Are your clients Dreaming of Africa?
As a professional seller of travel, have you considered selling safaris for fun & profit?
The brochure display rack has been a feature of brick-and-mortar travel agencies for decades. Who does not marvel at the colorful booklets with Disneyland packages, Dude Ranches, Cruises to far-away ports, Europe by luxury motor coach, River Expeditions, and African Safaris?
The Africa brochures have stunning pictures of hunting lions, swimming elephants, leopards in trees and cheetahs in full flight. Weekly departures promise spectacular safaris to the Serengeti, Masai Mara, Ngorongoro and exotic Zanzibar. Wings over the Migration, Gorillas in the Mist, Splendor of the Serengeti, Highlights of Tanzania, Grand Safari, Stanley Wing; every tour looks so good it is impossible to choose one over the other!
Beware! Careful analysis of brochure tours paints a completely different picture. The vast majority of published itineraries are designed to optimize profits and not the safari experience - many tours pack six or seven clients in safari vehicles and take them to the wrong parks at the wrong times of the year for optimal wildlife viewing!
Luxury is an over-used term and many top-end companies try hard to avoid using it in their literature. The current economic situation is forcing even the rich to think twice before booking a very expensive safari. They still enjoy their comforts but opulence and 'bling' are being replaced by enriching experiences. Privacy and exclusivity on safari is the new "luxury", as is unique interactions with nature and local cultures, learning opportunities and quality time with friends and family. None of the brochure safaris offer this.
More importantly, the majority of brochure safaris and safaris offered by consortium and host agency booking engines are grossly overpriced - many are priced at nearly double the average rack rates of similar itineraries!
Do you know one popular brochure safari from a prominent supplier sells for $22,375 per person, yet its commissionable rack rate (or "street value") is only $12,600 per person? An overpayment of $9775 per person for a 2 week safari! That's a massive $19,555 per couple!
What happened to the traditional Travel Advisor representing a client? Today's travel agents are serving two masters (suppliers & clients) with a troubling conflict of interest. Are they steering unsuspecting clients to very expensive safari suppliers who pay the most commissions? This conflict of interest is giving our industry a black eye. Consumers are smart and many are contacting suppliers direct where they often get better pricing and product support.
We work with Travel Advisors to resolve this conflict in the safari industry and to help re-establish trust with the traveling public.
Here at FS our business is simple. We focus on two things:
Help you sell safaris to East Africa.
Whether you are a safari veteran or newbie, we provide everything you need to enter the highly profitable safari market or increase your current sales. Importantly, we help you sell safaris at fair market value by providing you with accurate quotes and not inflated prices. In Africa we are considered a luxury ground operator (Kiliwarrior Expeditions) but we obviously know the whole market. Do you want full color dossiers of the camps & lodges in an itinerary? We have that. How about chartering a flight from the Masai Mara to Lamu? We do that. Or a beautiful map of a custom itinerary? We create that. You sell, we do sales support. It's as simple as that!
Help you become a recognized East Africa Safari Specialist.
So you can charge professional fees while becoming less dependent on commissions and free from conflict of interests. You do not have to study books or pass exams. We do not believe in superficial certification anyway. Nobody can become an Africa destination specialist after only 3 hours of study and an open-book exam! Even if you know nothing about Africa we work behind the scenes and handle your safari requests on your behalf! When a client ask you a safari question or request an itinerary we take care of it and deliver the results back to you for presentation. It's like having a safari genie working in your office!
Best of all you do not have to wait for commission checks, pay membership fees, startup costs and hidden fees! You contact us with a safari request, we give you a quote (NETT), you add your profit margin and present the client with a competitive price for the safari.
If you currently sell safaris to East Africa or want to enter this market, we may very well be the perfect partner for you! Let's talk…
If you currently sell safaris to East Africa or want to enter this market, we may very well be the perfect partner for you! Let's talk…
0 comments:
Post a Comment