Agents hoping to book customers on the Eurostar to Paris for Valentine’s weekend next month face stiff competition for seats from Six Nations rugby fans.
The train operator told Travel Weekly there is always a spike in demand for the service around Valentine’s Day as couples seek a romantic getaway, and demand is expected to be even greater this year with Valentine’s Day falling on a Sunday.
However, with a crunch Six Nations match between Ireland and France taking place on the Saturday, agents are being warned to make their bookings sooner rather than later or risk disappointment.
A Eurostar spokesman said: “We expect an increase in passengers and with France playing Ireland on the Saturday there will be a lot of people travelling. It will be a very busy weekend and agents do need to make bookings earlier rather than later.”
Superbreak national sales manager Graham Balmforth said the operator expects to make 10,000 additional bookings through agents for the romantic weekend.
He added: “We are pushing the message ‘wake up to Valentine’s’, promoting the idea of waking up on Valentine’s Day in a lovely hotel with your partner, and hope that agents will do the same.
“Valentine’s Day also provides agents with a great opportunity to trade up, not just through room upgrades but also other treats such as first-class rail.”
Kirker Holidays director of sales and marketing Ted Wake said the operator was expecting a 10% increase in sales for the weekend and has launched a number of deals, including four nights for the cost of three in Venice.
Bourne Leisure head of retail sales Allan Lambert said the operator is currently 5% up on sales for the weekend but he expects this to increase to 6%, adding: “Things are looking good but they could be better.”