Exsus Travel partners with Turkish Airlines to ‘challenge perceptions’ of Turkey

Exsus Travel has hosted a fam trip in partnership with Turkish Airlines to “challenge perceptions” surrounding Turkey.

The operator took seven luxury agents on a week-long journey across the country, showcasing its “most diverse and compelling destinations”.

The itinerary began in Istanbul, where the group enjoyed a private yacht cruise along the Bosphorus and a stay at five-star hotel Aliée Istanbul.

From there, they travelled to Cappadocia to experience one of the region’s famed hot-air balloon flights and Izmir, where agents were shown “a slower, more authentic” side of the country.

The trip concluded in Bodrum, where agents stayed at Mett Bodrum and visited The Bodrum Edition.

Throughout the trip, the group travelled in business class with Turkish Airlines, demonstrating “the ease of connecting between destinations”.  

The fam was also supported by local DMC partner Idee Travel & Events.

Exsus Travel’s head of marketing Ella Dunham, who hosted the trip, said: “One of the things that made this trip so successful was the collaboration between Exsus Travel, Turkish Airlines and Idee Travel & Events.

“The team at Idee created an itinerary that showcased just how diverse Turkey can be, whilst Turkish Airlines’ extensive network allowed us to experience multiple regions seamlessly in a relatively short space of time. The result was a trip that challenged perceptions and gave agents the knowledge and confidence to sell the destination in a much more holistic way.”

Fatma Erdem Polo, sales and marketing executive at Turkish Airlines, added: “As the airline flying to more countries than any other in the world, we are proud to showcase the incredible diversity that Turkey offers.

“Our partnership with Exsus Travel provided agents with the opportunity to experience first-hand how easily travellers can combine multiple destinations within one journey, whilst enjoying the comfort and service of Turkish Airlines’ business class product throughout.”

One of the participating agents, Kelly-Ann Bowen of Luxury Dream Holidays, said: “Before travelling, I hadn’t fully appreciated just how diverse the destination is or how easily different regions can be combined into one itinerary.

“Experiencing the seamless connections with Turkish Airlines and seeing the contrast between each destination first-hand has given me so much inspiration and confidence when discussing Turkey with clients.”

The fam trip forms part of Exsus Travel’s “ongoing investment” into agent education and partner collaboration.

Its partnership with Turkish Airlines will also see the two brands host the operator’s upcoming Elite Agent fam trip to South Africa, where top-performing agents will visit Cape Town, the winelands and the bush while experiencing the airline’s business class product.