A Blue Train look-alike website is causing confusion in the tourism market, with tour operators reporting the website is offering better and ‘unbeatable’ rates.
When Googling ‘Blue Train’, the third result in the search page brings people to a website built by RCJM, which is an almost exact replica of the Blue Train website. The RCJM website is advertised as ‘The Blue Train – Specials, Packages and Reservations’.
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Jan Jenkins, MD Umvuselelo Tours and Travel, says she lost one of her most prominent clients as a result of discounted prices advertised on the RCJM website. She told Tourism Update that when her clients requested a price for a trip on The Blue Train, she phoned her contact at the luxury train operator to confirm her wholesale tour operator rates and to ask whether there were any available specials. After her contact had told her there were no applicable specials, she quoted her client R14 625pp.
Jenkins’ client responded with an angry e-mail, saying she had booked directly with the Blue Train, who had quoted her R8 900pp including transfers, citing a special rate for South African travellers. The client had received this rate from RCJM, thinking she had been dealing with the Blue Train. Says Jenkins: “The relationship that I have had with my client for many many years has now been called into question, as I am being portrayed as having escalated prices.”
Christoph Joos, founder RCJM Travel, says RCJM sells Blue Train journeys at rack rate. He explains that from time to time The Blue Train will make a limited number of De Luxe Suites available on selected departures to a selection of local tour operators to package to sell to guests with permanent residence on the African continent.
Says Joos: “The selected departure dates are for ‘short notice’ bookings and are usually available for a month or two in advance. The idea behind it is to make a journey on The Blue Train more affordable to our fellow South African and African continent residents.”
To ensure that international travellers don’t take advantage of ‘local’ rates, Joos says travellers are asked to declare their residency on various levels, starting with the enquiry followed by a reservation form that needs to be completed whereon the guests give their physical address and passport details.
Going forward, Joos says international guests residing outside Africa will no longer be able to access the African specials on the website. “Only persons living on the African continent will, via our marketing campaigns, have access to those packages. This will go live within the next couple of days,” he says.
Hanlie Kotze, Executive Manager for The Blue Train, admits that The Blue Train occasionally gives discounts to domestic residents of South Africa as part of its mandatory requirements to encourage domestic travel. However, she explains that The Blue Train advertises rack rates for all routes and these apply to all operators.
Says Kotze: “Tour operators are given nett rates and this is based on their performance and agreements with us. Agents have a different commission structure. Rates given to operators would be the same for their market segments. Where we have reduced rates on offer for the South African market, all operators who specialise in this market would get the same nett rate, which they would then package and advertise to their clients. The requirement is that the rate should not be revealed and should include a flight, hotel accommodation and/or car hire, etc.”
Kotze told Tourism Update that she was aware that the RCJM website was causing market confusion and she said she was currently resolving this matter with The Blue Train’s legal department. However, according to Kotze she is not aware of different pricing regimes for different operators.
A spokesperson for Rovos Rail told Tourism Update that Rovos Rail had had a run-in with RCJM Travel two years ago, as the tour operator had almost completely replicated the Rovos Rail website. However, the matter was resolved at that time.
