John Kirk spoke with Richard Villeneuve as part of the Voyages en Direct annual congress which concluded on November 28 on the Quebec market, the evolution of VED and the profession of travel agent by the same token .
The interview can be viewed in its entirety in English (video).
– How is the market doing in Quebec and how is Voyages en Direct doing well?
Richard Villeneuve: “We’re lucky, we’re doing well, we’re not in double figures, but all in all, we can’t complain. It’s very positive”
– Do you see a change in prices and what can we expect for next year?
Richard Villeneuve: “It really depends on the product, cruise sales are going very well and prices are stable, my prediction is that we can expect around 5-10% growth in prices in general for the next year.”
– This event, your annual gala, you have privatized the entire Club Med Charlevoix, that’s no small thing. It’s a great event, we can see that everyone is happy, the atmosphere is festive, can you tell us more?
Richard Villeneuve: “We are at full capacity, we are very happy, there is not a single room available at Club Med Charlevoix, we are around 500 people in total. This year’s formula is different, it is a first for us We asked the agents and suppliers what they would like and then we made a good mix of learning opportunities for the agents We told the suppliers what the agents would like to learn by asking; to everyone what would work for them, we could offer a win-win formula for everyone.”
John Kirk with Richard Villeneuve, Voyages en Direct
– Voyages en Direct is not a traditional consortium, you sell travel solutions to agents, can you tell us more about your formula?
Richard Villeneuve: “We are a consortium, but decentralized. Each agency owner can deploy personalized solutions and services to his group of agents. It’s a kind of à la carte buffet. Also, we offer a lot of training, this is our main strength and our first niche. We have around 3,000 agents in our fold, which represents around 35% of agents in Quebec.
– You seem to have a large market share, how do you get there?
We are still growing and the services we offer are appreciated, for example we focused on cruises about two years ago, and now the entire cruise offer is offered in French, that changes everything for agents. We have worked hard to deliver this and we are seeing the results. Agents can send quotes and information in French on cruises to their clients, it differentiates them and makes our offer stand out from the crowd.
– What’s coming up for Voyages en Direct?
Like everyone else, artificial intelligence! But, in our case, our ecosystem will use it to find the right product for the customer, it’s ultra precise and it makes it possible to suggest the best cruise itinerary according to the customer’s profile, for example. The tool will draw from our database to bring out the best travel solution, it’s brilliant and it’s our intelligent use of AI.
