After launching a group travel portal for agents in September, Travel Bound reported that group sales for 2008 are up 5% over 2007.
Travel Bound also reported a 26% increase in the conversion of quotes to bookings for groups this year over last.
The New York-based wholesaler provides hotels, transfers, tours and other travel products and land packages for independent travelers. But the company is increasingly making a push into the group travel market, which accounts for 12% of the company’s sales.
The recently launched group travel portal gives agents the ability to save and track quotes online; browse through a list of sample group itineraries in Europe, Central and South America, Africa, North America and Asia and the Pacific; and submit an online quote request. Next year, Travel Bound plans on adding printable vouchers, online rooming lists and an online booking tool for groups.
All Travel Bound customized group bookings are quoted net, allowing agents and tour operators to add their own mark-up.
Destinations that have shown significant growth for the groups department are Turkey (up 65% in 2008), Australia (up 58%), Ireland (up 53%), Japan (up 43%), Denmark (up 43%), Germany (up 33%) and the U.S. (up 61%), with New York and Miami the two strongest cities.
Travel Bound’s groups department concentrates on leisure groups. A high percentage of the business comes from religious tours as well as other special-interest groups such as heritage tours, sporting events, Christmas shopping, garden tours, student tours, architectural tours and history tours.
Under parent company Gullivers Travel Associates, Travel Bound has access to 23,000 hotels and 4,000 sightseeing tours in 350 cities, 8,000 contracted tourist attractions and 16,000 long-distance coach trips, according to the company.
“With GTA we have the negotiating power to offer some of the lowest prices available, and GTA’s 31 offices around the world provide updates on each tour’s progress and can handle any problems that arise on the spot,” said Tommy Ryder, who heads Travel Bounds groups department.
Travel Bound said it guarantees to turn around a group quote within 24 to 48 hours of receiving it.
Travel Bound sells exclusively to agents and operators in 129 countries worldwide, with 31 global GTA offices.