Custom tour operator Avanti Destinations, for the first time in its 43-year history, is expanding into the realm of non-customizable, fixed-price FIT packages. With this launch, Avanti has created three new microsites—accessible to travel advisors who have not previously registered with Avanti—which include a total of 58 new vacation packages in 18 countries across Asia, Latin America and the South Pacific.
This marks the first time since its founding in 1981, that Avanti will be offering non-customizable, fixed-price packages. What’s good to know: While each package is pre-designed, travel advisors will have the option to move dates around so they can find the best time of year/price for their independent travel clients.
Why Launch These Packages Now?
With the introduction of these new packages, Avanti CEO Paul Barry says the company now offers travel advisors three ways to book FIT vacations, which also includes customizing a recommended itinerary and building a unique itinerary from scratch.
“We decided to offer these packages for several reasons,” said Barry. “First, there are many new advisors, most of whom know North America and Europe best, but are not that familiar with booking FIT in Asia, Latin America and the South Pacific. The fixed-price, non-customizable packages make it quick and easy to browse, make a recommendation to their clients, and book without the back-and-forth involved with customized vacations.
“Second, for advisors with clients who have firm budgetary constraints, showing the options for different travel dates—the rate seasons—streamlines the decision-making process. With our customizable packages, on the other hand, which are quoted using dynamic pricing, it can be time-consuming to go nail down the details and build a final price.”
Barry adds that the FIT packages are designed “to provide inspiration and pre-qualification” to advisors who are new—to the industry, to booking with Avanti or creating custom FIT packages.
The new fixed-price, non-customizable packages—indicated on the microsites by a lock symbol—include accommodations, sightseeing tours, experiences and transfers (inclusive of in-country air only, but not international air). While the hotels are also part of the package, advisors may select packages that have a specific hotel star rating. The itinerary itself may not be modified, but international air may be bundled. Other additions may only be made pre- or post-package. There are a variety of private, shared and small group tours and experiences that are included in these non-customizable packages.
“These are not bare-bones packages,” said Barry. “The tours and experiences in the new packages are of the same high-quality that we offer in our customizable vacations. The big difference with the packages is that they make transparent the ‘rate season’ impact on pricing.”
Note: Packages are not available on holidays and other blackout periods. At the same time, Barry tells Travel Agent that the packages are designed to be available year-round, meaning there are no packages that can only be experienced at a certain time of year (think a 'Japan Cherry Blossom' FIT, for instance).
The 18 countries with fixed-price packages are: Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam. Avanti plans to offer fixed-price, non-customizable packages in Europe sometime next year for 2026.
How the Microsites Work
The three microsites have a simple booking form on the homepage, but instead of using that, advisors can easily find each region by selecting the “Destinations” tab, which brings up Asia, Latin America or South Pacific, so they can toggle back and forth between one region and another. Using the drop-down “Packages” tab, the country is selected and all packages for that country are shown on one page, both customizable and non-customizable. (The non-customizable packages have a lock symbol and show the lowest starting price.)
When a package is selected, advisors click on the “Prices” tab to display all the rate season dates and prices for that package. There is also a “Share PDF” tab, enabling advisors to send the package(s) directly to their clients. And to simplify booking, there is a “Book Now” tab. A map of each itinerary is shown on the package description.
The new regional websites will list a few customizable vacations in each country, but prices of these are not shown because pricing depends on customization, travel dates and the specific hotel properties and additional sightseeing or experiences desired.
Good to know: Advisors do not need to be registered with Avanti to browse the microsites, but they will need to sign up in order to complete the booking.
Printed Reference Guides Are Back
Beyond the above launches, in response to advisor demand, Barry says Avanti is bringing back printed “advisor reference guides” (brochures), which include the fixed-price packages. While the price will not be shown in the print brochure, a QR code next to each product takes advisors to the regional microsite for up-to-date pricing and details. These guides include maps, information on in-country transportation and seasonality, descriptions of packages, customizable itineraries, sightseeing tours and experiences, and many hotels.
The first printed advisor reference guide is for the South Pacific region (including Australia, New Zealand and Fiji) and can be pre-ordered now with delivery later in October.
To pre-order the South Pacific advisor reference guide, go to www.avantidestinations.com.
For fixed price packages, visit asia.avantidestinations.com, latinamerica.avantidestinations.com or southpacific.avantidestinations.com.
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