Toronto, September 19, 2013 – In the last 12 months, more than one million Canadian travellers visited one of the websites of Transat Distribution Canada (TDC), the country’s largest travel agency network with more than 600 outlets and 3,000 travel professionals across the country under the Marlin Travel, TravelPlus, Club Voyages and Voyages en Liberté brands. “The cornerstone of our business approach is unequalled know-how and insight from seasoned travel professionals, who are engaged in providing customized service to their customers. Now, key to the future is our ability to enhance our agents’ performance by bringing them new web-based tools and resources, from which both they and travellers benefit,” said Joe Adamo, newly-appointed General Manager of TDC.
TDC travel advisors and their customers now have access to a growing number of innovative tools to help organize and book their trip, including easy access to 140,000 hotels and to the full range of products offered by 21 cruise lines through the Revelex Cruise Search Engine. Agencies can also use the TravelPort Rooms GDS function to gain access to innumerable accommodation options for their clients. TDC has also invested in the development of a new, API-powered package booking engine, that offers more content and faster.
In addition to their websites, TDC agencies have introduced individual web pages for advisors, as well as social media networking tools and training. “Members are embracing that platform and are becoming more adept on recognizing the behaviours of their clients and adapting their offers accordingly. The result is more revenues derived from the web, thanks to new leads, new customers and growing bookings, both from individuals and groups. Due to the overwhelming results of social media marketing, TDC is launching four training modules designed specifically for advisors: education for e-marketing is essential and cannot be taken for granted,” commented Susan Bowman, Vice-President, Marketing of TDC.
“We developed an integrated bricks and mortar and online strategy, unique to TDC agencies. With our integrated platform, the consumer can start with the consultant for information and counselling and then book online on the agency web site or vice-versa,” added Bowman.
“We are continually adding enhancements to the toolkit we provide our team, as it is foundational for the full service agency to be available both physically and online, and be where the client expects us to be. This type of innovation, designed specifically for our members, is what sets TDC apart from others and puts us in the position of providing the very best shopping experience to Canadian travellers,” added Adamo.
Transat Distribution Canada is Canada’s leading retail distributor of holiday travel, with approximately 600 outlets. The distribution network, which is affiliated with Transat A.T. Inc., includes the Marlin Travel, TravelPlus, Club Voyages and Voyages en Liberté banners as well as other affiliate members. Transat A.T. Inc. is an integrated international tour operator with more than 60 destination countries and that distributes products in over 50 countries.