.

“People buy from people and, as communities from whom we get trusted information have shrunk, there has never been a greater requirement for travel advisors to cement their personal brands through clever marketing and inspire their existing customers to refer to them.” 

Marketing themselves via social media is a skill many travel advisors struggle with. Forty-two percent of advisors only consider themselves somewhat knowledgeable on social media, according to a TravelAge West Survey.

Those advisors who can learn how to market themselves well on social media might experience success like Lainey Melnick, a franchise owner of luxury travel agency Dream Vacations. She credits an extensive social media strategy for keeping her business on track to reach sales of $1 million this year. Melnick invested her time and energy, during a pandemic-era slowdown in sales, into building five different Facebook accounts as well as those on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.

“My posts are high up in the search engines because they are so consistent,” said Melnick, who also posts video promoting deals. “I do them all myself … It’s a face-to-face world—and I want it to be my face they see.”

The emphasis on building a personal brand marks a shift from advisors relying on their agency to position them favorably in the minds of prospective consumers, de Vries believes.

“Inspiring word of mouth was probably more organic in the past,” he said. “Now to stand out from the noise, you have to be very intentional about building your personal brand, understanding what your customer needs are and then intersecting that with what you do well.”

Going Solo as Independent Contractors

A reason why more travel advisors are devoting more resources to building brands is another pandemic-era shift de Vries has noticed — travel advisors are willing to branch out on their own and work as independent contractors. Stephanie Turner, the owner of Missouri-based agency Brentwood Travel, said the financial struggles many agencies are driving advisors to work as independent contractors instead of full-time employees. Sixty-two percent of U.S. travel advisors were either laid off or furloughed in 2020. 

“During the pandemic, we had to furlough a lot of people,” Turner said, adding she’s seen independent contractor companies willing to pay higher commissions to advisors. “And a lot of older staff wanted to be able to have their hours and work form home.”

But many of those advisors branching out on their own aren’t doing so without support, with more of them choosing to join host agencies since the start of the pandemic. De Vries sees that support as critical for advisors eager to leverage the relationships they’ve built with customers over the years.

“The network that provides them with technology, administrative support, (and) financial support from an accounting point of view. (It) certainly gives them access to good rates and product offerings.

Back to the Future

So what does the future look like for travel advisors? Although de Vries notes a push in South Africa in recent years to make travel bookings a completely online process, he sees a return to the pre-Internet era. He refers to the phenomenon as Back to the Future, with travelers increasingly eager for a human element in their dealings with travel advisors that technology cannot provide.

“Customers want a good old-fashioned travel agent that knows stuff …. and that I can pick up the phone (and) get the latest information (from),” de Vries said.

“They take the burden off me because I try to phone the airline — nobody answers. I email the airline — nobody answers. I try to contact the (online travel agency) — nobody answers.”   

Travel advisors are poised to have more interactions with consumers in years to come. Close to half of U.S. travelers who rarely or sometimes used travel advisors in the past have said they’re more likely to use one post-pandemic.

That potential boom in customers gives advisors like de Vries optimism for being able to build long-term loyal customers beyond the pandemic. Although he acknowledges that window is small, he sees an valuable opportunity for travel advisors.

“Those that leverage this opportunity have a real chance to develop meaningful, long-standing relationships that will also not only make them sustainable but will allow them to grow their businesses,” de Vries said. “Because nothing beats a reference.”

Oregon travel advisor Philippi is also eager to take advantage of that opportunity.

“Clients want desperately to travel and my job is to make that happen if at all possible,” she said. “It usually is, but there’s a lot more to it than there was before Covid. I’m finding reserves of patience I didn’t know existed.”

She then summed up that major shift.

“When I took a group to Morocco last November, I spent more time discussing insurance than I did talking about the destination. (Ninety percent) of the questions were those what-if questions. Formerly that was maybe a ten-minute conversation, but now it’s more like half an hour in many cases.”

Source: Skift

As the business events community gathers in Germany for the 20th anniversary of IMEX Frankfurt, not only is there is focus on reconnecting after being away for two years but on sustainability as well.

As the business events community gathers in Germany for the 20th anniversary of IMEX Frankfurt, not only is there a focus on reconnecting after being away for two years but on sustainability as well.

IMEX asked all in attendance to take its People and Planet Pledge, consisting of four simple actions including choosing sustainable food options, recycling, and carbon offsetting travel.

IMEX is committed to the Net Zero Carbon Events initiative and will publish its pathway to net zero by the end of 2023. It uses the UN Sustainable Development Goals as a guide with the help of its sustainability consultants MeetGreen.

