Founded in 1947, Trafalgar Tours is one of the oldest and largest tour operators in the world. The flagship brand of The Travel Corporation, Trafalgar is one of the creators of the tour industry as it is known today, and one of the companies whose innovations are defining the tour industry of the future.
Trafalgar offers more than 230 tours in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, Africa and Australia. In more than 60 years of operating tours, Trafalgar has built up a huge and complex global infrastructure of travel suppliers, transportation media and components that gives the company the power to take clients to the iconic places of the world in comfort and give them the opportunities to experience them, enjoy them and always remember them.
By tapping into Trafalgar's global infrastructure and economies of scale, clients are able to stay in a four-star hotel on the same budget that would have allowed them only a three-star hotel if they were traveling on their own.
In recent years, Trafalgar has gone to great lengths to reinvent itself and put public misconceptions about the tour experience into the dustbin of history.
Trafalgar reinvented the escorted tour as the guided vacation. The shift in terminology brings with it a different approach, a different lens through which to view travel.
"What we're finding in the research today is that what is resonating with the consumer, what you need to be communicating in order to stay relevant is the key issue of experience," said Paul Wiseman, Trafalgar's president. "Everything needs to be experiential. What we had been doing in the past wasn't clear enough. One of our great challenges is to explain to people who aren't familiar with the company what the experience actually is. It's very difficult to put into words the very comprehensive nature of what the touring experience is."
Trafalgar reshaped its marketing message based on the idea of a tour as an experience. It was less a matter of changing what Trafalgar actually does than it was an effort to get the message out more clearly about the service Trafalgar really does provide and the experience it makes possible.
Trafalgar is not in the business of selling bus tours. It is in the business of providing opportunities to have the experiences of a lifetime. All of Trafalgar's worldwide infrastructure is focused on a single point, providing the best travel experience for the customer.
Once at the destination, Trafalgar hones in on the immersion of clients at the destination with its local guides and its Insider Experiences, which give clients the chance to meet with local residents in their homes or workplaces.
As its tagline says, Trafalgar's mission is to enable clients to "see the world from the inside."
Trafalgar's efforts to win the loyalty of travel agents has been a great success, as shown by the fact that travel agents voted Trafalgar not only best tour operator in Europe, where the company began, but also in Mexico and Latin America.
Trafalgar continues to set the bar higher and keep itself on the leading edge of the travel industry. The company is having a very good year.
According to Wiseman, "Driven by feedback from guests and travel agent partners, we continue to deliver unforgettable trips making it easy for agents to inspire their clients and sell Trafalgar. We've received our best-ever 99 percent guest satisfaction rating for Europe in 2014 which means happier clients who repeat and refer. We're striving for an even better 2015 and it's working because we've been able to guarantee over 85 percent of our trips as a result of strong sales, and we will add departures as existing product fills. Our trade partners are integral to our success and we're grateful for their recognition."
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