Skylink roadshow hits Ontario

It’s been a busy few weeks for Skylink, with the travel wholesaler hitting major cities across Canada as part of its 2015 Road Show, an opportunity for like-minded buyers to come together and educate each other on what’s happening in the industry.

Hosting the events in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary throughout the month of April, the Skylink team arrived in Toronto on May 13, with plans to visit London, ON the following day. The roadshow, which has taken place over the last five years, was originally hosted in only two cities (Vancouver and Toronto), but has grown quickly to accommodate the increase in attendance.

“Our RSVPs to the roadshows have been overwhelming, which led to us adding more cities, so we can keep the attendance relatively intimate and give everyone a chance to network,” Yuvraj Datta, president of Skylink, told PAX.

“We firmly believe that the travel industry is relationship-based,” Datta said. “There’s a lot we owe to each other in terms of product and knowledge, and organizations like ours have an opportunity to give agents a platform to compete in the same markets with big online companies such as Expedia. We want to empower agents to sell their product, not only to make a living, but to excel.”

It would seem as though that’s exactly what the company is doing, with Skylink’s latest numbers reporting 18 per cent more agents having booked on its system, compared to 2013 and 2014. From that, ticket sales made in cooperation with the organization have increased by 26 per cent, yielding 33 per cent more in agent commissions.

Skylink’s program tools, such as its Trip Pro system, have seen an increase in user numbers, starting from 4,000 in 2012 and jumping to 10,000 in 2014. As a result, they’ve made enhancements to the program, consolidating its hotel and tours divisions so they can be accessed using one phone number.  

According to Datta, such changes are all in the name of keeping up with the industry’s ever-changing landscape.

“The industry has taken on a totally new shape in the past few years," Datta said, "and we have to adapt to the new reality, and that includes the agent community.”

In keeping with that view, SkyLink has also released a new 24/7 support service that will be operational in Ontario starting May 18. The service is free, and operates over holidays and after office hours, handling enquiries, last-minute details and issuing tickets.

“Our website is capable of handling all inquiries and bookings,” Datta explained to PAX, “but there are times when agents will have a tricky question, or need help with something you can’t do online. Now, agents will be able to have the support they need, whenever they need it.”

Skylink’s supplier partners greeted arriving guests with a small tradeshow, followed by individual presentations showcasing each company’s products and latest news. Among them was Air Canada; the Mexico Tourism Board; SkyGreece; India Tourism; Aeromexico; SriLankan Airlines and Etihad Airways.

ACTA president David McCaig was also in attendance, and gave a brief address on issues of fraud and credit card fees, in addition to updates from its annual general meeting, which took place earlier in the week.

When asked about Skylink’s goals looking forward, Datta’s answer was suitably simple:

“We want to be the Costco of travel.”