“We are committed not only to implementing best practices in event sustainability ourselves but also to using our influence to encourage everyone in our industry to maximize their efforts,” said Carina Bauer, CEO of the IMEX Group.

Not only is sustainability a focus of education programming at IMEX, but there is the IMEX-EIC People and Planet Village, a nature-inspired experiential area that highlights sustainability best practices.

For those interested in sustainable building design concepts, Kap Europa Messe Frankfurt was the world’s first convention building awarded Platinum Certification by the German Sustainable Building Council. Attendees had the chance to explore this venue in a behind-the-scenes tour.

In turn, many of IMEX Frankfurt’s exhibitors seized the opportunity to promote their sustainability efforts.

Destination Canada announced the launch of its Canadian Business Events Sustainability Plan, a first-of-its-kind national program aimed at improving the economic, social, and environmental sustainability practices of business events hosted in Canada. Actionable programs tailored toward the unique Sustainable Development Goals of individual cities will be rolled out to global clients to accelerate the industry’s progress toward net-zero targets.

“Developing and launching sustainable business event programs is not an option anymore. If our industry is to meet net-zero targets by no later than 2050, the entire supply chain must work in partnership to find and implement powerful solutions,” said Virginie De Visscher, Senior Director of Business Development, Economic Sectors, Destination Canada Business Events.

Another IMEX Frankfurt sustainability-focused initiative features the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) in Glasgow, which has pledged to plant a tree for every meeting the company hosts at the show. The SEC has an existing relationship with the charity Trees for Life, which it has worked with for the last 15 years, contributing to the growth of 170,000 trees. The SEC, which hosted the globally recognized COP26 conference last year, has also announced its ambition to achieve net zero by 2030.

PROMTUR Panama, the country’s official destination marketing organization, was on hand promoting its new brand, “Live For More,” which focuses on Panama’s culture and biodiversity offerings. Three heritage pillars are featured in this new campaign – its multifaceted culture and ethnic groups, including seven indigenous groups that coexist, biodiversity, and the ocean. Read more about Panama’s sustainable efforts here.

Attendees also gauged their sustainability efforts at the visitBerlin Berlin Convention Office booth. Experts from the Sustainable Meetings Berlin initiative will apply 65 measures included in the document Sustainable Guidelines Berlin, which outlines steps for sustainable event planning. These include CO2-friendly arrivals for participants, selecting regional foods for catering, and the use of energy-friendly technology.

Hanse Mondial, the recently appointed ground handler for IMEX in Frankfurt, is managing hosted buyer transfers to and from Messe Frankfurt during the show.

The company has technology at the forefront of its service, with measures including an app to ensure service runs efficiently and sustainably during the three days of the show. The company also offsets its carbon footprint through an extensive tree planting program, with nearly 3,000 trees planted worldwide over the past eight months.

Source: Skift

Travel booking platform GetYourGuide.com, has announced the results of a new survey aimed at uncovering what ‘unforgettable’ experiences mean to U.S. travelers in today’s world, which revealed consumers are in search of authentic experiences, avoiding tourist traps when planning itineraries and opting for domestic destinations in 2022. These trends are expected to play out widely as travel bookings are increasing: GetYourGuide’s U.S. booking volumes have more than doubled compared to pre-pandemic numbers in 2019.

“It’s great to see a renewed desire to discover new and different experiences through travel,” said Caroline Berger, Head of Brand, U.S. at GetYourGuide. “We’ve observed a sharp increase in our U.S. booking volumes as travelers are making up for time lost over the last few years—many of whom are more conscious than ever of avoiding the stereotypical tourist traps. As travelers become more discerning, we will be providing unforgettable experiences for them.”

The report’s results found common themes among those planning to travel and book experiences in 2022. Notable highlights include:

Travelers are going out of their way to avoid tourist traps
As many seasoned travelers know, popular destinations can often include ‘tourist traps,’ identified by survey respondents as attractions lacking in authenticity – inaccurately claiming to be unique and exclusive – with inflated prices, long lines, and/or large crowds. These ‘traps’ may act as a barrier for travelers when creating their travel itineraries, leading some to change plans or avoid a destination altogether.

