iTrek Kills ‘Travel Agent Is Dead’ Campaign

Travel Guard North America president and CEO Dean S. Sivley on March 11 announced to U.S. travel sellers that the Wisconsin-based travel insurer has persuaded the Australian online travel insurance seller iTrek to drop its “Travel Agent Is Dead” Campaign.

Travel Market Report exclusively broke the story on the iTrek promotion last week raising the ire of travel agents the world over. Australian Federation of Travel Agents CEO Jayson Westbury told TMR that Aussie agents are disgusted by the promotion and AFTA has asked the Australian Securities and Investments Commission to investigate the iTrek promotion, which, AFTA says, contains false claims – in addition to its degrading and awful message to sell its product (see article).

In an e-mail containing Sivley’s letter to US travel agents, Dan McGinnity, vice president of Travel Guard North America, told Travel Market Report that iTrek, an online marketer and travel insurance agency, is not a Chartis or Travel Guard company.

“While Chartis Australia underwrites iTrek’s travel insurance products, iTrek is not and has never been a Chartis or Travel Guard company. Neither Chartis nor Travel Guard have taken part or, at anytime, played a role in the creation or execution of this or any other iTrek marketing program,” McGinnity stated in his e-mail.

In his letter to travel agents, Sivley stated that the iTrek promotion is “in direct conflict with Travel Guard Worldwide’s corporate philosophy and, more importantly, violates the long-established trust we enjoy with our travel agency partners.”

“For the past week,” Sivley stated, “Travel Guard has had frequent and regular communications with our colleagues in Australia in an effort to immediately remedy the situation.  Though it took some time to sort through the challenges presented by contractual obligations and local Australian laws, we are pleased to inform you that we successfully persuaded iTrek to terminate the promotion.”

He added, “What disturbed us most about the iTrek promotion is that it stood in such stark contrast to our view of the travel agency community, here in the United States and in all markets around the globe.  Despite the market dynamics at play in other world regions, we can say with confidence, that U.S. travel agents are alive and well.”

Sivley went to note that Travel Guard North America has always been “a strong, responsive partner, and a vocal advocate of the value that travel agents offer to business and leisure travelers.”