Travel Daily | Travel Counsellors welcome first agents in UAE

The new operation in the UAE was launched through a joint venture with dnata, one of the world’s largest combined air services providers. The new recruits, who come from a range of backgrounds, have now completed their initial week of training and were joined by the company Sales Director Malcolm Hingley, who flew over from the UK, as well as the Dubai based support team headed by General Manager and experienced industry professional Harvey Lines.

“We are delighted to have our first Travel Counsellors operational in the UAE,” says Lines. “The training has gone very well and we have had an excellent response from our four new agents, who are now equipped to run their own home-based travel businesses, providing unique tailor-made travel solutions and selling an extensive range of travel products from leisure and corporate suppliers. What makes us different is the support we give to our agents to ensure they can dedicate their time to building valuable relationships with their clients and provide a truly unique level of personal service. We now look forward to providing this support to our agents in Dubai who embark on their exciting new ventures, and are confident this service will be extremely well received by customers across the region.”

The new Travel Counsellors have been given in-depth training on the company’s ground-breaking dynamic packaging system, Phenix, which allows its agents to quickly and easily search and compare different travel options in a matter of minutes and greatly increases their earning potential, as well as its innovative Contact Centre which allows each agent to create, administer and market to their own personal customer database. Alongside this the company has developed an extensive internal communications system which means the agents and staff can communicate globally via webcam, instant message and also post questions and advice on internal messageboards, enabling them to share local knowledge whilst supporting and motivating one another, so although they work alone, they never actually feel alone.

The company’s Travel Counsellors in Dubai will be able to sell a full range of travel products, benefiting from both the company’s existing global travel deals and its new partnerships with key suppliers in the region.

Travel Counsellors Managing Director Steve Byrne comments; “We have witnessed a considerable amount of interest from the industry and are excited to welcome our first agents to the team. We feel there is a demand in the current market for the Travel Counsellors concept, offering customers, agents and suppliers a new way of doing business. This expansion will also hugely benefit our existing agents as we continue to build on our global buying power and local knowledge, whilst enabling us to re-invest in supporting them even further. Travel Counsellors are successful because we are committed to building lasting relationships with our customers and we are extremely positive about what the future holds for our operation in the UAE.”

Last year Travel Counsellors sales in its international division increased to £100m which accounted for nearly 30% of the company’s revenue for the year, with its overseas agents now accounting for 35% of its Travel Counsellors.

Iain Andrew, DSVP of dnata’s travel business adds, “We see great synergy in dnata’s joint venture with Travel Counsellors and share a common vision to bring innovation, customisation and the highest levels of service to all aspects of business. There is a tremendous opportunity in this region for the bespoke, personalised service that Travel Counsellors provides, and as a leading travel management company, we are committed to bringing the finest travel products to our customers.”