Overseeing TTC’s DMC project is Gavin Tollman, President, TTC, who said:

“During the uncertainty of the pandemic, we spoke to a number of our partners who were looking for an operational solution with the quality, knowledge, infrastructure, consistency and financial resilience to deliver on the ground in a new post-pandemic world – but they were hitherto unaware of the depth and breadth of TTC’s Destination Management portfolio.

“They were excited when they realised we could provide that solution across multiple destinations worldwide, affording them deeper access to the award-winning expertise and service for which our brands are well recognised. By launching a dedicated website and a series of new tools outlining the extent of our offering, and the financial strength that supports it, we hope to be able to present this hassle-free and risk-free opportunity to a wider range of leisure and corporate travel businesses.”

TTC has twelve Destination Management Companies (DMCs) offering holidays, local experiences, corporate travel and ancillary services across Africa, Europe, the Americas and the South Pacific, and already operates as ground handler for a number of internationally recognised travel brands. Realising the potential to expand and grow in this space, TTC’s new website (https://dmc.ttc.com/), marketing assets and training will bring the range of experiences, global footprint and financial benefits to life.

TTC’s solutions are rich and varied, from the culturally immersive escorted travel, river cruising and day tours for which TTC is well known, to bespoke features including custom groups, yachts and small ship cruising, safari operations, meetings, conferences and events, self-drive and rail journeys, private chauffeurs and small groups, specialist trips such as culinary or active, transfer services and much more. Not only is the DMC programme available for English-speaking markets, it will also offer guided custom group trips in a number of languages, including Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Turkish, Spanish, German and Italian.

The core pillars of TTC’s Destination Management portfolio are:

• Local expertise, global footprint – twelve DMCs operating in Africa, Europe, The Americas and the South Pacific, available to businesses in multiple selling regions worldwide.
• 101 years of experience – delivering award-winning travel and hospitality experiences with proven excellence, acclaimed by industry, media and customer review sites.
• Risk-free investment – TTC assumes all the risk of currency fluctuation, as businesses can pay in their local currency. Furthermore, TTC’s financial strength, longevity and integrity provides the ultimate peace of mind that investments are safe.
• Committed to guest wellbeing – with updated wellbeing protocols and the best care team (both on the road and with 24/7 office support), partners and guests can trust in the family of brands’ commitment to provide a greater sense of comfort when travelling.
• Committed to Making Travel Matter – with an industry-leading Climate Action Plan, and responsible travel at the heart of its business, companies can be sure that their brand will be delivering experiences that support people, planet and wildlife in each destination.

Part of TTC’s message is to reiterate its financial stability after 101 years of expertise and innovation in the travel space. Earlier in the pandemic, TTC made the unprecedented move of revealing that its officially audited unencumbered fixed assets are in excess of US$300,000,000 thanks to its ownership of the luxury Red Carnation Hotel collection, information it shared for the sole purpose of providing partners and agents with the reassurance that TTC is highly solvent, operationally stable and that investments are safe.

TTC’s DMC brands include AAT Kings in Australia and New Zealand, Siva Travel in Greece and the Greek islands, Brendan Vacations in Ireland and Scotland, TTC’s operations all across Europe, UK and the Eastern Mediterranean from Albania to the Ukraine, Destination America in the USA, Canada and Latin America, and a number of Africa specialists such as Cullinan, Thompsons and Grosvenor Tours which operate all across Africa from Botswana to Zimbabwe. In addition to working with the 12 in-destination DMCs, clients will also have access to support from TTC’s in-market teams across 40 offices worldwide.

Through unparalleled, longstanding industry connections TTC’s DMCs can deliver a range of unique and often exclusive experiences including:

• Sunrise visit to Bruce Munro’s Field of Light installation at Uluru, exclusive to AAT Kings
• 4×4 off-road drive in a Land Rover through the breath-taking scenery of the Scottish Highlands with a local safari ranger, looking out for grouse, red deer and golden eagles with Brendan Vacations
• Visit to a Lizauli village in Namibia, meeting the community and learning about their daily lives and customs including meeting a healer and enjoying traditional dancing, with Cullinan Namibia
• Meeting a champion dog musher and his huskies in Alaska with Destination America
• Enjoying a hot air balloon ride over the Serengeti or a private island escape off the coast of Mozambique with Grosvenor Tours
• Truffle hunting in Meteora, Greece followed by a meal of truffle pasta prepared outdoors in the field with Siva Travel
• Dining after hours in the Vatican or learning to flamenco dance with TTC Europe & UK

