'Lean on our specialists' expertise to sell Italy,' association urges agents
Lisa Leggate, chair of Association of British Travel Organisers to Italy (Abtoi), told TTG Abtoi was keen to get to know the travel agent better community after several members expressed their intention to work more closely with the trade.
Founded in 2001 to bring together Italy specialists from all corners of the UK, the organisation currently has 63 members, including the likes of Cox & Kings, Citalia, Inntravel and Kirker Holidays, as well as a number of smaller brands that may not yet be on agents' radar.
Leggate claimed that Abtoi and its members share a strong sustainable travel ethos, with the association giving members the option to offset their customers' carbon emissions through a partnership with Trees4Travel.
'If our members are keen to do something, we – as an association – will try to make that happen for them,' she said.
'For the most part, our members are small, niche companies that have real in-depth knowledge about the area they specialise in – they know everything there is to know about it and they can really help travel advisors sell [Italy].'
Leggate said the interest from members in stronger ties with the trade stemmed from increased demand from travellers for a tailor-made, expert-led approach to booking holidays.
"With the expansion of portals such as Airbnb and Booking.com, a lot of travel companies want to use travel advisors because they're the experts and they give customers what they want – more individual attention,' she said.
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