Vancouver-based Rocky Mountaineer, the train holiday
specialist for British Columbia, Canada has appointed Scenic Travel as its GSA
for Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Dianna Schinella (sales manager – Asia Pacific, Rocky
Mountaineer) said the time was ripe for the company to step up efforts in
capturing a share of South-east Asia outbound.
The company’s existing source markets include Australia,
the US, the UK, Europe and Canada.
“Asia and South-east Asia
offer significant potential, although their numbers are proportionately
small," she said. "Their economies are doing well, disposable income
is increasing, and more Asian consumers now desire experiential travel.”
Schinella said Rocky Mountaineer appointed a GSA in India early last year, and was also looking to
appoint GSAs in Thailand and
the Philippines.
Simon Er, general manager, Scenic Travel, said marketing
initiatives including advertorials would be rolled out to target niche FIT and
group travellers, while training sessions would be organised to educate travel
professionals on the finer points of selling the product.
In a bid to bolster its marketing efforts outside Singapore, the GSA is also seeking partners in Indonesia and Malaysia.
“Given Rocky Mountaineer’s attributes, we are not going to
target the mainstream leisure market. This is a specialist product that needs a
different marketing approach,” said Er.
A total of 45 packages are being sold for Rocky
Mountaineer’s 2012 season. Rail-cruise packages offered in conjunction with
Holland America Line, and rail-car hire packages developed in partnership with
Avis are also available. Packages range from as short as three-and-a-half hours
to 19 days, and start from C$149 (US$146) for an adult, one-way.
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