Condor Travel having well-established itself as a leading tour operators for the South America market is now keen to explore the potential of the Middle East. With 36 years of experience of selling South America, Condor Travel has a strong regional and global presence in markets such as Europe, America and Asia Pacific. Talking to Travel Daily Middle East about the global marketing plans, Sammy Niego, president and chief executive officer of Condor Travel said: “Asia Pacific is a big market for us as around 30% of our business comes from this region. India is growing but we want to expand our services and educating emerging markets on South America. We adopt a very proactive approach in all our markets as we understand that Latin America is a new market.” Condor Travel in a bid to expand its offerings in the Middle East has tied up with Phoenix International FZC managed by Darshana Manglani. The objective of having a presence in the region was to expand sales into South America. “I have visited several countries in the Middle East to understand which Latin America product will work well. Having tied up with Phoenix International, we are optimistic about enhancing our presence in the region. We do have some business coming out of the region. However, it is a small percentage which has the potential to grow.” MARKET FOCUS With regional Middle East carriers connecting into South America, the connectivity exists. The next step is to provide a platform for awareness among the travel trade. “We are confident that we have a product line within Condor that oriented to the Middle East clientele. The products on offer range from the standard to infinity which is our luxury brand.” Elaborating further Manglani said: “The response from the market has been excellent. Most aganets are aware of Condor Travel due to their regular presence at the ATM for the last few years. This partnership gives them an added edge with a local presence, easy information accessibility and competitive rates. The objective going ahead is to be working hand-in-hand with the travel trade, enhancing awareness, educating customer facing staff and above, facilitating the planning and access to all services and products in South America.” PATH AHEAD Having a structured strategy in place for the region both Niego and Manglani are confident that they have a product that will reap results. “We are not looking for quantity but quality in terms of clients. We prefer to grow with our partners in every region,” said Niego. With a the World Cup just a few months away, Condor Travels is the official agents for the FIFA World Cup. This event will boost a lot of movement across South America. “Our plan for this year will be to better penetrate and understand the market. This will include road shows, looking for joint ventures in the region and rolling out promotions for 2014-15,” added Niego. Concluding Manglani said: “By the end of the year, we expect that every agent will know about Condor Travels wide network in the continent. We believe that the sales for Condor will grow in proportion, if not more to actual increase in travel to SA. We would like Condor Travel to become a ‘first choice’ as a South America services provider.” Source: Travel Daily