The Travel Group brings together Flight Centre businesses including Discova, The Travel Junction, Cross Hotels & Resorts, Back-Roads Touring and Topdeck.
LONDON, UK — Flight Centre Travel Group (FCTG) has announced its commitment to in-destination experiences with the launch of a suite of new speciality businesses.
Flight Centre Global Product leader Nick Lucock said the newly formed The Travel Group would provide in-destination experiences like never before through hotels, tours, destination management and B2B product sales and support.
The Travel Group brings together Flight Centre businesses including Discova, The Travel Junction, Cross Hotels & Resorts, Back-Roads Touring and Topdeck.
As the newest global destination management company (DMC), Discova was formed in July with the merger of Buffalo Tours, a long-time provider of customized tours in Asia, and Olympus Tours, a celebrated ground operator for Mexico, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.
“Discova has allowed us to expand our global reach so that we can remain at the forefront of in-destination travel services and connect our partners and customers to a world of possibilities through discovery and adventure. The new name represents a passion for our local people on the ground and global reach to service our business partners’’ Mr Lucock said.
“Discova delivers a range of services to our partners that includes day touring, transportation, extended touring, educational travel and MICE."
“Discova is also able to create tailor-made in-destination solutions. The strong position Buffalo Tours has had in responsible tourism will be carried into the new brand and complimented by working alongside Flight Centre Travel Groups already recognized Worldwise Charter.”
The Travel Junction – Connecting You, was created to act as an intermediary linking travel sellers outside of the traditional Flight Centre retail brands to the product powerhouse of the global procurement business with direct contracts in hotels, tours, experiences and cruise.
Mr Lucock said the continually-expanding business offered a connectivity service for B2B businesses to access the company’s specialised, highly valued range of travel products across wide reaching markets that may not have been feasible to access previously.
“The Travel Junction offers a single distribution point with superior customer focused service to guide our partners through the entire product journey."
“The key focus is on minimising the current disadvantages seen within the market today and being caretakers for the end to end customer experience, from supplier to end traveller,’’ he said.
The Travel Group also offers life-changing travel experiences under two distinct group touring brands; Topdeck and Back-Roads.
Topdeck is the number one provider of epic, hassle-free, authentic group trips for young people. Founded in 1973 by a group of friends with a double decker bus and a passion for adventure, Topdeck has grown to offer a variety of culturally-rich planned trips spanning Europe, Asia, Australia & New Zealand, North America, Africa and the Middle East.
Backroads with more than 30 years’ experience in small group tours across the UK, Europe, South East Asia and North America, is the original small group touring company. Capped at 18 passengers, their personalized touring experiences let fascinating cultures, delicious flavours and unexplored terrain take the lead.
Meanwhile, Cross Hotels and Resorts is Flight Centre’s regional Asian-Pacific hotel management company, which currently operates 24 hotels across three distinct brands: Cross, Cross Vibe and Away resorts targeting the luxury, urbane and beach style traveller in Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia with many new projects in the pipeline.
“With a focus on the responsible partnerships, superior customer experience, support and personalised service that FCTG is famous for, the Travel Group provides a comprehensive one stop shop for memorable in-destination experiences world-wide,’’ Mr Lucock said.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
