Escorted tour specialist Wendy Wu Tours has added more capacity for 2022 holidays as the Covid-19 vaccination programme has boosted consumer confidence
Sales for the past three weeks show strong demand for holidays in the final quarter of 2021, with many departures selling out in September and October.
Demand is also strong for 2022 with the operator boosting capacity, especially in Japan, where 50% more departures are now available for March and October.
Alongside the vaccine, sales are being buoyed by a free flights offer, available until January 31 for all UK airports and airlines on 30 flagship tours.
Furthermore, there are no single supplements for travel in 2021 and 2022 for solo travellers on more than 50 of its most popular tours.
John Warr, global sales director at Wendy Wu, said: “We are now seeing the bounce-back with consumer confidence stimulated by the vaccine rollout.
“This, combined with our current free flights and no single supplement offers, has caused a surge for demand.
“We are seeing green lights ahead with this resurgence in demand and, as the rollout intensifies over the coming months with more of the population being vaccinated, we fully expect bookings to increase.”
He added: “Support from the trade has been fantastic, with close to 50% of our business now coming directly from agents.
“We’re getting really positive feedback from agents saying how our special offers are helping to convert and close sales whilst at the same time providing great commissions.
“In the last six weeks our average passenger value has risen to over £4,900, with more customers making multiple bookings and for longer tours.
“This is great news for agents as commissions are paid on the value of the whole tour and with passenger spend increasing, personal commissions are now significantly higher.”
New this year is a 21-day Japan by Rail holiday, from £8,290; an 11-day Experience Japan tour from £4,790; and the 21-day Thailand & Mekong Experience, from £4,090.