Make your January sales soar by getting ahead of the game, writes Katie McGonagle
Like this and want more details? Click here to download and save as a PDF.
The halls are decked, the presents wrapped and the turkey ready to be stuffed but, in travel terms, Christmas is old news.
Sure, the rest of the nation is only just getting ready to argue over the remote control or the last Yorkshire pudding, but thoughts will soon be turning to where they fancy going next year.
More specifically, they’ll probably start thinking about it at 8.30pm, the peak time for Christmas Day searches, according to Thomson and First Choice research.
So to make sure you know where to send your favourite clients when they come calling, check out our guide to the hottest spots for 2015.
Homepage Advantage
England might not be hot next year, but it will be the heart of the Rugby World Cup in September and October, and since fans can lay their hands on a seat only through official provider England Rugby Travel, it’s an ideal opportunity to boost your domestic sales.
Ticket-inclusive trade packages range from a one-night weekend break to see the opening ceremony (from £479) to a platinum package for the final, staying at The Dorchester (from £2,869); for a sales pack, email michelle.townsley@englandrugbytravel.com.
If the storm of media coverage about the First World War and D-Day commemorations is anything to go by, next year – which marks the 100th anniversary of the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey and 70 years since the liberation of Auschwitz – could be just as moving.
Exclusive Escapes has introduced a tailor-made tour of Gallipoli, also coinciding with the release of Russell Crowe film The Water Diviner, based on the tragic campaign, while Insight Vacations visits Auschwitz on its Highlights of Poland trip.
Those seeking sunnier climes, though, are heading to Croatia’s Dalmatian Coast in their droves, according to Thomson and Jet2holidays.com; the latter ranks Croatia among its five fastest-growing destinations for summer 2015, while Osprey Holidays has added the country’s second city Split to its new brochure.
Neighbouring Montenegro is also being tipped for big things by luxury operator Carrier thanks to the addition of the Regent Porto Montenegro hotel and hotly anticipated opening of One&Only’s first European resort in Kumbor on Tivat Bay.
Don’t overlook the more familiar destinations, though: Olympic Holidays and Sunvil are expecting Greece’s smaller islands to do well next year, with the former adding Tilos and Leros, serviced by flights to Rhodes and Kos respectively, and the latter topping up its rustic chic options in Folegrandros, Sifnos and Milos.
EasyJet’s new base at Porto also opens up new options in northwest Portugal, with thrice-weekly flights from Manchester, Bristol and London Luton starting in summer and providing a gateway to the city’s charming old town, unspoilt beaches and the wider Douro Valley.
Go West
With a favourable exchange rate and ever-expanding airlift, the US continues to capture our imagination, both in established favourites – Orlando sales for 2015 are up 175% year on year for Travel 2 – and rising stars such as Texas, which is expecting its 43% spike in UK visitors last year to increase even further on the back of British Airways’ new Austin route from Heathrow.
Two American icons will spur further growth elsewhere. Cosmos Tours & Cruises predicts the hype surrounding Europe’s largest-ever exhibition of Elvis memorabilia at The O2 will boost music tours to the Deep South – helped by Virgin Atlantic operating a daily Atlanta flight for easier access to the region – while Washington DC is the place to mark next year’s 150th anniversary of the assassination of US president Abraham Lincoln. Trafalgar drafts in a Civil War specialist on its Historic Highlights tour to put these landmark events in context.
Heading south, Mexico is likely to benefit from increased media coverage thanks to a cultural exchange programme between the UK and Mexican governments next year, so its rise up the ranks of Kuoni’s most popular destinations – up three places compared to last year, and among the top 10 spots for weddings and honeymoons – looks set to continue.
New airlift, meanwhile, will drive growth in up-and-comers Colombia and Costa Rica. Journey Latin America has seen the summer launch of Avianca’s Heathrow-Bogota service and higher-quality accommodation boost sales for the former, while Cox & Kings reports a whopping 90% increase in escorted tours to the latter – and that’s before Thomson Airways starts a direct link from Gatwick next November.
Over in the Caribbean, the Dominican Republic and Antigua both stand to benefit from a change in British Airways’ service: instead of touching down in Antigua, flights will go straight to Punta Cana, resulting in more seat capacity for both destinations.
