When veteran travel agent, Matt McMillan, decided to start his own travel company in 2013, after 18 years at high-level positions across specialist travel companies in Australia and the UK, he did so with a mission statement that the newly-formed Eclipse Travel would become global leaders in tailor-made travel.
Matt McMillan – Eclipse Travel
Matt’s credentials included extensive knowledge of Latin America and Africa, in particular, and with co-founder Tim Farquhar’s passion for travel across all seven continents and, especially, the Polar Regions overtaking his passion for many years in the finance industry, these two men gave rein to their travel dreams with the birth of Eclipse Travel.
Who is Eclipse Travel?
An Australian and New Zealand owned company that specialises in travel to incredible, unique and sometimes remote destinations such as Antarctica, the Arctic, Africa, and South and Central America, Eclipse Travel is well on its way to becoming Australasia’s most trusted, and innovative, preferred tailor-made travel company.
Tim Farquhar – Eclipse Travel
Eclipse Travel now provides tailor-made holiday packages to Central and South America, African safaris and holidays, and small ship expedition cruising to Antarctica and the Arctic, as well as land-based touring in Scandinavia and Iceland. The company also creates trekking holiday packages, Solar Eclipse Travel packages, polar cruises, Amazon Tours and Machu Picchu Tours.
Eclipse Travel expansion
Starting out in 2013 as a two-man operation in Sydney, Australia, Matt and Tim quickly built a loyal base of clients with their no-bullshit approach and attention to detail, customising Latin American holidays packaged with incredible destination knowledge and customer service.
Eclipse Travel – Central America – Colombia Tours
After that initial leap of faith, the bookings started rolling in quickly, and by 2014 a team of seven was being kept busy in the Eclipse Travel Head Office.
Eclipse Travel – Galapagos Islands
A focus on knowledge, customer service and attention to detail (combined with a digital-first marketing strategy) ensured continued growth, with Eclipse Travel adding new destinations including the Arctic and Africa, and expanding into the New Zealand market with the opening of a Christchurch, New Zealand, office in 2017.
Eclipse Travel – Tanzania Africa
Travel industry take-up
Clearly Eclipse Travel was doing something very right in the market! The travel trade was quick to embrace the company’s offerings, with repeat client enquiries coming on the back of feedback that gave a big thumbs up to Eclipse Travel’s attention to detail, destination knowledge and reasonable pricing. Today, Eclipse Travel has an annual trade conversion rate of 43% (almost every second enquiry being confirmed), providing agents with the confidence to place client bookings in safe hands.
Eclipse Travel – Central America – Cuba Tours
In-house development
The reliance of the industry on technology and data (and expensive third-party solutions) led the Eclipse Travel team to develop an in-house platform called Tripeze, that incorporates almost all of the data requirements of the business. This innovative solution has enabled bespoke applications across many areas of the company, and continues to drive business efficiencies as well as providing future licensing potential.
Eclipse Travel – Weddell Sea Tours Antarctica
In 2019 Eclipse Travel’s systems developer became a full-time employee of the business.
With sustained and impressive growth year on year since inception, Eclipse Travel now employs 24 staff across its Sydney and Christchurch offices, including dedicated marketing and systems staff supporting the main sales and reservation processes.
Eclipse Travel – Norwegian Arctic
Eclipse Travel for Agents
- Agents are offered nett rates for most products, giving them the ability to effectively set their own commission, and the freedom to package their own flights and other ancillary elements with Eclipse’s product
- Eclipse Travel offers agents a guarantee that protects their customer information and ensures that clients will never be contacted directly by Eclipse Travel without the agent’s express permission
- Itineraries and customer portals are white labelled with the agent brand to streamline documentation and administration – with Tripeze protecting email address and other contact information
- Eclipse Travel’s agent portal allows agents to log in and get a snapshot of all enquiries and bookings they hold with Eclipse, and to upload documents and change traveller information
- Eclipse Travel also offers marketing support for agents, with a range of marketing and social media assets available
- Agents are encouraged to lead groups, and are incentivised with FOC places and the ability to develop marketing collateral
- Small group agent famils are conducted regularly, with minimal participation fees and a focus on keeping the itinerary closer to what their clients would experience, rather than endless hotel site inspections and hosted meals
- Eclipse Travel’s destination specialists are available for agent training, client information sessions and general advice
- A monthly agent newsletter includes deals and news, plus the latest famil details, and regularly offers exclusive deals with suppliers
- Eclipse Travel is always happy to discuss cooperative marketing opportunities with interested agent partners
TOP IMAGE: Solar Eclipse – Photo by Angel Lopez-Sanchez and Vicente Maestro, on an Eclipse Travel tour to Elqui Valley, Chile 2019
