A taste of Europe with Trafalgar

Capping off a busy day for The Travel Corporation, Trafalgar Canada launched its 2015-16 Europe & Britain brochure in style last night, with one of the brand’s signature Insider Experiences evoking the atmosphere of late 19th Century Paris.

Joined by special guest Brett Tollman, CEO of The Travel Corporation, guests at the launch were treated to an absinthe tasting prior to hearing about Trafalgar’s new developments for Europe in the coming year.

According to Tollman and Wolf Paunic, president of Trafalgar Canada, perhaps the biggest change for the brand heading into 2016 will be the inclusion of “unfiltered and unedited” guest reviews posted directly to Trafalgar’s website, via a partnership with global product review site Feefo. Currently, the site is hosting more than 13,400 reviews from Trafalgar guests with a satisfaction rating of 97 per cent.

Tollman and Paunic said the move to include the reviews will create more transparency, allowing both fellow travellers and agents (who are encouraged to take advantage of the reviews as a selling tool, Paunic told PAX) to make better informed choices about their next vacation booking. The concept, which began with Uniworld, will soon expand to other brands within the umbrella of The Travel Corporation, Tollman told PAX, with plans to bring Feefo reviews to both Insight Vacations and Contiki in 2016.

“Nothing is better than the validation of our guests,” Paunic said. “It’s not Trafalgar saying ‘we’re the best’ nor our retail partners – it’s our guests.”

The 2015-16 edition of the new brochure, boasting a new minimalist look in keeping with Trafalgar’s “Simply the Best” slogan, features Iceland as its hot destination for the coming year; the Ultimate Iceland package will take travellers on a tour of the entire island, with a visit to the country’s famed Blue Lagoon among the highlights.

Trafalgar’s City Explorer program has also been expanded to Paris, London and Rome, Paunic said, providing travellers with new opportunities to explore three of Europe’s most iconic capitals.

Paunic added that as part of Trafalgar’s commitment to continually improving its products, the brand has eliminated some hotels from its lineup while introducing others, most notable of which include Ireland’s recently-restored Ashford Castle and Italy’s Albergo Dell’Agenzia, part of Trafalgar’s Secrets of Italy package.

And while the current value of the loonie may be affecting vacation decisions for some travellers, Tollman and Paunic said there’s been little effect on Trafalgar’s Europe bookings. On a similar note, the financial crisis in Greece had no negative impact on Trafalgar’s packages in the country; on the contrary, the brand’s Secrets of Greece & Korfu was the top selling Europe package this year, Paunic told PAX.

“Our travellers from Canada are looking at Eurozone countries as being accessible and whenever there are currency fluctuations our product sells better,” Paunic said, “because it provides an opportunity to book and pay ahead of time.”

“We’ve never had a surcharge,” Tollman added, “so as a consumer you know your price is locked in.”

Following the main presentation, Tollman also acknowledged Paunic’s predecessor Doug Patterson, who stepped down from his post as president of Trafalgar Canada earlier this summer, while looking ahead to the coming year.

“Doug was with us for 25 years and he’s going to be missed by us as a group and family,” Tollman said. “The times ahead are exciting and we’re looking forward to a fantastic 2016.”