At a media soiree in Sydney during the week, Entire Travel Group heads Brad McDonnell and Greg McCallum unveiled the details of the operator’s Locally Made collection, focused on destinations and services in its catalogue that offer off-the-beaten-track experiences, operated by small local businesses.
McCallum, who is sales and marketing manager for Entire, explained that Locally Made is both a way to give back to local and remote communities, as well as a response to the anti-tourist movement seen in the likes of Rome and Barcelona.
Agents will now be able to sell clients a trip comprised entirely of authentic local experiences, as travellers are increasingly interested in authentic experiences while on holiday.
The collection also taps into dispersing travellers across different regions and away from capital cities, while also encouraging them to travel during shoulder seasons, he added.
McCallum pointed out that the itineraries also represent a shift in what travellers consider to be luxury.
“Ten years ago, it was marble floors and bench tops. For many people, it’s getting out into the regions and having experiences that no-one else gets to do, because it’s so boutique,” he said.
“Luxury is getting to a bear lodge or a wilderness resort like Sonora [in British Colombia] – bragging about that to your neighbours is more noteworthy than staying in a six-star hotel.”
Some of the hero experiences in the collection include a self-drive journey through Champagne and Burgundy and an intimate journey through Puglia’s trulli villages and discovering its artisanal food traditions and creative workshops.
Meanwhile, Entire announced last year its new GSA partnership with Star Clippers, which specialises in tall sail ship cruising across the Mediterranean and Central America.
Star Clippers was first launched in 1989 by Swedish entrepreneur Mikael Krafft and now operates three modern, high-tech, luxurious re-creations of the classic clipper vessels that sailed the world in the 19th century: Star Flyer, Star Clipper and Royal Clipper.
Speaking exclusively to travelBulletin, managing director Brad McDonnell said the partnership was made in response to the sheer number of inquiries from agents on European travel.
“We’re so strong in Europe, and we can now pair this product with some really cool itineraries as well as other awesome products,” he explained.
“It was a product that we didn’t know a huge amount about, but we had the opportunity to tender for GSA since we sell a lot of cruise product in Europe.”
Also speaking with travelBulletin was national sales and marketing manager for Star Clippers, Roger Condon, who said that a factor of the partnership was the unique experience of being on a tall sail ship.
“If you’re on board a 6,000-passenger ship, you’re actually going to meet less people than when you are on a more intimate ship,” he noted.
“It’s the magic of being under the sail – especially on the first night. Everybody’s boarded, we’re sailing out of our first port of call. The music plays, the crew lays the sails, the sun is setting – [you] get teary, it’s very romantic”.
Meanwhile, McDonnell and McCallum also shared their views on the night about how travel wholesalers are rising to the challenge of providing services in the face of AI.
Both believed that AI cannot replicate their lived experience that goes into creating Entire’s brochures and building strong partnerships with tourism operators.
“We all know that a client is far more educated [than before], which is why you have to be really good to be able to get the business and provide the service,” McDonnell said of agents.