For more information on TTC’s DMC brands, offering and USPs, please visit: https://dmc.ttc.com/  or email: dmc@ttc.com

The Travel Corporation (TTC) and its numerous, award-winning guided holiday brands (Trafalgar, Luxury Gold, Insight Vacations, Contiki and Costsaver) have announced their newly enhanced COVID-19 related protocols and hygiene standards for all of its guided holidays once domestic and international travel resumes. TTC’s executive and operations team members have spearheaded a complete review of the sanitation and hygiene measures around guests’ experiences and interactions while on their guided holidays, from the moment they meet their Travel Directors and Trip Managers, to travelling on state-of-the-art coaches, the hotels they will stay in and the immersive excursions they will experience on each trip.

“At TTC, as a family-owned and run business for the past 100 years, we have always taken the well-being and peace of mind of our guests and every team member as our top priority,” said Brett Tollman, Chief Executive of The Travel Corporation.“As we adapt to this new world, our dedicated, diligent TTC team members across the globe are preparing and will be implementing enhanced training, procedures and numerous new measures throughout our various guest experiences offered, with the very best possible care and service. These new protocols will be adapted and adjusted as needed, in a timely manner, as governments define and implement what will be required in each country,” he concluded.

Tollman confirmed the following important new steps and procedures which have been implemented to further elevate hygiene protocols and sanitary practices, and to provide travellers with the much-needed peace of mind during their travels, in these new times. TTC is ready to comply with new testing and physical distancing and hygiene protocol requirements by relevant government authorities and in accordance with the guidance of the World Health Organization (WHO).

TTC is also helping lead the way for our industry to come out of this, by sharing its best practices with various other important industry players who are active members of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). WTTC has taken the important lead of driving the definition of new measures and protocols, with the goal to have all governments approve these as expeditiously as possible, across the 10 sectors that WTTC is focused on.

“As we prepare for the return of travel globally, the safety of our staff and guests have to be a key focus for the entire industry. Our team has taken this responsibility very seriously and has developed protocols proactively to reassure travellers who are ready to see the world once again,” says Teresa Richardson, The Travel Corporation MD South Africa.

Expertly Trained Travel Directors

TTC’s Travel Directors and Trip Managers will be trained in these new and enhanced hygiene and physical distancing procedures. They will operate caring duty of care and will monitor the hygiene etiquette of guests during their trips, reacting and advising as needed to ensure high standards are maintained. Also, they will have new preventative measures in place to try and ensure guests’ well-being and in the event that any unexpected issues arise on trip, they will activate additional protocols.

A Full Team of Support 24/7

Not only will these Travel Directors and drivers take great care and concern for each guest on these guided journeys, but further, behind the scenes, TTC’s operations and guest support teams are in contact with them and on call 24/7, so Travel Advisors and their clients can rest assured that they are in good hands.

Stringent on the Road Protocols

TTC’s coaches are sanitized before the start of each trip and have always been kept to very high standards.  Drivers will now be trained with the latest hygiene protocols and will clean and disinfect all surfaces including handrails, door handles, tables, seats, air-conditioning filters and overhead lockers on a daily basis. All of TTC’s guests will be asked to follow hygiene practices recommended by the World Health Organization including the thorough and regular washing of hands and sanitizing when required. Hand sanitizer is freely available on board for the guests to use throughout the day. It will be encouraged for clients to bring their own washable face mask and gloves (as these are required to be worn in public in some countries, and on many airlines now), and to bring additional hand sanitizer with them. In addition, should an unexpected situation arise, additional face masks, rubber gloves, antiviral sprays and wipes will be readily available for guests on all trips. 

Trusted Partners, Exceptional Partners

The Travel Corporation is very selective in who they work with and choose to only use hotels, restaurants, ground handlers and venues that take the health and well-being of their guests as seriously as TTC does and agree to meet expected guidelines and specifications. TTC will try hard to only work with establishments that they are confident will consistently adhere to our standards. 

Physical Distancing

TTC will be adapting to the right size groups, based on government distancing requirements. Travel agents’ clients can be rest assured that they will travel with the comfort of their own personal space and have peace of mind that all of the experiences, hotels and restaurants they will enjoy on their trip have been vetted to ensure they adhere to physical distancing and hygiene guidelines required in each jurisdiction.

Smaller Groups, More Personal Space

With Luxury Gold’s and Insight Vacations’ smaller groups and customized coaches with fewer seats, guests not only enjoy twice the legroom of a standard coach but also more personal space on board. Smaller groups also mean less queuing whilst embarking and disembarking, as well as at hotels and attractions, so it is easier to maintain a comfortable physical distance.  On their future trips, the brands have also worked to ensure their travellers are divided into smaller groups at each stop, to ensure the required physical distancing is ensured.

