Agents explore the Unexpected with Trafalgar

Trafalgar took agents on a whirlwind tour of the globe, as the tour operator highlighted a handful of its Unexpected Destinations at a Toronto reception last night.

The interactive event featured themed activities – from samba dance lessons to henna tattoos and sushi – based on the highlighted destinations including Japan, Mexico, Thailand and India, the latter of which is among Trafalgar’s newest additions to its 2017 Asia program.

According to Wolf Paunic, president, Trafalgar Canada, the event was designed to showcase those destinations which he said are not usually associated with the tour operator, which counts Italy and other European countries as among its traditional top sellers.

“This is the first time in many years that Trafalgar has dedicated an event to a non-Europe product,” Paunic told PAX. “We want to make sure that retail partners and travellers at large associate Trafalgar with a much broader spectrum of destinations than they traditionally would have. We also wanted to make it a lifestyle event rather than a product launch, where we can engage and have a little bit of fun and convey the brand message that way.”

Paunic said that while Europe continues to draw the most clients, Asia is not far behind in terms of popularity, particularly Japan, where the company held its recent global sales conference this summer in Hiroshima.

“Japan is practically selling itself, which is why we’ve been adding to our Japan program,” he said.

Trafalgar’s Asia program has also added new tours in India, Sri Lanka and Laos for 2017, which have been based on customer reviews and feedback, Paunic said, including the use of consumer review platform Feefo, which The Travel Corporation partnered with last year for all of its brands.

“We know what our guests want and we follow the global industry trends,” Paunic told PAX, “and right now, it’s important to offer as many choices globally as a tour operator can.”

Trafalgar’s India program, among others, will also feature a ‘voluntourism’ aspect through The Travel Corporation’s recent partnership with the Canadian charity Me to We, which will bring a charitable element to many programs across The Travel Corporation’s multiple brands.

“Having such a strong mandate and being known in Canada,” Paunic said, “our partnership with Me to We will give us another dimension and expose us to other travellers and engage our current clients to participate in voluntourism and give back in a meaningful way.”