RMV is offering a rail and cruise
combination.
At the December 2007 World Travel Awards, in the category of Best
Travel Experience By Train, the distinguished competition listed
such international players as the Blue Train (South Africa), Palace
on Wheels (India) and the Orient Express (Peru). For the third year
in a row, top honors went to Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer Vacations
(RMV), as voted by 167,000 travel professionals including more than
110,000 travel agents.
Fresh from its three-peat, RMV officials are anything but
complacent. On the contrary, during a recent conversation with
TravelAge West, they shared a wealth of information about their new
products for this year.
In the words of Randy Powell, president of the Armstrong Group,
which owns RMV: “If we want to ensure the continued success of our
company, we need to look for ways to be innovative and build on the
reputation of the Rocky Mountaineer brand.”
At its 1990 inception, RMV consisted of a two-day, all-daylight
journey through Western Canada and the Canadian Rockies aboard the
Rocky Mountaineer train. Today RMV encompasses three Rocky
Mountaineer routes and one on the Whistler Mountaineer, making it
the largest privately owned passenger rail service in North
America. It owns Gray Line West motorcoach; operates two live shows
and the Thompson Hotel in Kamloops, B.C.; and runs Rocky Blue Line
Motor Tours in Victoria. Thanks to a partnership with Fairmont
Hotels, it also features large blocks of quality rooms for clients
to stay in between travels. Package components run from meal plans
and rental cars to tours and activities.
As it freshens its offerings for 2008, RMV is rolling out a rail
and cruise combination ranging from 12 to 16 nights, combining
train excursions with passage aboard Holland America Line’s ms
Ryndam. Also new this year is a 25-minute helicopter tour of the
Columbia Icefields, available with several of the firm’s vacation
packages. To sweeten the self-drive portion of its product line,
RMV is adding a new amenity called the Gypsy Guide. Dubbed “a
guided tour in your own vehicle” and operated through the car’s
stereo system, it provides narrative, directions, facts and tips on
things to see and do along the way.
Rocky Mountaineer Vacations is
expanding their season this year.
As demand for the company’s product grows, RMV is starting this
year’s season earlier and ending a few days later than last year,
and its call center has extended its hours of operation. The
company has acquired its 16th dome coach for its Gold Leaf class,
the higher-end alternative providing clients with reserved seating
in two-story, glass-domed coaches.
This spring, RMV will welcome its one millionth guest, a
milestone that couldn’t have happened without travel agents, said
RMV executive vice president James Terry. “We are doing our best to
provide tourists, travelers and adventurers with a unique, quality
travel experience,” said Terry. “Agents have played an important
role in helping us tell the world about our product.”
For agents who want to make the most of the RMV momentum, the
company provides Web-based training, free sales and marketing
collateral, co-op advertising and the guidance of 11 U.S. sales
representatives. Agents get competitive industry commission on
bookings including air and they receive reduced rates when they
experience the product themselves.
“The most common misconception among travel agents is that we
only feature train travel, while in reality we offer so much more
than that,” said RMV U.S. travel agency sales director Larisa
Zenjin. “We provide one-stop shopping to travel agents booking
trips to Western Canada. By calling us, travel agents can rest
assured that their clients will truly have the trip of a
lifetime.”
877-460-3200
www.rockymountaineer.com