Background
The demand for air travel in Morocco drops significantly during the annual festival of Ramadan. This drop in demand represents a major challenge for scheduled service airlines committed to operating regular services year round. GB Airways, a British Airways franchisee, identified a need to stimulate sales during this period where demand is largely inelastic and price promotions have little effect.

The Solution
We identified that the travel trade in Morocco still had a critical part to play in influencing sales. We developed a promotion to run for a 3 month period (taking in the months either side of Ramadan) that featured an incentive for the trade to sell GB Airways flights to London and beyond. Every booking made would entitle the agent to issue a "Dream Ticket" to the customer. Every "Dream Ticket" gave the customer, (and the agent who booked the ticket), the chance to win a prize. For the customer the prize was a long haul holiday and for the agent who booked the ticket - a cash prize. The field sales force supported a national travel trade mailing by visiting agents in major cities promoting "Dream Ticket" and consumer demand was stimulated with national press advertising and posters in travel agent windows. Because the "Dream Ticket" was a tangible promotional piece with a perceived value the tickets became a major talking point within travel agencies.

Results
Bookings for the three months increased by up to 59%, with the critical month of Ramadan up 42%. Additionally, agents in regions of Morocco that had produced little, or no revenue prior to the promotion started to generate significant numbers of bookings and became long term producers for the airline. The size of the promotion also helped establish the British Airways brand as a serious player in the Moroccan market in the eyes of the travel trade.