Caribtours has already seen a 41% growth in forward bookings for Antigua, and predicts growing demand for higher-end hotels such as Westin Punta Cana and Eden Roc at Cap Cana will do the same for the Dom Rep.
Eastern Promise
Sri Lanka is already a firm favourite for coast-plus-culture breaks – it remains Kuoni’s third best-selling destination for 2015, behind the Maldives and Thailand – but its less-developed east coast is the area to watch. Formerly off-limits to tourism because of the civil war, it’s now a hive of hotel development and is new to Virgin Holidays’ Indian Ocean programme next year.
Similarly, one-time backpacker haven Vietnam has officially gone mainstream: the Post Office saw its summer sales of the Vietnamese dong grow by a third compared with the previous summer, meaning demand for the currency has more than quadrupled in the past three years.
Cox & Kings says growth in culinary tours and new high end beach resorts are fuelling demand, while Uniworld reports interest in next year’s 40th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam war is helping to drive sales of its Mekong river cruises. With Thomson Airways eyeing Vietnam and Malaysia as potential Dreamliner destinations, this trend is only going to grow.
That’s certainly been the direction for Burma, with plenty of buzz still surrounding the country four years after it opened its doors to tourism. Passenger numbers continue to rise – Wendy Wu Tours has seen 20% growth year on year – but there’s also increasing demand to delve deeper into the country’s culture and traditions, with Intrepid Travel introducing a one-off Real Food Adventure in February plus an in-depth 21-day Burma Revealed tour visiting remote hill tribes and historic towns.
Picking out Asia’s next big success story is tricky, but Intrepid is putting its faith in new tours to Ladakh, India and the Philippines, with the former offering that off-the-beaten-track experience so highly prized by more-adventurous travellers – think towering mountain passes and colourful local festivals – and the latter seeing the benefit of strong government investment in tourism next year.
Wendy Wu Tours is also tipping lesser-known Mongolia for its more adventurous travellers, along with South Korea and Taiwan for their quirky character.
Ask the Experts: What do you expect in 2015?
“The British public has had enough of austerity and holding back, and it looks like summer 2015 is going to reflect that. There still might be an element of caution in people’s minds, so it is likely that shorter seven-night packages will be popular, along with all-inclusive options. These offer great value for money and allow people to budget better since they know the cost up front. There are new ships launching and lots of building beginning on the ‘new wave’ of vessels. All this activity will benefit the whole cruise industry and get more people thinking about cruising than ever before – cruise will become ‘mainstream’ in 2015.”
Giles Hawke, executive director UK & Ireland, MSC Cruises
“There is a definite link between travel and history and the desire to explore this link is an emerging trend in the travel industry, with many trips revolving around significant anniversary years. We are no longer content with merely learning about historical periods through books and documentaries; people want to visit battlefields and sites of historical significance so they can truly feel a part of history.”
Julie Brooker, sales director, Trafalgar
“Judging from the increase of new customers we have seen this year, Viking Cruises believes people are looking for authentic experiences, allowing the opportunity to get under the skin of a destination, whether on the world’s great rivers or ocean. This is why Viking is focused on increasing our fam trips, so agents can talk from first-hand experience and knowledge which will help them speaking to their potential customers.”
Neil Barclay, head of sales, Viking Cruises
“Our findings show a certain percentage of holidaymakers are increasingly looking for something a little different, be it a destination they’ve not previously visited or that taste of affordable luxury. The bookings so far for 2015 are very promising and we are predicting our most successful year yet.”
Steve Heapy, chief executive, Jet2holidays
“River cruising will continue to grow as customers seek an alternative to the big ocean liner experience and look for something more personal. Programmes such as the recent BBC2 documentary The Mekong River have particularly helped our Asia product as it has raised awareness about this fascinating stretch of water and the lives of those who live along it.”
Kathryn Beadle, UK managing director, Uniworld
“Holidaymakers now have the desire to travel to more and more destinations within a single trip; this can be put down to the fact that they want to take more of an experience away from their holiday, therefore taking the opportunity to pack as much in to one trip as they possibly can. With the wide selection of experiential opportunities available, we are expecting this trend to continue well into 2015 and going forward.”
