Flight Centre Travel Group’s Global MD of Luxury Leisure and Independent Brands, Danielle Galloway has revealed some of the secret sauce to the success of the Travel Associates brand, 25 years in the making.
Speaking at The Luxury Travel Event in Sydney last Sunday, Galloway said Travel Associates (TA) was driven by customer service, expertise and in-depth knowledge. She highlighted that TA was all about being “boutique and local”. The brand currently has 60 businesses in Australia and New Zealand, of which there are some 300 travel advisors networkwide.
“We are not a travel agency,” the FCTG boldly stated.
“We’re not about mass and we’re not about the internet. We are about personalised curation and selecting once-in-a-lifetime destinations for our clients.”
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“I always reiterate this throughout the business and I love the Coco Chanel quote – In order to be irreplaceable one must always be different.”
“We really specialise in those professional services of travel and we’re not only incredibly proud of our brand, but also what we do to be different in the industry and how we position ourselves,” Galloway said.
Galloway watered-down talk of a “renaissance of travel” and “the return of the travel advisor” following the pandemic, saying: “For us, the advisor has always been important. In this luxury space, it’s never been different.” Important in the sense of sourcing one-of-a-kind experiences, making memorable moments while ensuring the client is secure and safe on their trip.
Galloway also provided insight on Travel Associates’ data that reflected the significant rebound in the luxury space.
“We have never seen more top-class travel than we are right now. Remembering we’ve been around 25 years, but to see the volume of traffic over the past 18 months that have flown through our luxury division has been really significant.”
First class flights increased 408%, while business jumped 319%. The average dollar per file spent has doubled.
“The consumer is travelling more than ever before,” she added.
Galloway also reflected on current global airfares, referring to some of the prices in the market that people are paying as “quite outrageous”.
“But, that will change over the next 12 to 18 months as more Asian carriers come into market. There will be lots more capacity and therefore drive the prices down.
“Nonetheless, it’s not about price for these luxury customers. Right now, they want to make sure that they get availability and their seat locked away.”
Galloway also flagged regions of the world that were proving popular with Travel Associates’ clients include the UK and the US, while Japan was the highest growth market for the brand.
Further, she noted that cruising is the highest performing segment in the luxury market, acknowledging the years of continued investment in the travel industry by cruise lines through the COVID years was finally being returned and in spades.
Lead image: Danielle Galloway (centre) with Lisa Pile (left), Vice President Sales & General Manager, Asia Pacific, Regent Seven Seas Cruises and Rachel Kingswell, General Manager, Travel Associates.
