Busabout toasts Europe, Asia brochures in Toronto

Dominion Pub and Kitchen provided the setting as Busabout marked the launch of its new Europe and Asia brochures in Toronto last night (Jan. 17), with expansion of the company’s signature Hop-On Hop-Off European product and a new Asia Unlimited pass among the new highlights.

Damien Bennett, vice-president, North America was joined by Adam Bobawsky, sales manager, Canada, to welcome members of the travel community to a trivia evening in celebration of the new brochures, with loud cheers greeting the news that the company has become an official partner of the popular Tomorrowland music festival.

The company’s Hop-On Hop-Off network – described by Bennett as the ‘lynchpin’ of its European product – now features 47 cities spread across 15 countries, with five new destinations including four ‘hidden gems’ and 13 new adventures.

Bologna, Zakopane, Evora, Santiago de Compostela and the Austrian Alps have been added to the network, with new itineraries including a two-day Croatian Adventure and an Ultimate Eastern Adventure, spanning 15 days.

Extensive collaboration

Bennett told PAX that the company had consulted extensively with its travel agent and passenger community in developing the brochures, a practice that’s become a bedrock of its approach in recent years. “All of our product is developed on customer feedback, and past passenger travel habits, and things like that,” he commented.

“We constantly canvas our product – how we put it together but also the different types of products that we have, so that’s always a constant theme, through travel agents as well as consumers.”

Damien Bennett, vice-president, North America, Busabout.

Bobawsky also emphasized the collaboration with the travel community that had influenced the new and expanded products. “Last year when we were developing the new brochure, our marketing team sent out an email to all the regions where we operate,” he said, “getting advice from agents on what we can do better in our brochure, and how we can format that to best suit them.

“Ultimately, it’s one of the main tools they use when going to our brand, so getting their feedback was super important for that. We’ve taken a lot of that on board with both the new brochures that are out there.”

Agent and customer input was also essential to the evolution of Busabout’s pass types, with new changes for 2018 including expanded two-week, one-month, two-month and unlimited passes. The company’s two-week passes have been reduced in price by eight per cent, with one-month passes reduced by 20 per cent.

Asia brochure highlights

Among the most notable new developments in Busabout’s Asia product, meanwhile, is the launch of an ‘Asia Unlimited Pass’ allowing travellers to experience each of the company’s Asia trips within a three-month period, with the highly-customizable offering giving full independence on the starting and finishing points, not to mention the pace, of the trip.

Other new features for Busabout’s Asia itineraries in 2018 include a new five-day Southern Thailand Adventure, a six-day Southern Vietnam offering and a mammoth 24-day Vietnam and Cambodia Adventure – featuring two additional nights in Phnom Penh.

Agent angle

Bennett noted strong potential for travel agents in booking Busabout – with the company having witnessed 80 per cent growth through travel agent sales for 2018 and 103 per cent sales growth overall. It shows little sign of slowing down, either, with U.S. product set to arrive some time in 2019.

Sales incentives for agents with Busabout include its All-Stars FAM, scheduled to take place between late May and early June, which will see the two top-selling agents nationwide and three ‘wild card’ agents win an all-expenses paid trip to Greece.

The trip will combine two of the company’s itineraries, a mainland Greece product and a Greek Islands experience, with sales judged on the period between Nov. 1, 2017 and March 31, 2018.

Bobawsky said that the company provided a unique and intriguing product for agents to sell. “Particularly when we’re talking about our Hop-On Hop-Off market, there’s nobody really like us,” he commented.

“No other product offers the flexibility of FIT and gives you a chance to actually create your own itinerary, but at the same time gives you the social element – as well as the guide and safety – of a traditional tour. You really get the best of both worlds.”

Further information is available at www.busabout.com.