Suppliers predict another record peak selling period

Suppliers at the Barrhead Travel conference anticipate another bumper peaks selling period in January, bucking wider economic sentiments.

 

Ruth Venn, associate vice-president of sales and distribution at P&O Cruises, said January 2025 had been its best “wave” selling period for the cruise line and predicted this coming January will be another record.

 

Wendy Wu, founder and chair of Wendy Wu Tours, told delegates: “I am so excited, we have had the best peak in the history with Barrhead this year in 2025.

 

“We are absolutely looking forward to an even bigger, even more gigantic peak record for next year…we are looking forward to an explosive 2026 peaks.”

 

Dondra Ritzenhaler, chief executive of Azamara Cruises, said her cruise line sells about 86% of its cruises via travel agents – and about 30% comes from the UK market, so the wave period is “critical”.

 

Caroline Stobo, product and commercial director at Barrhead Travel, urged suppliers to send over information about peaks campaigns early.

 

“It is all about communication, getting that message out early – so don’t leave us hanging,” she said.

 

“If you’ve got your message, we are happy to sign NDAs [non-disclosure agreements].

 

“We need to give [agents] the tools to do the job.

 

“We really need it mid-December onwards, because we have a big focus for business when we roll out peaks to all our salespeople.”

 

She also asked for exclusive products to sell to clients, adding: “We will do a great job for you…[selling] something that makes customers feel a bit special.”

 

Suppliers also urged agents to take advantage of training opportunities to prepare themselves for peaks and the launch of new products.

 

Venn said there are plenty of Clia training tools, and P&O Cruises offers ship visits, webinars and incentives, especially in December when sales tend to be slower.

 

Wu highlighted the operator’s training programme for agents, called the WUniversity, and how it is creating dedicated business development manager roles for Scotland and the northwest of England.

 

It also promoted Sandra Foreman to the newly created position of national account manager and she is at the conference to help agents learn about Wendy Wu Tours and its products.

 

Ritzenhaler urged agents to instil what they have learned from the conference in their teams, helping them to develop “a lion’s mentality” with passion and commitment.

 

Earlier, she had delivered an inspiring keynote speech about “a lion’s mentality”, urging delegates to have a positive attitude, leverage their competitive advantages and relationships, and to be resilient.

 

Asked about new products coming to the market, Venn revealed P&O Cruises will offer Caribbean sailings on Iona in winter 2027-28; Wu highlighted Christmas tours, Indonesia and Mongolia; and Ritzenhaler said she was excited about new Alaska tours and off-peak sailings in Europe.

 

Stobo told the conference that Barrhead is seeing strong growth in adventure, land-and-cruise tours and rail journeys, saying there are “diverse and inspiring” holidays to sell.

 

“Some of our customers leave our store with something they never went in for, because they’re inspired by the knowledge of our great salespeople,” she said.

 

“Knowledge is key. We’re there to inspire [clients] for the next destination.”

 

The speakers were on a panel moderated by Travel Weekly editor-in-chief Lucy Huxley.