London-based travel agent Wyntersun Holidays has set its sights on becoming the world’s largest carnivals specialist tour operator, as it launches its first dedicated brochure.
The firm unveiled its carnival holidays brand at last weekend’s Notting Hill Carnival, where clients joined the Wotless ‘mas’ band for the parade.
Steven Wynter, a former Going Places agent and business development director of Wyntersun, believes carnival-themed holidays is a vibrant niche travel sector with huge potential.
“I’ve been a travel agent since I was 16 and I’ve been going to Notting Hill Carnival since I was a child,” he said. “I know there’s no one you can go to that specialises in this type of holiday.
“We’ve got a lot of expertise in carnivals around the world within the team, and it’s that what people value, because they need advice and want to know about the bands, the music and the atmosphere.”
Within five years, Wynter said he hoped to have built partnerships with 10 carnival ‘mas’ bands at each of the 10 events featured in its brochure.
As a member of the Travel Trust Association, Wyntersun, which has been in business since 2011, operates under the consortium’s Atol and offers commission to sell packages through other agents.
The first Wyntersun Carnival Holidays brochure, which Wynter said had taken a year to put together, offers a range of packages for carnivals in Brazil, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands and the Caribbean.
Wynter is planning a brochure launch in London. He will promote the programme on specialist London radio stations, through its partnerships with each of the bands, and at Carnival Expo, which takes place in London in May.