BDM, Paul Badics (centre), with the rest of the Goway team
Guests get Goway informed
Air New Zealand's Sabrina Bernacchia chats with guests
Steve Martin, Training Facilitator, prepares for the presentation
With 6 training events planned across Canada in the span of 2 weeks, the Goway team and partnered suppliers are operating on a hectic schedule. “It’s an efficient use of everyone’s time since some suppliers have come from the West Coast, like Vancouver and LA,” said Steve Martin, Training Facilitator. But what’s different about this series of presentations, all specializing in the South Pacific – Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Cook Islands and Papua New Guinea – is that it’s not just about product information. It’s also about bringing agents and their clients together.
YTO’s session was held last week at the Delta Chelsea Hotel and attracted 60 members of the trade and 240 consumers. Goway is one of the only companies that hosts combined trade and consumer events, but this does not mean the trade is any less significant. In fact, a private (trade only) reception was hosted prior to the presentation where agents were treated to Australian and New Zealand wines, and helped themselves to a bountiful cheese platter. “We like to take care of our agents,” said Martin. Suppliers were also on hand to share brochures, flyers and information that was trade specific – like a new Australia and New Zealand booking incentive.
Since YTO is this roadshow’s largest event, invitations were mainly extended to members of Goway’s existing clientele – agents and consumers who have booked and travelled with the tour operator in the past. “It’s a way of reintroducing our long term clients and agents to the destination, a way for them to get information direct from suppliers and a chance to meet the Goway staff,” said Paul Badics, BDM for Eastern Canada.
Badics said that the vast majority of Goway’s bookings come through travel agent sales. “We’ve allowed agents to invite their clientele, giving them the opportunity to promote their business and the destination at the same time,” he said. “These events can make the difference between someone thinking about a trip and someone booking the trip.”
Combining the trade and consumer crowd is definitely a unique training format – and it definitely seems to be working for Goway. According to Badics, there have been definite spikes in sales after events like these. “Because these are big trips that take some planning (unlike sell-offs or last minute sun vacations), we might not see clients booking immediately or the day after,” he said. “But we plant the seeds and keep in contact with them. Four to 6 months down the road, the clients return.”
