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Club 18-30 to launch dynamic packaging
Consumers and travel agents will be able to book Club 18-30 holidays of any duration following the launch by the operator of dynamic packaging technology.
The Thomas Cook-owned youth brand will continue to offer seven and 14-night packages, but says customer demand for more independent travel has led it to make its holidays more flexible.
The technology will allow customers to package together a flight with a no-frills, full service scheduled or charter airline from the airport of their choice. The dynamically-packaged holiday will be fully bonded.
The technology is being made available to agents to book through viewdata from December 16 and in the New Year, agents and consumers will be able to dynamically package together a Club18-30 holiday online.
The technology is being provided by Travelink and the project is being overseen by UP Trips, the specialist group headed by the ex-Club 18-30 boss Andy Tidy. UP Trips is also overseeing the launch of Thomas Cook’s flexibletrips.com and earlier this year launched the accommodation-only website, roomsandhotels.com.
UP Trips head of worldwide sales Stephen Vaughan said: “Customers still want our highly valued expertise, but because they are more organised and independent, our overseas offering has to be more adaptable in the same way that our core product has to be.”
Travelink managing director David Jones agreed that operators were going to have to start selling their product differently.
He said: “There is growing demand for greater flexibility and this is not met by the traditional package model. So smart technology is leading the drive towards a more flexible ‘über-package’.”
Report by Ginny McGrath
Ginny McGrath
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