Who said money can’t buy happiness? According to a new study by Insider Journeys, money is the key to happiness because it gives people one of the key things they’re looking for in life.
Travel experiences.
Speaking to media in Sydney this week, Joe Ponte said increasingly people are placing travel, in particular experiential travel, ahead of other areas of life including family and health.
Using recent studies to support the theory, around 88 percent of respondents said travel and holidays are ‘number one on the bucket list’. This puts it higher than family, wealth and health in many cases.
But it’s not just a photo opportunity these travellers are looking for anymore. The Customer Experience and Marketing GM said there’s been major shift amongst consumers in recent years away from being observers in a country to being part of the furniture.
“Studies prove that money can buy happiness because you can spend it on travel experiences that give you memories to last a lifetime.”
Joe Ponte, Insider Journeys Customer Experience and Marketing GM
“But travellers don’t want to just spend their money to take a photo next to a temple, they want to talk to the monks at the temple and have life changing experiences.”
That’s why Ponte says the tour operator completely relaunched its brand six months ago with a new logo, new name and new attitude.
He continued, explaining that the brand overhaul in February wasn’t because the operator ‘needed one’ but because the new title and imagery better reflected its offering.
“We’ve always had amazing product that delivers life long stories to tell,” he said.
“But now we’re better positioned to explain that to guests and really tell them what we do.”
Since the rebrand, forward bookings for Insider Journeys’ small group journeys has climbed 10 percent. After introducing the new Japan brochure featuring the new logo and layout, sales to the country year-on-year climbed 69 percent, while last month’s India launch has already seen a jump of 109 percent in sales.
Ponte expects numbers to continue rising, particularly with last night’s launch of the redesigned Asia River Cruising brochure and Asia Small Groups brochure.
With the help of KarryOn’s parent company, Leedham Creative, the re-created brochures now offer a simpler format, making it easier for customers and agents to understand.
One of the biggest changes in the River Cruising Brochure is the merger of small group journeys with river cruising itineraries.
Ponte said this was done because while river cruising in Asia is taking off, there’s still plenty travellers want to see and do on land.
For example, there’s the ‘Vietnam Discovery’ itinerary – a 14-day tour which sees guests spend a night cruising the Mekong and Halong Bay while enjoying a range of land-based activities such as a visit to Marble Mountain and a train ride to Trai Mat Hamlet.
The program also has three new river cruise ships including the Mekong Eyes, Pandaw and RV Anawrahta.
Click here to check out Insider Journeys’ new brochures online.
