When Global Managing Director of Busabout, Duncan Robertson headed Down Under this week, we caught up with him to pick his brain on everything agents need to know right now about selling Busabout (yes, an epic famil is in the mix).
Read on to get the low down on everything you need to know about Busabout, millennial travel trends, sustainable initiatives an what’s in it for YOU when selling Busabout.
Tell us about how the expansion into North America was received by travellers?
The reception for our State-side Hop-on Hop-off network has been fantastic in our first year.
Our travellers have praised our friendly and helpful guides, and appreciate Hop-on Hop-off as an alternative easy way to road trip through the US.
Our guided Adventure trips, which offer more structured itineraries have proven really popular.
For 2020 we wanted to expand on our cross-border Adventures so our passengers can experience the best of the US and Canada’s East Coast on one epic trip.
What strategy went into picking the three new tours?
When it comes to product development strategy, we research everything.
I personally spend a lot of time working with our top-selling Travel Agents, we call them our Busabout All-Stars, and listen to their feedback about key destinations and emerging trends.
We also have an incredible operations team that is overflowing with ideas to develop new products globally.
Mostly it’s about our travellers though. We spend considerable time talking with our travellers trying to improve and refine ourselves.
Over the past few months, we completed our biggest traveller research project across Australia. That project really did inform the product development strategy.
What are the top trending destinations right now for your guests?
Greece has consistently been a top trending destination for Busabout over the past few years, and our 2020 forward bookings confirm this trend looks to continue.
Turkey has seen a real bounce back in the past few months, with travellers keen to return to this culturally and historically significant country.
California is trending in the USA, not only as a gateway to the rest of the country but for the ability to combine coastline, deserts and mountains all within a week.
The market trend towards South-east Asia has also continued, with Vietnam particularly popular with our passengers.
Has Busabout been involved in any sustainable tourism initiatives in recent times?
In a joint effort with TreadRight’s Turisti Nei Cian campaign, Busabout is helping to “Save Vernazza” and help restore and preserve the devastated town found in the middle of the Cinque Terre for future generations.
Our travellers have the opportunity to head into the wild of the Vernazza region and help the local farmers restore and future-proof the land.
We’ve eliminated single-use plastic across our offices globally and have started work on getting rid of plastic across our supply chain too.
Do you have any exciting incentives coming up for agents to sell Busabout?
We’ve just launched our incentive trip of the year – All Stars, which is going to a top-secret location, but if last year’s trip to Ibiza is one to go by, this trip is going to be our best yet!
To qualify, agents simply have to keep selling Busabout, Haggis & Shamrocker trips. Agents will earn points for every trip sold.
Every Hop-on Hop-off pass will earn them 4 points (including Europe, USA & Small Group Adventures), whilst all other Busabout, Haggis & Shamrocker trips equal 1 point towards this epic trip.
To qualify, each selling agent will need to sell a minimum of 5 Hop-on Hop-off trips and 30 Busabout trips overall.
After 6 months of working as a travel agent, you are entitled to a FREE OF CHARGE Hop-on Hop-off Pas in either Europe or West Coast USA (and 30% off for a mate).
If agents sell 15 trips, they score 1 free so they can complete their free Hop-on Hop-off Pass with a Busabout Adventure, Sail or Festival in either Europe, North America or Asia as well as a Shamrocker or Haggis trip!
What else should agents know?
We’re releasing a new agent booking portal which brings our ‘Adventure Planning’ technology to the trade.
It will make it super easy for our agents to create bespoke FIT adventure across all of Busabout’s destinations. The technology puts it all together in seconds.
We tested this new technology with over 250 live passengers this year, and the feedback has been outstanding. This is just a taste of what’s to come over the next couple of months and something we’re really excited about.