Gold Medal parent reports recent sales to US up by 30%

Gold Medal parent dnata Travel Group UK has seen growth of about 30% year on year for US sales, thanks in part to “some great deals”.

 

Lesley Rollo, chief executive of dnata Travel Group UK, said: “Over the last few months, we’ve seen – across all of our brands – growth on last year…of around 30% for the US, which is huge.”

She said the company made a “conscious decision” three or four months ago when it heard there was going to be some “keen air fares” coming through for the US.

 

“We had word from purchasers who are based in the US, who were saying that a lot of the domestic market weren’t travelling so much,” she told a Travel Weekly webcast.

 

 

“We were told the air fares were coming.”

It meant the brands could offer “some great deals” to destinations such as Florida and California, she continued.

 

“Also, we’re getting a lot more dollars for our pound at the moment. Not only you getting a deal to get there, but when you’re there, I don’t think we’ve had such a value for the dollar for the last few years,” she added.

 

Simon Applebaum, managing director of B2B operator Gold Medal and its sister brands Cruise Plus, Incredible Journeys and Pure Luxury, also noted some “amazing” air fares and a more favourable exchange rate were boosting US sales.

 

“There has been a lot of turbulence in the world. America has had some challenges in the early part of this year,” he told Travel Weekly.

 

“Business has boomed off the back of that, because when the market overall dips, we see that as an opportunity to push offers out via our platforms and our agents.

 

“The US has been really offer-driven. There’s been amazing value.

 

“The pound has strengthened a bit against the dollar, so some of the prices that you’d had in the last couple of years have lessened a bit.”

 

Applebaum highlighted two trends within US sales, commenting: “We have our Florida business, which is huge, and the biggest proportion around that is booming.”

 

He cited a recent Disney dining offer and the opening in May of Universal Epic Universe at Universal Orlando Resort (pictured) as a boost to bookings.

 

“Brits almost see [Florida] as its own island. It doesn’t seem to follow trends [that] the rest of the States do,” he said.

 

“Our business into New York has been softer. Our business into Vegas is quite spiky, because it’s becoming more and more event driven.”

 

Commenting on the overall market, he noted there are two simultaneous booking trends – one with “really far out” forward bookings and the other with an “incredible” late market.

 

“Really forward booking business is booming. [There is] loads of Orlando, cruise, especially because the cruise lines released their itineraries so far out for 2027,” he said.

 

Other long-haul destinations proving popular for forward sales include the Maldives, Dubai and Japan, he added.

 

Commenting on late sales, he said departures in the next 90 are one of the biggest growth areas.

 

“The percentage of our business travelling in our financial year is probably 70% whereas, historically, it has been more like 60% of our business,” he said.

 

“There are amazing deals out there. There is a lot of competition in the airline space; all of the capacity is back in the market.”

 

Applebaum and Rollo both said they are monitoring the conflict between Israel and Iran and its impact on travel in the Middle East.

 

“We’re seeing some people getting nervous. We’re managing where there has been rerouting [and] cancelled flights,” said Applebaum.

 

Rollo noted how the brands also have “a huge volume” of customers who are transiting via Dubai, with connections to Australia, Thailand, Maldives, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

 

“When you put that together with the people who are going to Dubai on holiday, we are talking thousands of passengers,” she said.

 

“The number of calls in proportion to number of bookings is still low, manageable. We have a lot of very hardy customers.”