Christine James, Vice President, Canada, TL Network
TL Network agencies are seeing double-digit year-over-year growth. Sales will no doubt ramp up with the launch of lead generation consumer website Vacation, which will deliver hyper-qualified leads and clients to TL Network members, says Christine James, Vice President, Canada, TL Network in this edition of Friday 5.
1. This has been a big year for TL Network, with the Travel Leaders Network amalgamation that took effect Jan. 1. How are TL Network agencies finding the transition?
“I’m pleased to report that the response from our membership has been overwhelmingly positive! Our members are not only witnessing all the additional programs and tools that are now accessible to them as a result of the transition, but a vast majority of them are already taking full advantage of these benefits to grow their sales and improve overall efficiency in their agency operations.”
2. Always a big name in the market, TL Network is now the largest player in the travel agency industry when it comes to luxury travel, cruises, river cruises and tours. How does the group’s enhanced buying power trickle down to benefit individual TL Network agencies?
“For years, our members have been the benefactors of the critical buying power our Network brings to the table; however, under the combined brand, our ability to deliver enhanced and competitive offers to our agents has grown exponentially.”
3. Travel Leaders Network held its 2017 conference recently in Orlando. What were some of the take-away messages from the event, marking the first joint conference for the entire Network?
“If you were to ask any of our over 170 suppliers that exhibited at our Trade Show, they will likely tell you that it was by far one of the most impressive events in our industry! Of course, our delegates are still raving about the private onsite event hosted by Universal, and about our keynote address by Steve ‘The Woz’ Wozniak! But the biggest ‘wow’ moment was our announcement of the launch of our state of the art lead generation consumer website –Vacation – which will deliver hyper-qualified leads and clients to our members!”
4. How is 2017 performing so far for TL Network agencies?
“2017 is proving to be a comeback year on all fronts. We are seeing double-digit year-over-year growth with many of our suppliers. Our member agents are very optimistic about continued growth to year end and into 2018!”
5. Is TL Network actively recruiting new members?
“We continue to seek and attract quality members that share our vision for the future of our industry and are willing to take advantage of our tools and programs to grow their business and contribute to our collective success.”
