Kelvin Dunk and Zak Nouri of the Voyages-sncf sales team visited Irish travel agents last week, promoting the rail company’s September incentive that offers agents the chance to win €100 of Love2Shop vouchers.
Kelvin and Zak visited agents in Naas, Kildare, Tullamore, Athlone, Ballinasloe, Galway, Tuam, Westport, Castlebar, Carrick-on-Shannon, Longford, Cavan, Virginia, Navan and Drogheda. Zak told Irish Travel Trade News: “Agents showed a lot of interest in our products and were pleased to know that they can book a wide selection of European Rail Tickets at the click of a button on our website, www.voyages-sncf.eu
“We enjoyed meeting with lots of agents during a successful few days increasing agent awareness of Voyages-sncf as Ireland’s one-stop-shop for European rail. We will be back in Ireland later this year.”
Paul Lacey, Head of Trade Sales, told ITTN: “Our dedicated agent facing Irish website has been live since mid-February and we are now seeing a month-on-month increase in sales as more agents become aware of its presence and the opportunity to book all their European rail in one place. Over 30% of Irish agents have currently registered to use the site.
“We appreciate it takes a while to establish a new brand and build real volumes and that a continuous process of agent engagement is required. That is why Kelvin and Zak last week undertook the third sales mission since our launch. The main sales/promotion themes for the website are changed monthly.
“The top five most popular route/destinations to date are:
- Charles De Gaulle – Lyon – Charles De Gaulle
- CDG – Marne La Vallee (Disneyland Paris) – CDG
- Brussels – Amsterdam Schiphol – Brussels
- Antwerp – Schiphol – Antwerp
- London – Paris (mainly business travel) and Paris – London.
“Clearly, and not unsurprisingly, we are seeing a lot of traffic between arrival and departure airports where the first and last sectors of the journey are by air. At present we are seeing a fairly even split between leisure and business travel agents using the site.
“We have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of Eurostar bookings being made. It seems that Irish travellers are choosing this option when they are either starting or finishing their holiday or business trip in the UK.”
