AAT Kings, the century-old operator of tours down under, has made some important upgrades in the ways it conducts business with travel retailers, making it easier to access their tours, information, training, and special offers.
The enhancements of AAT Kings’ business practices are designed to make it easier for travel advisors to work with the company and to easily and efficiently get what they need for their clients seeking to travel in Australia and New Zealand. That’s AAT Kings’ home territory and its only area of operations.
New Website
In mid-October, AAT Kings launched its new website for both its brands: the mainstream AAT Kings tours and those of Inspiring Journeys, its premium small group tour series.
The new site is designed to be easier to use and more intuitive for both travel agents and clients. The search function has been simplified, and the site offers more personally tailored options and “personalized touchpoints.” It’s designed to let you design your personal portal, tailored to you, and responding to your preferences to give you a more personal experience.
The site includes blogs for both brands, Storybook for AAT Kings and Journal for Inspiring Journeys. Both are designed to provide insights, information and inspiration for travel.
Onto the Travel Agent Portal
Another important initiative of AAT Kings is that its products, including Inspiring Journeys, have now been made available on TAP, the Travel Agent Portal of The Travel Corporation, AAT Kings’ parent company since 1997.
TAP offers products across the range of companies that are part of the Travel Corporation, or TravCorp. Those include Trafalgar, Contiki, Insight Vacations, Brendan Vacations and others.
A lot of the business of touring can be conducted through the TAP portal, including making payments, looking through previous bookings, purchasing flights and insurance, adding pre- and post-nights, setting up transfers, as well as accessing promotions, information, e-learning and brochures.
Calling All A-Listers
AAT Kings has launched a new initiative called A-Listers, designed to reach out, attract, empower and enhance its top-performing agent partners. The program provides a way for travel advisors to get VIP status in dealings with the company by building their educational portfolio as they work through the program’s training modules. Rising to higher status levels brings greater access to benefits and offerings.
Margot Windenburg, the senior sales manager for North America, told me, “Through the A-Lister program agents can get credit for completing training modules and can get 60 percent off tours for familiarization purposes, or for personal travel. If they want to take a companion along, the fellow traveler can get 30 percent off.”
In conjunction with the A-Lister program, AAT Kings is launching a new Agent Academy Training Platform, offering training modules that are easy to digest, available in both audio and video formats. The platform is tailored to agents at all levels, providing foundational knowledge for newcomers and advanced insights for seasoned professionals.
Working through the various training modules, agents can progress through different levels, starting as a “Go-Getter,” rising to “Rising-Star,” and ultimately to “A-Lister” status, a recognition of their expertise and VIP treatment within the AAT Kings network.
The A-Lister program also includes access to a new A-List Access podcast designed to entertain as well as inform the company’s preferred travel agent partners of the company.
The podcast is hosted by Nick and Yas, who are friends of the AAT Kings Group, hired for their special charm. They feature interviews with people in the AAT Kings organization such as product experts, destination representatives, operation managers, sales managers and travel directors, bringing the business, the tours and the destinations to life.
The podcast is accessible through this link: aatkings.com/a-listers.
The new approach represents a significant shift in agent training styles and methods, an effort to make learning more fun and engaging
New Premium Product
AAT Kings’ premium brand Inspiring Journeys has unveiled new itineraries for the 2024-2025 season, including three new tours designed to showcase the “best-kept secrets of Australia.” The company is promoting the launch with a 10 percent discount on select itineraries when booked between July 29 and Dec. 6 of this year. So, there are only a few more days to catch this one.
Inspiring Journeys’ new season presents a range of new experiences across Australia and New Zealand, with some fresh new itineraries in Western Australia, South Australia, and Tasmania. The company has added new experiences and accommodations to its New Zealand itineraries, which cater to various interests, including adventure, gastronomy and immersive cultural experiences in some of the most stunning regions of the two countries.
Ben Hall, CEO of AAT Kings Group, said in a statement that the new offerings for New Zealand were “designed to offer a deeper connection to some of Australia’s most captivating regions. These tours will not only uncover hidden gems but will also leave our travelers with memories that will last a lifetime.”
The new Inspiring Journeys programs include the following:
The South Australia Murray River Cruise and Wine Journey is a seven-day journey on South Australia’s Murray River, with a special focus on culinary experiences.
The Kimberley Gorges and Gibb River Road Journey is an 11-day adventure in the outback, including cruising on the Ord River and in Chamberlain Gorge, visits to the striking Bungle Bungle domes, and a relaxing dip in the thermal waters of Zebedee Springs.
The Tasting Tasmania and Flinders Island Journey is a seven-day trip focusing on Tasmania’s natural beauty and culinary heritage, beginning in Launceston, a UNESCO City of Gastronomy.
A Special Promotion
And finally the company is running a special offer of 15 percent off AAT Kings tours, and 10 percent off Inspiring Journeys programs.
Margot Windenburg said business is good and the company is apparently benefitting from an uptick in interest in bucket list destinations like Australia and New Zealand.
AAT Kings maintains a U.S.-based team working in Seattle, where it houses both sales and reservations operations. In-house travel specialists are available via the company’s call center during the hours of 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Pacific Time, or 11-7 Eastern Time.
Observing the marketplace from her unique vantage point, Margot Windenburg believes the demand for travel to Australia and New Zealand is getting a boost from an increased availability of air.
“Australia and New Zealand tend to attract people from the West Coast,” she told me, “but lately we’re seeing a mix from all over, with the new flights out of Texas and the East Coast.”
Airlines that are offering flights from the U.S. to Australia and New Zealand include the national carriers, of course, Qantas of Australia and Air New Zealand. On the American side, they include United, American, Delta and Hawaiian Airlines. Fiji Airways offers some exceptionally good fares with stops in Fiji. Air Canada also flies to Australia and New Zealand.
For more information and engagement with AAT Kings, see its Facebook page dedicated to travel agents. For the company website, see www.aatkings.com. For its call center, call 866-240-1659.
David Cogswell is a freelance writer working remotely, from wherever he is at the moment. Born at the dead center of the United States during the last century, he has been incessantly moving and exploring for decades. His articles have appeared in the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, Fortune, Fox News, Luxury Travel Magazine, Travel Weekly, Travel Market Report, Travel Agent Magazine, TravelPulse.com, Quirkycruise.com, and other publications. He is the author of four books and a contributor to several others. He was last seen somewhere in the Northeast US.