Two out of three (67%) travelers feel they have experienced tourist traps that led to inauthentic experiences

More than two-thirds of travelers (68%) say they’ve decided against visiting an attraction or excursion because they were concerned it was a tourist trap, while four out of ten travelers (41%) say they’ve avoided a destination altogether due to concerns of tourist traps

“Doing your research and booking with a trusted provider is essential for those looking to escape the tourist traps,” said Berger. “By visiting GetYourGuide.com or the GetYourGuide app, travelers not only have access to transparent pricing, flexible booking policies and real customer reviews – which have become table stakes to today’s traveler – they also get a fully curated experience, one that has been vetted by us.”

Travelers are craving to explore new and unforgettable experiences in their own backyard
On average, U.S. travelers take around 3 ½ leisure trips per year, and this year, many (55%) Americans are planning to spend their time off within the U.S., opting for beach getaways (44%) and road trips (36%). Among those with 2022 travel plans:

Two-thirds of travelers say that experiencing new and different things (66%), as well as feeling recharged and relaxed (66%) are the main goals of their vacations

Most travelers plan to go sightseeing (42%) and partake in family-friendly activities (39%)

Travelers ranked favorable prices (54%), having a wide range of activities and experiences (34%) and avoiding big crowds (34%) as top priorities when booking travel experiences

The top priorities for travelers are having a sense of freedom (38%) and taking part in authentic experiences (37%)

Travelers are valuing the ‘who’ in addition to the ‘where’
Whether it is enjoying a new city’s culinary scene, hiking the Grand Canyon or swimming with sharks, most travelers agree that it’s the people they travel with that contribute to making an experience ‘unforgettable.’ Among the open-text comments requested in the survey, respondents echoed the importance of family, friends and loved ones when creating lasting memories.

Close to two-thirds (58%) of travelers feel that creating beautiful memories with loved ones contribute to making a travel experience unforgettable, while four out of ten of travelers (38%) say that learning about the history of different sights and places also makes a trip unforgettable

‘Beautiful’ and ‘fun’ were the most mentioned words when asked to describe unforgettable experiences

Source: Breaking Travel News

Businesses around tourism sector globally are tipped to flourish after successfully emerging from Covid-19 pandemic. 

 Travel agencies are not an exception, with experts recommending it in top hundred best companies in the world.

Travel agencies provide customers with expertise and guidance when booking a trip of any kind.

As multinational agencies and big local companies angle themselves to reap big, young people in Kenya are not left behind.

They are opening desktop travel agencies from comfort of their houses, campuses and gym… either as part time ventures or full-time preoccupation.  

Edward Mogesa 31 is such young person who has vowed to swim with sharks in this sector.  

 Mogesa, a gym owner saw an opportunity to start a travel agency because of the number of youths who frequent his gym, he believes that the industry has potential, and they are at the tip of the iceberg.

He told the Star that the idea was born during covid when most people lost their jobs, and they were forced to come up with ideas to make ends meet.

“My gym buddies and I felt like breaking the monotony of free weights, changing the environment, and embarked on what psychologists would call adventure therapy,”Mogesa said. 

He added that they had a genuine desire to break the monotony, change the environment, and experience rejuvenation from new experiences, places, and cultures.

According to him with Sh 50,000 you can operate the business, one that you don’t even have to own a physical office to keep things moving.

This is not to say that one can only start with a minimum of Sh 50, 000.

 “I wouldn’t be completely honest with you if I said the venture of domestic tourism is not profitable enough, because it is and we owe it to our beautiful country,” Mogesa said.

He says the local tourism sector has a lot of potential and the local market deserves to enjoy the benefits.

“More players need to come on board and recognize the potential of the local tourism sector in the industry,” he added.

Mogesa is not the only one who has tapped into the opportunity, he represents many youths who have now ventured in this sector with over 400 registered travel and tours agencies in the country.

Most of them ventured into travel agency business after the pandemic that forced many organizations to lay off several employees.

Monica Musungu, founder of Scenery Adventures started her now multimillion travel agency with Sh 5,000 and had to rent cars whenever she had a client.

Kenya has been ranked one of the top tourist destinations in the world.

According to North American destination experts Goway Travel, Kenya has become a sought-after destination by avid globe trotters because of its favorable weather, vast wildlife scenery and warm sandy beaches.

Many tours and travel agencies have emerged, milking the cow, that is tourism.

A lot of them have become lucrative empires making it one of the best investments currently in the country.

The market size of the travel agency sector worldwide reached 290 billion U.S. dollars as of August 2021.

Overall, approximately 196 thousand businesses team building operated in this market, while this industry employed nearly 1.6 million workers.

In Kenya, young people are running to the sector to resolve unemployment puzzle. 

Regionally Kenya is comparatively doing badly in terms of unemployment rates.

