LONDON -- Lady Margaret Thatcher, Great Britain's patron of
privatization, would approve.
The U.K., the sole European nation to entrust its railways to
private hands, also is home to the most technically advanced -- and
perhaps the only independently run and all-inclusive -- of the city
visitor-pass schemes common across the Continent.
What's more, pass purveyor Leisure Pass Group (LPG) continues to
support agents with commission payments, even as it grows direct
consumer sales via the Web.
LPG, based here, peddles a high-tech, smart-card pass to the
British capital -- as well as to Bath and York, England -- that
offers free entrance to attractions, retail and dining discounts,
and other special offers to foreign vacationers.
The London, Bath and York passes also can incorporate free local
transport passes.
Angus Rankine, LPG's founding director, said card readers to be
installed in the capital's Underground stations soon will accept
the London Pass; in the meantime, passholders receive separate
transit cards.
All-in-one hole-in-one
Rankine launched the city-pass product more than four years ago
after studying the 20-year-old discount pass developed by the
Stockholm Visitors Bureau in Sweden, a forerunner of the passes now
marketed by most major cities in Europe.
After consulting with the London Tourist Board, Rankine decided
to craft a privately run, all-inclusive pass -- as opposed to the
more common, discounts-only schemes -- that would offer free
admissions, products and services for one low price.
A computer chip on the pass would enable both LPG and
participating attractions to store product information and track
visitor usage and preferences.
Today's London Pass includes 60 offers, including admission to
museum special exhibitions (many U.K. museum admissions are free),
galleries, tours, cruises and walks, as well as free cellular phone
rental, currency exchange, food items and Internet access, and
discounts at restaurants and shops.
Regular admission to all the offered attractions alone would
total about $560, according to LPG, whereas the London
Pass ranges in price from around $23 for a one-day child's pass
without transportation to about $140 for a six-day adult pass with
a public transit pass, before taxes.
The Bath and York passes offer entrance to 30 attractions.
Given the souring economy, "people are looking for as much value
as they can get," said Rankine. "With our passes, you visit five
attractions and already you're way ahead on value.
"As the passes are all-inclusive -- you get as much value as
your legs can take you," he added, noting many visitors complain
they do not have the time during one stay to take advantage of all
pass benefits.
Last year, Rankine sold 100,000 London Passes, and repeat
purchases are high, making it the best-selling visitor card in
Europe after the WelcomeCard peddled by Germany's Berlin Tourismus
Marketing, he said.
LPG's goal is to furnish passes to 5% of all international
visitors to Britain -- perhaps 500,000 or so passes annually -- and
the firm is in talks to launch passes for Birmingham, England, and
an undisclosed Scottish city.
A similar New York Pass was introduced in the U.S. last
July.
Sweet on agents
Although LPG sells half its passes annually direct to consumers
via its Web site, at www.leisurepassgroup.com, it still pays agents
negotiated commissions that vary depending on volume sold.
"We're out to keep agents happy by paying fair commissions,"
said Rankine. "We may sell a lot via the Internet, but our
strongest partners are travel agents out there selling the passes
in deepest America."
For more information, call (011) 44-166 450-0107 or visit www.leisurepassgroup.com.