The Travel Corporation (TTC) has announced a globally-aligned strategic growth plan that marks the next chapter for its Touring & Cruise Divisions.
The plan is designed to strengthen brand and product leadership, unlock scale, and better support trade partners through enhanced investment and global capability.
For Tour Brands, all global sales functions will now report to a newly appointed Chief Sales Officer & Deputy CEO, Melissa DaSilva, creating a centralised structure while maintaining local sales support and engagement. Ms DaSilva is uniquely positioned for this new challenge and understands the needs of travel agents, having worked in the retail travel agency side of the industry for the first 20 years of her career before joining TTC in 2013.
A key element to the trade growth strategy is the expansion of the on-road sales team, creation of an inside sales team to cultivate new partners, as well as adding resources to Partner Services to streamline and expedite service support. A dedicated Sales Marketing function has also been created. 16 new roles will be added to the organisation, with a further 8 roles filled from other areas of the business.
The TTC plan also includes substantial investment in the Travel Agent Portal, white labels and APIs available to advisor partners to make accessing Tour Brands & River Cruise product and bookings as seamless as possible.
In addition, there will be a deeper brand focus and clearer customer segmentation with investment into three power segments:
Youth – led by Contiki
Mainstream – with Trafalgar leading Insight Vacations and Costsaver
Luxury – championed by Uniworld and extending to Luxury Gold
“Our trade partners are critical to our success,” said Melissa Da Silva, Deputy CEO and Chief Sales Officer of TTC Tour Brands. “This plan is about ensuring our brands are easier to sell, better supported, and more competitively positioned in every market. We’re investing in the systems, tools, and partnerships that help our trade community grow with us.”
Ellen Bettridge, CEO of Uniworld added: “Our investment into technology, data and analytics will also enhance product innovation cycles based on global insights and market demand.
“The focus on product scale also extends to expansion of the river cruise fleet, including increased Uniworld capacity and new ships to be added to the newly launched Trafalgar River offering.”