According to KNBS data, youth unemployment has sharply risen to 706,859 (5.96 per cent) for those aged 20-34 significantly higher than Tanzania and Uganda.

This has made them realize that in order to succeed, they have to take their futures in their hands.

Indeed, it has become apparent that with creativity as well as hard work, young people have the ability to create jobs for themselves and others and turn their lives around.

Christine Ouko, owner of Global Business Travel Management is one of the success stories.

“It hasn’t been easy, but it is worth it. I get to spend enough time with my children, and I am making the kind of money that I could only dream about seven years ago.”

Apart from organising holidays and other trips, her company has ventured into medical tourism which is timely now that hundreds of patients are seeking medical treatment outside the country each year.

Jane Macharia Gituto, managing director at Shian Tours & Travel Ltd located in 5th Ngong Avenue in Nairobi currently makes grosses more than Sh500 million in revenues, has employed 18 people and has two offices in Nairobi and another in Thika.   

Her agency has also been ranked fourth in the annual Top 100 mid-sized survey which ranks the fastest-growing SMEs in Kenya, and they plan to expand in other parts of East African region.

This goes to show how much travel and tourism industry has been growing at a rapid pace inviting new businesses and providing a fertile space for the existing travel businesses to thrive.

Industry data suggest that the number of travel bookings through agents has been growing.

On average, travel agencies earn 78 per cent of their revenue through commissions and 22 per cent of revenue through service charges.

Moreover, they also earn revenue by increasing fare prices or earning compensation by achieving sales goals. 

Source: The Star

As the global travel and tourism community prepares to gather in Dubai for the Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2022 from May 9 to 12, there is bullish news for the Middle East’s aviation industry. 

Data from research firm Mordor Intelligence say the Middle East aviation industry will grow at compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 6% during the period 2022-27.

Although the recovery estimated for international passenger traffic is gradual, Mordor Intelligence shows that the Middle East’s private and domestic aviation segments remained resilient during the pandemic and are continuing to display signs of growth.

Danielle Curtis, Exhibition Director ME – Arabian Travel Market, said: “The latest market analysis suggests that budget carriers such as Air Arabia Abu Dhabi and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi will drive demand for new narrow-body aircraft during the coming years.

“The Middle East’s aviation sector has also witnessed high demand for private travel during recent years, thanks to corporations and high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) opting for business jet and helicopter journeys during the pandemic,” she added.

“As such, the Middle East’s aviation sector will represent a major focus at ATM 2022, thanks to a dedicated session on the ATM Global Stage, plus a number of related events and forums throughout the event. We also look forward to exploring long-term opportunities related to the future of transport,” she added.

Source: Travel Daily

Amadeus makes a plausible case that it will come out ahead after all the ongoing changes to how airlines distribute their tickets to travel agencies evolve.

For years, Amadeus has faced the risk of disintermediation — meaning the risk of airlines trying to kick it out of the distribution chain. But the world’s largest middleman for airline tickets said on Friday that it expects to fend off the threat of direct distribution for at least the foreseeable future.

During an earnings call, analysts quizzed executives at Madrid-based Amadeus about the risks posed by an airline push to connect directly to online travel agencies such as eDreams and Priceline and travel management companies such as American Express Global Business Travel.

Luis Maroto, president and CEO, waved away the concerns. He said he didn’t expect the new distribution push to hurt the company overall.

“We expect it to be a neutral or positive to our P&L [profit and loss] with different models and different negotiations with airlines,” Maroto said.

Maroto acknowledged “that there may be specific points of direct connecting in different markets.” And he said, “there may be specific contracts that we will try, of course, to convince both parties that doing with us will be better from an economic and practical point of view and an aggregation point of view.”

When it comes to the threat of direct distribution, travel tech distribution incumbents have had two key defenses: travel agency trust of their networks as a least-bad option and airline executives not making distribution a top priority.

Those factors help explain why investors have rewarded Amadeus with a share price equal to the one it had in the pre-pandemic year of 2018 — even though the company suffered net losses in 2020 and 2021.

For full-year 2021, Amadeus produced approximately $3 billion (€2.67 billion) in revenue, reflecting a decline of 52 percent compared with 2019 revenue. The company suffered a net loss of about $137.8 million (€122.6 million).

In the fourth quarter, Amadeus generated approximately $909 million (€809.8 million) in revenue. Its adjusted net profit was $42.9 million (€38.2 million).

Modest Airline Direct Push

The latest airline attempt to form direct connections with agencies has confusingly become mixed up with an airline industry effort to push for modernization of how third parties sell their tickets.

