Luxury travel doesnaa‚¬a„¢t lose its bling

Hiring a personal travel planner isn’t exactly a common occurrence for the average Romanian and extravagant customized holidays would seem set to become more and more out of reach to the majority. But Anca Nichifor, managing director of Jet Set Planner, a local company offering personal travel planning services, told Business Review that there is an increasing demand for this type of service and the market is expected to grow.

Simona Bazavan

How did you get the idea to start this company?

The story is simple. Over the years, in all the companies I have worked for, I dealt with tourism, mainly organizing travel for others. For some of these trips the organization was quite demanding; unexpected situations were the rule and not the exception, turning everything into quite an “event”. And so I came to understand that there was a niche market in Romania for people who could use the help of a “personal travel planner”. In practice, such a planner combines the work of a personal assistant, a traditional travel agent, a concierge and even the internet sometimes.

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What do you estimate to be the value of the market for such services in Romania?

I can’t make such estimations as we don’t have any direct competitors that can offer the same services as we do. In this industry everything takes place in a decentralized manner and I don’t think that anyone keeps track of the value of these services. What I can say is that this is a growing market.

Is the “personal travel planner” concept accepted by Romanians?

The concept is quite hard to accept as Romanians aren’t used to such services.

What is your customer profile and in what way is it different from that of a regular traveler?

We mainly address two different customer categories. The first is individuals with a very high income who travel for business quite often and who need excellent service, flexibility and promptness when they plan their travel. These customers know exactly what they want and just need a very discreet someone who can fulfill their wishes.

The second category is individuals with an average or above average income who want a different type of holiday, a customized one. These people don’t usually fly charter, aren’t fans of all-inclusive hotels or travel packages. Generally they are used to “building” their holiday on their own with the help of the internet, spending many hours in front of the computer trying to find the best quality/price ratio. Usually they don’t make up their mind easily and need a wide variety of offers to choose from.

How much have you invested since 2007 and what is your future investment strategy?

The initial investment wasn’t very large; subsequently, after investing in acquiring a new headquarters, it reached approximately EUR 200,000. In the future we plan to invest mainly in promoting the concept of “personal travel planner”.

How did last year’s turnover compare to the figure in 2008 and what are your estimations for this year?

The company’s 2009 turnover (EUR 350,000) registered a growth of as much as 20 percent on the previous year. This is a good result for us considering that 2009 was affected by the economic downturn. In the worst case we estimate a turnover stagnation given the current economic context.

How many customers have you had in the last two years?

Well, in 2008 we had just started the business and last year we had about 50 customers.

Which was affected worse by the economic crisis, leisure or business travel, and what is the outlook for 2010?

Leisure travel was most definitely the worst hit. Customers who travel for work reasons learned to mix business with pleasure. The first half of 2010 has exceeded our expectations and although we expect a growth of the leisure segment in the second half of the year, given the current economic instability, we remain cautious.

What were the most popular destinations last year?

In Romania the most popular destinations were the Prahova Valley and Brasov, as well as Sibiu, Sighisoara and Bucovina. Abroad, we can’t really talk of very popular destinations. We had a lot of customers who traveled to European capitals, or spent the summer on the Cote d’Azur, Sardinia, Sicily, Capri and the Greek Islands where they rented holiday houses.

How have luxury travel prices been affected by the economic crisis?

On the luxury segment we haven’t noticed any drastic price drops, moreover some European hotels posted higher rates. On the other hand, wherever it was possible, they had special offers, not by cutting prices but by adding more value to the offered services.

What are the travel trends this year?

Most definitely this year, both in Romania and abroad, on the mid-range segment there has been great demand for special offers or offers with an “early booking” option. For luxury travel there haven’t been any major changes, rather the trips are shorter or business travel is mixed with leisure.