New-to-market tour brand Titan Travel is expecting some “really significant volume coming out of the Australian market” and suggested there was a “very serious plan behind it”.
Those were the words of Andy Squirrell, Chief Commercial Officer of Titan parent company Saga Travel Group, in an interview with travelBulletin during a visit to Australia.
Titan recently launched in the Australian market (TD 30 Aug) as a trade-only offering through travel agents, and Squirrell made no secret of the fact there were high expectations for what the market could deliver.
“Between ourselves and the Ascent Travel Group (Titan Travel’s Australian partners), we’ve got a bit of a five-year plan,” Squirrell explained.
“We’ve got some ambitious volume targets that we want to drive through that and I think really our focus for the first 12 months is, we recognise that we are a new brand, and we’ve got great credibility, but we’ve got to pay interest and we’ve got to gain trust.”
He added that Titan was well aware that “it’s travel agents reputation on the line when they recommend a tour operator to one of their customers and we’re very conscious of that”.
Titan launched in Australia with more than 100 itineraries to destinations globally including Europe, Asia, North America, Africa and Asia and also has a dedicated reservations team in Australia.
Touring styles encompass small group tours, active tours, more relaxed single and two-centre holidays and even dedicated solo traveller departure dates.
With significant competition in the market, Squirrell acknowledged that there was work to be done but suggested that there was plenty of opportunity and that rather than being a race to the bottom in terms of price, it was a competition around value.
He said that despite the cost of living pressures at the moment, “the holiday is being held as not discretionary”.
“It’s more value driven,” he told travelBulletin.
“I think it’s really important that you know the value for money. The price point, of course, is one thing, but it’s really about actually, if we’re a bit more expensive than one other operator, can I see that I’m getting value for that.”
He suggested that Titan Travel would offer tours at various price points, offering significant range as well as content and quality.
Meanwhile, Squirrell also confirmed Titan was likely to look at expanding its down under presence into New Zealand, but that it would focus on it’s foothold in Australia before that.
“We just want to get everything sorted in Australia first,” he said.
