A&K Travel Group is implementing plans to expand both its consumer and trade loyalty programmes. 

The luxury operator has partnered with management consulting firm Bain & Company to conduct “extensive” research on the importance of loyalty in the luxury travel sector. 

The brand said it aims to create a “comprehensive loyalty programme that recognises and rewards our valued clients across all our brands”. 

Speaking at Aspire’s annual Leaders of Luxury conference, A&K Travel Group’s global partnerships manager Carley Ayres said: “We’ve been working with Bain on a really enormous project looking at the market, what’s good and bad practice, what exists already - and the outcome of that work has been really quite interesting.

“We will be able to talk to customers across all of our brands which gives us an opportunity to bring new customers in and blend some of our older audiences.”

Specific details of the programme are yet to be revealed, but A&K said loyal customers would gain “exclusive benefits, personalised experiences and exceptional value”.

As part of its loyalty programme expansion, A&K is also developing initiatives specifically designed for travel advisors, including adapting its “highly successful” 100 Club programme which currently operates in the US market. 

The programme rewards top-performing advisor partners with exclusive benefits, educational opportunities and special events. 

The operator said it is “actively working on developing a similar programme tailored to the specific needs and preferences of our trade partners in other markets”. 

Ayres said: “In the UK, we’ve had about a 40% increase in trade bookings in the last few months so it’s very much centre stage because we are a business that has a reliance on the trade.

“Our goal is to create a platform that celebrates and supports our most loyal and productive travel advisors, fostering long-term mutually beneficial relationships.”