Case study: Hassaan Travel
How a Netherlands-based, VFR travel agency worked with Amadeus to support its customers throughout COVID-19 and now business is booming.
Hassaan Travel is taking advantage of the ongoing travel recovery by investing in its customers and growing its business.
Who are we?
Alborz CTG Travel is a UK travel agency based in Brighton; specializing in trips to the Middle East and catering for the all-important visiting friends and relatives (VFR) area of travel. While mainly flight specialists, the agents also provide a number of other services such as visa support, car hire, and hotel bookings.
The personal touch- CTG Travel prides itself on building close relationships with customers and offering a personal touch in everything it does. To them, customers are like old friends, and their agents ensure that at every touchpoint a customer’s full previous travel history is readily available, allowing for responsive and reactive exchanges at the touch of a button, 24/7.
“Working with Amadeus allows us to invest in our customers so that they become return customers for life”
Hassaan Travel is a small independent father-and-son owned family business. Operating out of the Netherlands, the travel agency specializes in the VFR (visiting friends and relatives) segment, offering guided tours and tailor-made packages including religious pilgrimages such as Umrah. Hassaan Travel currently focuses on South Asian destinations like Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh.
All of Hassaan Travel's business is gained through word-of-mouth. The travel agency services a close local community of foreign nationals living in the Netherlands, so staying connected to customers is vital. Building and maintaining loyalty is hugely important to Hassaan Travel, regularly going out of its way to support its customers no matter the issue. The company offers a complete package which includes flights, accommodation, transport, and visa support, meaning everything is taken care of.
“COVID-19 is behind us (hopefully) so it's time to build back those customer relationships and show your value. Don't hesitate to promote yourself!”
With the pandemic now firmly in the past, Hassaan Travel is focused on growing the pilgrimage element of its business which is becoming increasingly popular within the Muslim community. They also intend to grow their destinations beyond South East Asia. As such, the travel agency is keen to boost its profile and awareness within relevant local community areas such as mosques and conferences.
Due to its knowledge in offering pilgrimage tours, Hassaan Travel is positioning itself well to organize and guide customers on these journeys, so they feel safe and secure. There is huge potential here, with the company projecting that it can increase the pilgrimage trips to 50% of the business, from the current 25%.
What are the fundamentals?
Headquarters
Industry
Plan
What was the challenge?
At the end of 2019, we became an IATA certified travel seller and business was picking up. The travel market was healthy, and our company was looking forward to a big season on the horizon. When the outbreak of COVID-19 occurred, everything came to a standstill and our bright future was put on hold. It was a challenging period as the office had to be physically closed from June to August 2020. Despite this, our agency remained active by servicing between 5-10 customers each month as well as helping travelers who were stranded abroad.
“The support is just amazing from Amadeus - calls are responded to systematically and within minutes. Even though it's a paid service it's perfectly acceptable because of the peace of mind and quick resolution of queries, meaning they can get back to work instantly.”
As a result of the travel restrictions, we took time to think about the business and explore opportunities for diversification. With all other sectors, particularly in hospitality, feeling the effects of the pandemic, we decided to invest in the business and prepare for recovery. This is when my son Adil joined the business to help out during this turbulent period and decided to stay in the company as, just like me, he is passionate about travel and is keen to embrace the new opportunities ahead.
How did Amadeus support?
Amadeus’ user-friendly system was incredibly helpful throughout the pandemic. Amadeus Ticket Changer was a particular game changer, as it’s much faster and easier to use than other distributors. The amount of time it takes for an involuntary change can be around 10-20 minutes for us with other distributors but for Amadeus, it would take a matter of a few minutes. We found the Amadeus system to be much faster than others across all aspects, a key factor for small agencies where time is precious. While we still use other distributors, 95% of our business is conducted through Amadeus.
“Amadeus helped a lot during the crisis, it's just so easy to work with the system. Amadeus Ticket Changer is fantastic.”
Customer support at Amadeus, was and is to this day second to none, with the calls being responded within minutes and any issue being solved straight away. The peace of mind and quick resolution to queries makes Amadeus Service Desk a worth-while service.
What did you reimagine?
During the pandemic, many travel agencies were forced to down tools. They switched off their phones and had to advise customers to contact the airlines directly. We took a different approach and continued to prioritize customer well-being above everything else. We stayed in touch with our customers even when they faced booking cancellations or severe delays. We also dealt with airlines directly and chased them on behalf of customers. We remained active in the early hours of the morning because we wanted to be available to talk to our customers regardless of the time difference.
Between the years 2015-2019, our business was growing due to the hard work we invested in building up the company. Fast forward to 2023, growth is booming again thanks to “revenge travel
"and our IATA certification. We are delighted that customers are coming back in big numbers and the future is looking bright once again. Demand has increased to such an extent that we are looking to employ more staff as well as partner with other non-IATA travel agencies to handle ticketing.
“Now business is booming again thanks to 'revenge travel' and the IATA certification. People are coming back in big numbers and the future is looking good!”
Results
- Hassaan Travel is currently seeing 20% growth compared to 2019.
- The company is looking to increase pilgrimage travel from 25% to 50% of its business.
- CTG Travel 1
- CTG Travel 2
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