Debbie Goffin, head of sales and marketing, Premier Holidays
“2015 promises to be an exciting year for travel. The explosion of mobile technology has not only changed the way people book, it is shaping our customers’ holiday experience from start to finish. Long haul travel is becoming more accessible and the choice is now vast. With the comfort and convenience of direct flights on the Dreamliner and high standards of accommodation, more holidaymakers are looking farther afield.”
Jeremy Ellis, marketing and digital director, Tui UK & Ireland
Market Trends
Cruise: River cruising remains ripe for expansion, especially in new markets such as Asia, where luxury line Pandaw has added itineraries in Vietnam and Laos, and Travel Indochina has seen small-ship river cruising become its second-most important market despite introducing it just three years ago. Elsewhere, the search for more specialist shore excursions continues: Viking has seen more new-to-cruise passengers keen to get under the skin of a destination, while Seabourn has added Discovery Tours as part of its partnership with Unesco, visiting World Heritage Sites such as the Taj Mahal and the Alhambra in Granada. The River Cruise Line and Uniworld are launching more themed sailings to offer in depth excursions tailored to niche interests.
Ski: While this year’s ski season has seen plunging prices – 24 out of 27 resorts surveyed for the annual Post Office Travel Money Ski Resort Report showed a drop in prices thanks to the strength of sterling and competition to attract lapsed skiers back to the slopes – next year could be a different story. According to VIP Ski sales and marketing director Gareth Crump, greater regulatory challenges in the main European destinations will see a drop in capacity at the lower end of the market and an increase in price for entry-level product, especially in Austria. He tips Meribel and Verbier for big things next year.
Adult-only: Thomson research suggests a growing number of parents are opting to leave the little ones behind and enjoy a holiday of their own. According to the data, a third of parents with children under 18 already take child-free holidays, while 57% said they would if they had the chance, prompting the operator to expand its adult-only Couples collection.
Themed breaks: Special-interest holidays are surging, both in the domestic market – over-55s specialist Grand UK Holidays reports good take-up of its horticultural and war-themed tours – and abroad, where Ffestiniog Travel has seen a steady rise in enquiries and Wendy Wu Tours has found its RHS garden holidays, panda tours led by John Craven and Chinese New Year trips enjoying double-digit growth.
Older travellers: Changes to pension restrictions next April will allow over 55s to withdraw more money as a lump sum. Luxury brands such as Belmond and long-haul specialist Sunvil Traveller predict a growth in once-in-a-lifetime breaks upon retirement as a result.
Booking Habits
Early bookings: It seems customers are finally getting the message that waiting for last-minute bargains is a risky business, with many going back to booking earlier. Caribtours’ forward bookings for 2015 are running 39% higher than this time last year, with typical lead times before travel increasing to more than 140 days. Sandals also reports customers booking earlier to secure higher room categories, with reservations already being made for 2016.
Packages: Sunvil managing director Chris Wright says: “The trend towards early booking continues, as does the return to favour of the package holiday, which offers excellent value for money.” This is backed by Abta’s Consumer Holiday Trends Report 2014, which found more than half of Britons booked an overseas package holiday in the past year, compared with 37% in 2010, with the desire for value and all-inclusive breaks driving the rise.
New devices: Mobile bookings are becoming increasingly mainstream, with Thomson and First Choice seeing 28% of all bookings between January and October made on a smartphone or tablet, and Small Luxury Hotels of the World reporting a 66% increase in bookings from mobiles and 15% from tablets. Thomson predicts the next game-changer could be wearable technology and in-store virtual reality to offer customers more interaction as they book.
Multi-centres: Why stick to one place when you can see more? Multi-centre stays are proving popular with short and long-haul operators alike, with Premier Holidays finding more than a quarter of its Faraway bookings combined two or more destinations in one trip, and more than a fifth included three or more. Funway Holidays has also seen a 7% increase in twin centre trips from its tailor-made programme, while Kirker Holidays has found travellers more willing to take advantage of rail connections between European cities to combine destinations even within a short break.
