Wendy Wu Tours eyes another record year following 'best-ever' January

Wendy Wu Tours is aiming for a fourth successive record-breaking year, after seeing its best ever sales in January.

 

The specialist hailed the support of agents and said it will double its fam programme to about 10 trips this year because it sees such a good return on investment from the training trips.

 

Founder Wendy Wu told a Travel Weekly webcast that last month had been “phenomenal”, adding: “We have had the best January in the history of Wendy Wu Tours – internationally, all the offices – including UK, which is leading the way.

 

“The whole company grew 33% and UK is above that.

 

“That is thanks to all the agencies.”

 

Gary King, head of trade sales, forecast that 2026 will be another record breaker.

 

“2023 was a record-breaking year. 2024 we broke another record. 2025 we broke even more records. We are on this fantastic trajectory,” he told the webcast.

He said his team had seen “a brilliant performance across the whole country” and January sales had been “beyond my wildest dreams”.

 

Noting the expansion in the business development managers team, he added: “From every single region they have absolutely smashed it. Thank you to agents from across the UK.”

 

He said the operator is doubling its fam trip programme this year, thanks to its growing advocate reward programme and the fact that it sees a “brilliant return on investment”.

 

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Trips feature a mix of agents, some who sell the tours well and deserve a reward plus those identified as “great opportunities” who want to do well in touring.

 

“We always measure once they return to the UK, and every trip that we do is a huge success,” he said.

 

Ten agents are departing to Jordan on February 28 thanks to a fam trip incentive which ran during January, he noted.

 

Furthermore, the operator is increasing its engagement with the Association of Touring & Adventure Suppliers (Atas).

 

“One of the big events of the year that we will always support massively will be the Atas conference,” said King.

 

“The calibre of the agents, the yearning from those agents to learn about adventure and touring – for us that is absolutely invaluable.”

 

He said sales in Ireland and Northern Ireland doubled thanks to increasing the BDM team from one to three, while Scotland and the northeast are also “huge growth” areas.

 

Homeworker sales also more than doubled in 2025, rising to 14% of sales, thanks to the appointment of Sarah Kewley as business development manager (BDM) for homeworkers in summer 2024.

 

“She has done such a fantastic job. She has got such great nurturing skills…she literally zigzags across the country doing these coffee mornings [with] local homeworkers,” said King.

 

“Every single event that she does is fully booked. She’s like a guru now for her homeworkers.

 

“We are including homeworkers on our fam trip programme because they probably need that kind of experience more than anybody else.

 

“Once they start working with us, it is very quick that the first booking comes from them.”

 

They were joined on the webcast by their two Globe Awards trophies – one for being the Best Premium Touring Company and the other for Best Long-Haul Specialist Operator.

 

“To know that we are so supported by our fantastic trade partners, and that they love what they do and they appreciate us, we are absolutely over the moon, and it does mean so much to us,” said King.

 

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