The Travel Corporation CEO Brett Tollman moved quickly to allay any fears the company had plans to chase direct business last month, with a personal letter to travel agents following the launch of the company’s new My Travel Portal system. My Travel Portal (or MTP) provides a much closer connection between travellers and their holiday, allowing them to interact with tour leaders in the days before departure and also provide information such as passport details and dietary requirements — all in the name of making their trip smoother and allowing TTC’s various brands to provide even better service.
MTP involves traveller information being shared directly with TTC, and Tollman noted that this allowed agents to effortlessly ensure that their clients’ pre-trip, on-trip and post-trip needs were met. “Registration enables clients to unlock a range of benefits that will leave them happy and satisfied,” he wrote. He also noted that although it was a new concept for the touring sector, all cruise companies required registration prior to taking a cruise “and frankly, any responsible travel company nowadays needs to do it”.
Tollman provided a personal commitment that “we will not use that data to solicit clients to book directly with us; we never have and we never will. We personally guarantee it. In any communications to your clients as part of this registration process, we will also refer to the travel agent of record — you,” he wrote. “Trust is earned the hard way and over time; trust is lost easily and very quickly. Our brands have been selling through our travel agent partners for almost 70 years now. We believe our track record speaks for itself,” he concluded.
