French tech platform debuts in the UK seeking to cut out the UK trade

A new online platform is to cut out the UK trade by providing consumers with direct access to agents in their chosen holiday destination.

A new online platform is to cut out the UK trade by providing consumers with direct access to agents in their chosen holiday destination.

French firm Evaneos Travel, founded in 2009, is poised be launched in the UK following the appointment of a public relations company.

It claims to connect travellers to 500 local travel agents in 150 destinations around the world, including 50 who are English-speaking.

This allows consumers with to create tailor-made trips directly through local agents, “ensuring the most authentic itineraries and price points that are not ramped up by intermediaries”.

The company said: “Consumers seeking holidays to far flung destinations such as Burma, Costa Rica and Sri Lanka, which are traditionally sold through the travel trade in the UK, are now able to access and purchase trips through expert local travel professionals who know their country inside out, while staying safe in the hands of Evaneos Travel.”

The firm says it guarantees secure payment, free repatriation insurance and commits itself to re-arranging all services which were agreed between the traveller and the agency “in the unlikely event that the a local agency defaults”.

The local agencies used tend to be the service-providers behind big-name tour operators who have an opportunity to sell directly to UK travellers for the first time, according to the company.

Chief executive Eric La Bonnardière described Evaneos as “the UK’s first online platform to offer tailor-made holidays at fair prices” while confirming the appointment of travel PR consultancy Hills Balfour.