This effort — which goes by the airline industry name of the new distribution capability, or NDC — is technically about setting up new standards for how industry computers communicate with each other. But metaphorically, the new distribution capability is about airlines wanting to replace pipes essentially exclusively owned by Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport with pipes that are flexible enough to connect in a variety of ways. The goal is to make both direct and indirect distribution cheaper and easier.

Rather than fight the new distribution capability, Amadeus decided to invest in it. Recent research reports by major investment banks have had a consensus view that the company has gotten ahead of its peers Sabre and Travelport in adopting the new processes.

“Direct connect has been here for a long time,” Maroto said. “But still we expect the volumes will come through us, the GDSes [global distribution systems], and will be part of our normal way of doing business.”

In theory, airlines that invest in new technologies can take advantage of more modern ways of displaying and bundling their products. They now have a choice of either using Amadeus’s traditional pipes, its new distribution capability pipes, or the new distribution capability pipes of other third-party aggregators, such as Accelya, AirGateway, or Duffel.

In practice, only a handful of airlines, such as Lufthansa and Finnair, have been enthusiastic about investing in the new technologies and processes. The new distribution capability has had a slow uptake by travel management companies, which have to do their part to fully consume the content via the new methods.

“With regards to NDC, we expect this penetration to be low for the coming years,” Maroto said. “We are in some areas implementing NDC as part of our contracts. But still, there are a lot of parts of the inventory that will require time to be really implemented on NDC. So it’s still low. [NDC] volumes are not having an impact on our economics positively or negatively.”

In the fourth quarter, Amadeus signed three new airlines to new distribution capability agreements: Avianca, Malaysia Airlines, and Emirates. That brought its total to “more than 20” new distribution capability content distribution agreements signed to date. Amadeus also said it is making progress with American Airlines’ new distribution capability technology integration in North American points of sale.

Center of Gravity Shifting Within Amadeus Units

One key question is whether Amadeus will lose transaction volumes over time if the more modern retailing methods catch fire with airlines.

Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Wood asked Maroto if airline NDC volumes are being executed on global distribution system [GDS] platforms or if they’re starting to be executed on aggregator platforms away from the GDSes?

Maroto said there were different ways for travel agencies to access content, and Amadeus’ strategy was to be great at all of them.

“On top of that, being an airline IT provider means also having many advantages in the way you can operate with this connectivity of access of content of NDC,” Maroto said.

To oversimplify, Maroto implied that changes in how airlines want to distribute their tickets might benefit Amadeus’s Airline IT division even if the changes might cause some relative loss in the company’s traditional distribution unit.

By implication, Maroto effectively said that, even in the worst-case scenario where the unit economics of distribution might become less profitable for some airline contracts compared with traditional ones over time, Amadeus might be insulated overall.

The company may gain from a strengthened business in its sales of a suite of software services affiliated with its passenger service systems, which help airlines board passengers. The company expects it will drive more airline spending on its airline IT services looking ahead.

This dynamic may benefit Amadeus relative to its peers. Amadeus’s airline IT services unit is larger than Sabre’s. Travelport doesn’t have an airline IT unit.

Maroto’s point echoed one made last month by Tom Klein, senior managing director at Certares, who used to be the CEO of distribution giant Sabre for many years, when speaking with Skift CEO Rafat Ali on-stage at Skift’s 2022 Megatrends event.

Klein said he was skeptical that significant change would come to airline distribution because airline executives care more about running their operations safely, efficiently, and with military-grade precision. For executives at the typical airline, distribution isn’t a top priority.

“Distribution gets talked about in the board room maybe once a year, at best,” Klein said. “That means it’s hard to change.”

Many Uncertainties Remain

Amadeus, like its peers, isn’t out of the pandemic crisis yet.

Broadly speaking, Amadeus profits more on sales of long-haul business flights than on any other type of travel, but that category has been hurt by the pandemic’s various effects. The company said it didn’t expect the pre-pandemic 2019 levels of international and corporate travel to return this year — nor will international corporate travel regain its share of the overall mix this year.

More positively, Till Streichert, chief financial officer, told an analyst that the company was more optimistic than IATA’s most recent forecast about the pace of recovery of international travel in general — based on the company’s early 2022 booking volumes.

One unknown factor is the impact of the Russian war in Ukraine and related geopolitical reactions. Sanctions on Russia might depress some Russian booking volumes.

