TTC Tour Brands has revealed Trafalgar is undergoing the “biggest change” in its 80-year history as it takes on the products previously offered by sister brands Insight Vacations and Costsaver.
Kelly Jackson, managing director of TTC Tour Brands for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said agents would be able to book via Trafalgar’s expanded portfolio from the final quarter of this year, ahead of the key Black Friday booking period.
She said: “Instead of having to navigate the three separate brands and find the right holiday, they can just come to Trafalgar and choose from a much broader portfolio with over 600 itineraries across 75 countries.”
The move will be supported by Trafalgar’s “biggest-ever brand investment” in 2027. It will be communicated to the trade via a live webinar on September 3 at 10am, with shop visits, dedicated sales manager sessions, and new eLearning modules also planned.
A dedicated resource centre, the Your New Era with Trafalgar hub, has launched on the TTC Agent Portal (TAP) to support agents ahead of system enhancements designed to simplify navigation across the tiers.
“We really want to grow brand awareness, especially in the UK market,” said Jackson.
“Hopefully, after four months of active training and agent engagement, [agents] will be feeling very comfortable with the new expanded Trafalgar portfolio and how it translates from there. We really want to go big in peaks.”
She said the decision represented the “biggest change” for Trafalgar since it was founded nearly 80 years ago in 1947, marking the next stage in its evolution following recent moves into river cruising and small group travel.
Agents will be able to offer clients a range of five travel categories – tours, small group tours, river cruises, rail journeys and group sales – as well as three “value tiers” in each category.
The saver tier will be the equivalent of Costsaver, Jackson said, while classic will reflect Trafalgar and premium will offer the “added extras” associated with Insight Vacations trips. Existing itineraries, pricing and experiences will remain unchanged for 2027 departures.
“We’re bringing the portfolio together, but we’re not making the experiences all the same,” Jackson added. “That distinction is really important. Premium retains the elevated stays, dining and experiences defined by Insight Vacations, while Saver continues to offer the value and flexibility associated with Costsaver.
“You decide which travel style you want and then depending on a client’s budget, you’ve got a range to offer them within our value tiers.”
She revealed the decision to make Trafalgar the single brand was based on “a lot of research”, adding: “Trafalgar was the strongest brand.”
For agents who already have clients booked on trips for 2027, Jackson said everything would remain the same, while new bookings for 2027 through Trafalgar will be marked as “operated by Insight Vacations” or “operated by Costsaver” depending on the value tier chosen.
Jackson said the changes would mean she will start introducing herself to agents differently.
“Instead of ‘Kelly from TTC Tour Brands’, going forward I’m ‘Kelly from Trafalgar and [sister brand] Contiki’. It’s much easier, much simpler,” she added.
