OUR PARTNER FOR SPAIN, PORTUGAL & LATAM MARKETS?
Working Together
Just under 3 years ago, Select Representation became one of the 4 founding members of a worldwide alliance for travel trade representation companies. This collective of strong, independent and trust-worthy sales & marketing companies was formed with the idea of creating a platform for like-minded representation companies to share information and work closely together whilst focusing on their own respective region of the world. Global Travel Representation Alliance (also known as GTRA) was launched back in October 2018 and has fast become a successful partnership of travel trade specialists from around the globe.
Spain, Portugal & LATAM
Our exclusive and dedicated global travel representation alliance member for Spain, Portugal and LATAM market is Wetouring. This fresh, young and vibrant travel representation company was created by Albert Sanchez Ramos (headquartered in Barcelona) to provide DMC and hotel sales, marketing and business development strategies for the Spanish and Portuguese speaking communities. Spanish for example is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, with more than 650 million people within Latin America (LATAM), Spain and the United States having this as their primary way of communicating. On the other hand, Portuguese has around 270 million global speakers and is typically regarded as the 6th most spoken language and 3rd most spoken European language in the world (in terms of native speakers). It’s actually the most widely spoken language in South America (not Spanish….as many believe!). Despite this, these massive markets are still vastly untapped for outbound travel. This one of the core reasons why Wetouring has pinpointed this growing expansive market, by actively working very closely with ‘exclusive’ partners who adhere to the same ethics or its company moto of “together stronger”.
Wetouring
We spoke to Albert from Wetouring recently and he said: ‘After the pandemic, using quality travel representation companies will be the key for hotels, DMC and other travel related businesses to revive and reconnect with their clients. The prolonged inactivity of many businesses, since covid arrived and borders been closed, has caused a potential breakdown in communication between clients (travel agencies & tour operators) and providers, especially DMC’s and hotels in their destinations. It’s very clear that using a reputed travel representation company will be one of the best ways to reignite new and past partnerships, providing a cost-effective way of driving business (see recent article: https://wetouring.com/travel-sales-representation-key-expand-business/). Of course, there are those who still think that this can be done via social media, website and SEO, emailing, webinars or videoconference but the reality is that a results driven sales representative partner will bring the human touch that we have all been missing for so long! It has to be said: ‘Do not trust robots!’
Albert continued to say: ‘There is likely to be a trend towards the smaller and medium sized tour operators buying products and packages via a preferred DMC. Why? Many companies are looking to streamline their working processes and using one reliable local partner could mean time and cost savings. Outsourcing to the local / in resort experts could mean less staff needed and payment of chosen products in just one place. In the past, tour operators may have acquired accommodation directly but bought tours, excursions and transfers from elsewhere (which means 2 bank fees).’
Albert summarised the mind set of all of our global travel representation alliance members by offering some wise words: ‘Wetouring follows very similar guidelines and values to those of our close ally Select Representation, by providing personalized and tailor-made advice for our partners. To understand this better, our representation offering goes way beyond the standard conventional commercial activities promised by others, as we see ourselves as an extension of the company that we represent. We get involved in all operational processes, from the development and adaptation of the product, the promotion and sale, the reservation process and the follow-up. For this reason, our commercial representation offering is always more inclusive and complete, with the aim of creating solid relationships that generate lasting benefits. Most importantly, we aim to create a return on investment…. and much more.’
Select Representation is a travel sales & marketing representation company, headquartered in the UK. This experienced consultancy provides the perfect option for hotels & destination management companies (DMC’s) wishing to expand their business from the UK, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Iceland. We are a founder member of Global Travel Representation Alliance.
Members include (**Founders):
**Select Representation (www.select-rep.com ) = UK, Ireland, Belgium, Holland & Scandinavia
**Delivering America (www.delivering-america.com ) = USA, Canada & South America
**Complete Travel Marketing (www.ctmarketing.com.au ) = Australia & New Zealand
RMC International (www.rmc-int.eu ) = Germany, Austria & Switzerland
Wetouring (www.wetouring.com ) = Spain, Portugal & Latin America
MMA Consulting (www.mmaconsulting.company ) = Russia & CIS
HTMS International (www.htmsinternational.eu ) = Italy
