Corporate agency Colletts Travel is expanding its leisure tour operator division with ambitious plans to distribute itineraries to 65,000 agents across the globe.
The firm, part of Global Travel Collection UK which is owned by Internova Travel Group, will next month release packages under the Colletts Collection brand.
Currently, product is only available to its existing corporate customers.
Its inaugural B2B program will initially be available as an in-house operation for the Global Travel Collection brands in the UK and US.
A second phase will see the division launch to the entire Internova Travel Group, providing a platform to showcase itineraries to 65,000 travel advisors across the globe.
In phase three – likely to be late summer – Colletts Collection will expand its reach to other select luxury agencies and consortia groups within the UK.
“Colletts Collection is a product of the decades of expertise within the global luxury travel market,” said Colletts Travel founder and brand ambassador Roy Collett.
“Our clients come to us for unrivalled service, attention to detail and the most exclusive escapes available. We’re excited to extend that offering beyond Colletts Travel and share some of our most acclaimed itineraries with luxury experts across the travel industry.”
Roy Collett and Colletts Travel Managing Director Neil Robinson will lead the new division from the agency’s headquarters in London.
Collett said the move to a B2B tour operation was a ‘natural evolution for the business’.
“The relationships we have with destination partners gives our clients unfiltered access to some of the most sought-after experiences in destinations all across the world,” he said. “Now we’re able to bring that exceptional value and unrivalled earning opportunity to other luxury agents.”
Managing Director of Global Travel Collection in the UK, Jason Oshiokpekhai, said he expected the launch of Colletts Collection to disrupt the luxury travel market and ‘take advantage of the increasing demand for exclusive and experiential travel’.
“Luxury travel is no longer about simply travelling in style or staying at premium hotels,” Oshiokpekhai said. “Experience, authenticity and hyper-personalisation are the three key ingredients to successfully attract a discerning clientele.”
“Our network of advisors need quality product for their clients; they need access to itineraries that surprise and delight. Just as the pandemic will bring clients back to advisors they trust, the advisors, in turn, need tour operators who they know can deliver on every single itinerary.”