Transat throws a Garden Party for sun season

Not even a steady downpour could dampen spirits at Transat’s Garden Party, as the company bid farewell to summer with a look ahead to the winter travel season.

The intimate event focused on Transat’s 2015-16 sun brochures, offering a number of new destinations (including Curacao, the company’s newest Caribbean destination) and the new Solo and Adult Collections.

Nicole Bursey, commercial director for Transat, told PAX that although Canadians continue to book their winter vacations to popular holiday spots like the Dominican Republic and Jamaica, the newly-introduced packages to Curacao have resonated strongly with Canadian travellers looking for a new destination to explore.

“Curacao is our new destination and its taken off really well," she said. "Because we don’t have a lot of destinations in the Caribbean, we’re really excited to have a new island."

While Cuba has been a popular mainstay for Canadians seeking a little sun in winter, bookings to the destination have skyrocketed in the wake of the country’s eased relations with the U.S., Bursey said, as the possibility of a heavy influx of U.S. travellers looms in future travel seasons.

“Cuba is so hot this year, so a lot of people know this is a really great year to go and the agents are really behind it,” she said.

Of the new products offered in the brochure, the Solo Collection has been particularly well-received by agents, Bursey told PAX, as more and more travellers choose to vacation on their own. Among the collection’s features are the elimination of single supplements, as well as a reserved communal dining table and a weekly happy hour allowing solo travellers to mingle with their peers.

“It’s an area which we feel has been underserviced,” Bursey said of the solo travel market. “The agents already know which customers travel on their own and they’re reaching out to them with Solo Collection evenings.”

In terms of airlift, Transat recently introduced flights from Fredericton, New Brunswick and Windsor, Ontario, with the latter market drawing particularly strong praise from travellers and agents in the area.

“Windsor is doing phenomenal,” Bursey said. “The agents there were looking for something new and they’re really excited about it.”

Looking across the Atlantic to Transat’s European destinations, Bursey said that while the full Europe brochure (including new destinations such as Zagreb, Pisa and Nice) will launch later this year, a Guided Tours brochure focused exclusively on Transat’s coach tour market has been well-received, with tours of Italy among the top sellers.

“Typically, we’ve released a Europe brochure with everything,” she said, “but this year agents can hand something to a consumer who just wants coach tours, which speak specifically to that client.”

And while group bookings in particular are up for Transat this year, Bursey said that by geography, all Canadian markets have shown increased numbers of bookings over 2014, allaying fears of the potential impact the sagging loonie may have on the winter travel season.

“We haven’t really seen it in advance sales right now,” Bursey said of the loonie’s potential effects. “With something like that, the consumer often understands because it’s not obscure to them. Our numbers are up in all regions - sometimes one may be up while the others are down, but this year, it’s not the case - every single region has increased from last year.”

PHOTO: Of Transat: Nicole Bursey, commercial director; Catherine Pleau, web community manager; Geneviève LeBrun, senior director, marketing; Erin Oddleifson, director, commercial marketing; Denise Heffron, vice-president, national sales & commercial; Debbie Cabana, marketing director, social media  & public relations.