Hands-on support, site visits, sales training, a fair pricing policy for trade and an online booking tool are just some of the resources Club Med has in place to grow bookings through the retail travel industry in South Africa in 2023.
Club Med’s post-COVID recovery in the South African market has been going at a cracking pace. Olivier Perillat-Piratoine, MD, Club Med Southern Africa, shared some observations on the company’s recovery in this market with Travel News.
“For Club Med globally (excluding China, which implemented its zero-COVID policy) all the markets have rebounded successfully. In South Africa, we have seen double-digit growth in revenue terms in the second half of 2022 departures vs 2019, which was a record year. Our 2023 sales are very encouraging as well, with double-digit growth on early 2023 figures vs 2019. The brand is doing well with solid market share in our key destinations, and progressive, growing interest in other long-haul destinations,” said Piratoine.
“We have also experienced a record year in corporate group and incentive travel as companies prioritise rewarding and connecting employees after two difficult years of lock-down.”
He noted that shorter lead times still applied for departures to Indian Ocean resorts but not for the snow resorts. “For our ski destinations where we are market leaders, we have seen a stabilisation of the booking pattern with very early bookers – nine to 15 months.”
Sun and sea
Piratoine said Club Med Seychelles, which opened in 2021, had gained great popularity within the trade this year. “Seychelles offers a great alternative to Mauritius. It’s visa-free and only a five-hour flight from South Africa.
“Our long-haul sun destinations – Indonesia, Thailand and the Mediterranean – are only really starting to take off again now. We are encouraged to see more airline seat capacity returning to key destinations like Bali, Phuket and Turkey and believe airline ticket prices will normalise this year as more capacity is added back.”
What were the top-selling resorts in the Southern Africa market? “With Mauritius being the firm favourite that it is for the South African market, our Mauritius properties, La Pointe aux Cannoniers and La Plantation d’Albion, remain top sellers. In terms of sun destinations, Seychelles comes second with a great growth trajectory for 2023. As ski continues to grow year on year, properties in France such as Val Thorens, La Rosière and Val D’Isère – the latter is the brand’s first Exclusive Collection ski resort – continue to gain in popularity.”
This year, Club Med has opened new resorts in Japan and Canada, and has received confirmation of a new ski resort in the US. The company opened Magna Marbella in southern Spain, and is working on a second resort in Malaysia in Kota Kinabalu on the remote island of Borneo. Piratoine said a Club Med South African resort remains a priority for the company, however no further details were available.
This year promises to be a busy one for Club Med SA. The operation intends to nurture growth and increase support from its trade partners by driving product and system training, thus enabling travel agent partners to confidently match their clients’ needs with the unique offering of the Club Med portfolio.
That’s not all. It will launch a rewards programme for the trade, and plans to organise fam trips to ensure travel agent partners experience the brand. “We are reinforcing our training efforts by hosting educationals together with regional/online workshops and regular visits from our sales team,” said Camille Janse van Rensburg, Club Med’s Sales Manager: Indirect & MICE Southern Africa. She added that Club Med would also allocate trade marketing budget to drive trade sales with independents and partnering networks. It is also recruiting additional team members.
Club Med says the trade remains a very important part of its distribution and agents are front of mind when the company invests in resources and systems. “In 2022, we launched Club Med Travel Agents’ platform (CMTA), which allows agents to act autonomously by providing a live, intuitive and comprehensive way of booking. In a time where agents are busier than ever, the system allows for them to shop live pricing, save and download quotes, and confirm bookings at any time of the day without having to pick up the phone or send multiple emails,” said Janse van Rensburg.
“Club Med has always believed in price parity, meaning that the trade remains competitive when quoting. We ensure the trade is aware of all upcoming sales so that they have equal opportunity to pass on great deals to their customer base,” concluded Piratoine.
