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Rocky Mountaineer reports 30% sales uplift

Luxury Canadian rail company Rocky Mountaineer has reported a 30% uplift in UK sales for 2016.

President Steve Sammut said low exchange rates and increased air capacity had helped boost UK passenger numbers for the peak April to October season.

Sammut, who was in London this week, told Travel Weekly a trend towards more long-haul travel and Canada being perceived as a ‘safe’ destination had helped sales.

The UK is the highest growth market for the company.

He admitted the implications of Brexit were a “little scary” but added: “At the end of the day, Brits love to travel and are quite hardy.

“We try not to react to the short-term, we are a long-term player. We offer a quality product so it’s a matter of patience and working with our trade partners.”

Rocky Mountaineer is adding 10 new GoldLeaf carriages from 2018 as part of a $100 million upgrade.

Sammut said the train company is also planning to add more “soft adventure” elements, such as hiking and canoeing, to their trips in 2018 for the growing demand from the baby-boomer generation.

The company has four sales staff in the UK.

“We’re focusing on building up our sales team and the brand,” Sammut said. “The trade is very important to us so we work very closely together.”

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