Unspoken on the call with analysts was the danger that an ongoing war might disrupt airline operations on many international routes, reduce airspace access to transcontinental routes between West and East, and drive up jet fuel prices.

But long-term, it looks like Amadeus and its peer companies Sabre and Travelport are, in the words of The Economist, “the ineluctable middlemen.”

Source: Skift

Sabre, a provider of airline information technology to Aeroflot, said on Thursday morning it would stop providing distribution services to the Russian flag carrier, essentially preventing it from selling tickets.

“We are taking a stand against this military conflict,” said Sean Menke, CEO of Sabre.

The moves come as part of a broader retreat from Russia. Expedia has stopped selling travel to and from Russia, Boeing has suspended major operations in Moscow, and multiple airlines have stopped flying to, and over, Russia. Meanwhile, enterprise software giant Oracle has “suspended all operations” in Russia while Apple has stopped selling its devices there.

“There’s likely one final action that can level, instantly, Russian commercial aviation,” tweeted Jon Ostrower of The Air Current on Tuesday before the announcements. “That’s Sabre, the IT backbone on which Aeroflot runs. No Sabre, no reservations. No reservations, no airline.”

While Russian airlines have been banned from North American and Western European airspace, they’ve been able to fly abroad in other directions. Removing Aeroflot from agency platforms made it harder for agents worldwide to book Aeroflot tickets. For internal domestic flights, travel agents can use Sirena, a Russian distribution player. Chinese buyers can use Travelsky.

Amadeus had the largest share of distribution in Russia, Sabre had the second-most, and Travelport had the third-most, according to statistics from Travelport that covered the past 12 months and the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

There are two sides to the services the tech vendors provide. One side is their reservation services used by hundreds of thousands of online and retail travel agencies and corporate travel management companies.

Amadeus and Sabre, but not Travelport, also provide passenger service systems to airlines to help run their operations, too.

“Reservations, passenger service, operations, network planning, and management are core automation, commercial, and operating systems, without which airlines cannot function, except minimally and manually,” said Robert Mann, an industry consultant.

Lastly, Amadeus and Sabre sometimes run “central reservation systems” for airlines, helping the airlines take bookings.

“It’s reasonable for GDSs to decide not to sell Russian flights if they so choose,” said Brett Snyder of Cranky Flier. “But it’s a lot harder to make the decision to turn off the airline reservation system. That effectively shuts the company down.”

Some analysts thought any action at this point would be superfluous.

“I give it five to seven days before domestic aviation is grounded,” said Mike Boyd, president of Boyd Group International. “With many planes repo’ed [being reposessed], with Boeing suspending parts, maintenance, and technical support services, and with passengers being hard up for cash, Russian airlines will mostly stop flying.”

However, Russia might try to follow a policy of carriers grounding two planes to use for spare parts for every plane it keeps in service, on average, according to Djois Franklin, CEO of Seatmaps, a Germany-based seat map data vendor. That policy could keep domestic aviation flying for much longer.

Some analysts noted that legal contracts can make things complicated.

“For example, Amadeus hosts the Russian airline S7,” said Eric Leopold of the aviation consultancy ThreeDot. “Will Amadeus suspend their service, meaning that S7 cannot board their flights? These relations are based on contracts, which are difficult to suspend unless there are clear sanctions to apply.”

“Our immediate focus remains the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues and their families in Ukraine,” the Amadeus spokesperson said. “In light of the attacks on Ukraine, we immediately stopped any new planned commercial projects in Russia. At the same time, we continue to assess and evaluate the potential impact of international sanctions imposed on Russia and any counter-measures by Russia.

A Decision for IATA, Too

Mann also argued that the leading industry body the International Air Transport Association, or IATA, should stop facilitating payments and commerce for Russia-based airlines.

We asked that organization for comment.

“We comply with all sanction regimes applicable to us,” a spokesperson said. “This has reduced IATA’s business activity in Russia. Prior to the imposition of sanctions, some 140 airlines were doing business in Russia through the IATA BSP [billing and settlement plan].”

“As a result of the conflict and the sanctions, many people who purchased tickets will have had their trips canceled and will be seeking refunds, which would typically be processed through the BSP if the tickets were purchased through a travel agent,” the spokesperson said. “Closing the BSP would eliminate this recourse.”

Meanwhile, many travel tech companies, including Kiwi.com and Hopper and Sabre, have been donating money to relief efforts.

“To help support humanitarian programs in the region, Sabre, which has approximately 1,500 team members in Poland, has donated $1 million to the Polish Red Cross,” Menke of Sabre said.

Source: Skift