In the Know

As part of The Travel Corporation, each travel brand is kept up to date with government advisories and travel alerts and is continually in touch with their partners on the ground in each destination. Now,

under TTC’s new protocols, their teams will work to try and ensure that their supplier partners (hotels, restaurants, museums and other venues) are also applying the same, new required hygiene and distancing protocols, to the extent possible.

TTC will be hosting agent training webinars on the future of travel and these newly enhanced protocols to assist agents in preparing for our new world. Travel agents will also receive brand emails and updates from their Area Sales Managers with dates and session times so they can register for these webinars.

For more information, please visit: Trafalgar, Luxury Gold, Insight Vacations, Contiki and Costsaver or contact your local Area Sales Manager.

A highly regarded travel executive, James joins Contiki from Second Estates, where he was a Marketing, Loyalty and Strategy Consultant for the luxury holiday rental investment company, and from the board of Black Tomato, the award-winning luxury travel agent that he helped to conceive and develop in 2005.

Relocating from London to be based at Contiki’s head office in Geneva, James will have responsibility for the youth travel company’s global network of teams across Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada, Europe, Latin America, Africa and Asia, developing and growing Contiki’s worldwide offering of 300+ epic, #NOREGRETS trips.

With significant travel sector and online marketing experience, James joins Contiki at a very exciting time. The youth travel expert has just launched its 2019 programme with its inaugural Africa product, 21 new itineraries across Europe and the Middle East, as well as a new Iconic Essentials travel style that centres on providing maximum value for Millennial and Gen Z travellers.

“I’m hugely excited to have joined Contiki.” said James. “As a proud member of The Travel Corporation’s family of businesses, Contiki has consistently been at the forefront of delivering incredible travel experiences to 18 to 35 olds, made possible by a very passionate and skilled team who are focussed on delighting our travellers.”

Contiki now offers travellers four new trips in South Africa, Tanzania, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Kenya. The journeys have a smaller group size of about seven guests, opposed to the usual 20 guests, allowing for seven-seater, pop-top safari vehicles being used across Eastern Africa and luxury mini-buses in Southern Africa.

On the 11-day “Cape, Safari and Falls,”travellers venture out from Cape Town to Kruger National Park, where they have the opportunity to see the Big Five, before visiting Victoria Falls. The trip wraps up in Chobe, Botswana, over a sunset wildlife cruise surrounded by pods of hippos. Guests also see penguins on South Africa’s Cape Peninsula, before taking a classic wine tasting tour.

Travelling from Arusha to Tarangire, Serengeti and Karatu, “Taste of Tanzania” explores the Serengeti as well as the Ngorongoro Crater. A hot air balloon safari over the Mara river can be added on.

The week-long “Kenyan Highlights” itinerary stops in Nairobi, the Maasai Mara, Lake Elementaita; and Amboseli, to experience the Great Migration and to visit a giraffe centre and elephant rehabilitation sanctuary.

The 13-day “East Africa Safari” covers the most ground, with safari experiences in both the Maasai Mara and the Serengeti. It combines the “Taste of Tanzania” and “Kenyan Highlights” itineraries.

Five new extensions have also been introduced, including trekking through the Bwindi Impenetrable Forest Reserve in Uganda to see gorillas; climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, and visiting the picturesque beaches of Zanzibar.

This marks the first new region the operator has expanded to since launching Latin America in 2010, joining trips offered across Europe, Australia, Asia and North America.

Those wishing to lock in their trips now will be guaranteed that they pay the best price, whether it goes up or down.

Contiki is also offering 100% definite departures for Preview trips with around 470 departures guaranteed. Only a select number of dates for their most popular Europe Summer departures have been included in the sale, it is thus best to secure bookings now before they sell out.

Some of the Europe Summer experiences on offer with Contiki’s preview pricing include:

European Whirl – prices start from $3,193 for 18 days
This ultimate Euro adventure ticking off iconic spots in Paris, Rome and Amsterdam as well as discovering hidden delights in Prague, Berlin and the Swiss Alps.

Croatia Island Escape – prices start from $1,283 for 8 days
This itinerary will see travellers sail their way across Dubrovnik, Split and Hvar.

Greek Island Hopping – prices start from $2,894 for 13 days
The trip spends three nights each in Mykonos, Ios, Santorini and Athens