TORONTO — As it approaches its 70th birthday, Trafalgar finds itself in a similar position to where the company started all those years ago. As a post-war tour operator, back then Trafalgar had to find a way to make clients comfortable to travel to Europe again. After the attacks across Europe in the past 12 months, the company finds itself in familiar territory going into 2017.
At an event for partners and media last night, Wolf Paunic, President of Trafalgar Canada, introduced Trafalgar’s 2017 Europe & Britain brochure with a refreshed look for the brand, new itineraries and a message to help destinations that have been hurting from events this past year.
The new brochure promotes the confidence that agents and their clients can feel when booking a trip with Trafalgar. Paunic emphasized that one of the safest ways to travel is with a guided tour. With the attacks in Paris in 2015, Trafalgar was able to supply information about the whereabouts and health of all their passengers within 24 hours to agents. Paunic drew parallels to his daughter’s experience in Paris – she was in the city during the attacks and took several days to contact her friends with social media.
Brett Tollman, Global CEO for The Travel Corporation, used his time to ask the industry to support France, Brussels, Turkey and other areas hurting from recent attacks. He reminded the industry that these cities are beautiful destinations that will bounce back just like New York did after 9/11 and that tourism will play a big part in that.
So far that seems to be true, with a 25% increase so far for guaranteed departures for 2017. Clients booking early can take advantage of early payment discounts and save 10% on any guided vacation booked and paid in full by Jan. 12, 2017.
New itineraries for 2017 include a six-day Amsterdam Explorer and a 20-day Nordic Adventure capitalizing on trends towards Scandinavia. The company also has new Insider Experiences at The Vatican, with an exclusive after-hours private tour followed by dinner in the Missionary Ethnological Museum. Additionally, tailored trips have been introduced, charting interests from the Edwardian era of Britain to the Life of Martin Luther and much more.
The Trafalgar 2017 Europe & Britain brochure is supported by a revitalised website, now live at www.trafalgar.com
Tollman was also excited by the recent announcement of the ME to WE partnership with TreadRight. The Canadian non-profit will now give the option to clients to book pre or post trips in Kenya, Amazon, and India with ME to WE where travellers stay among local communities in comfortable lodges, fully owned and operated by ME to WE. For more information, go to trafalgar.com/can/metowe.
