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Race Across The World accelerates China and India sales, says trade
The latest series of Race Across The World on the BBC is prompting a significant boost to enquiries for China and India, say agents and operators.
The reality travel show, now in its fifth series, tasked five duos to race across China, Nepal and India, with the lowest budget in the show’s history – just over £1,000 per person.
Wendy Wu Tours has revealed a 300% increase in trade enquiries to China since the launch of the latest series, following a 10-day sales blitz across the UK travel trade.
It visited 300 agents during the campaign, with the sales team also supporting 15 live trade events hosted by key partners – two of which were attended by the operator’s founder, Wendy Wu.
The campaign included eight coffee mornings for homeworkers.
Since the show aired, more than 500 entries have "flooded in" from agents, inspired by the TV series and keen to secure a place on Wendy Wu Tours’ China mega-fam, departing this November.
Agents have been creating window displays and social media posts themed around the show and its destinations.
Gary King, head of trade sales at Wendy Wu Tours, said: “The response from the trade has been phenomenal – not just in terms of creativity and engagement, but in driving real business.
“Since the first episode of Race Across the World aired, China enquiries from agents have jumped by over 300%. Agents are telling us their customers are coming in excited, asking about the destinations they’ve seen on TV – and thanks to our training, events, and blitz, our trade partners are ready and confident to convert that inspiration into bookings.”
Steve Witt, co-founder of Not Just Travel, added: “TV shows like Race Across the World undoubtedly spark wanderlust – we’ve seen plenty of evidence that destinations featured on screen see a surge in interest.
“We empower our travel consultants to capitalise on these cultural moments. We provide them with timely, engaging content they can share with customers – helping turn that initial spark of inspiration into something more tangible.
“Our latest Travel Podcast episode, released on May 15, is all about India – perfectly timed with the show’s route and designed to position our agents as the ‘go-to’ expert when a customer is ready to plan their own adventure.”
Amanda Docherty, national sales manager at Riviera Travel, commented: “Travel shows such as Race Across the World provide great inspiration and act as a great talking point for our team to introduce our fantastic tours to agents and customers.
“Our recent social media posts featuring China, India and Nepal have been really well received by agents who have proactively referenced the RATW programme highlights when they share offers via their own marketing.
“Many have advised they have seen an uplift in enquiries from customers who have been watching the show and inspired to find out more about opportunities to travel to these amazing destinations.”
Jennifer Lynch, general manager of ArrangeMY Escape in Worcester, commented in last week’s Travel Weekly that Race Across the World has prompted “a surge in enquiries” for India and China.
“It’s the perfect time to tap into this momentum – share related content on social media, post travel offers inspired by the show and tell the story behind the journeys featured,” she advised.
“Many tour operators are already leveraging the buzz around the series, so be a part of it.”
David Riley, chief executive of Great Rail Journeys, said the start of the show in April sparked a rise of almost 600% in China searches on its website, adding: “Bookings on our China tours are two-and-a-half times stronger than this time last year.
“China has one of the largest, fastest, and most modern rail networks in the world, making it the perfect way to experience the beauty of the country.”
Lynch and King both highlighted how other TV travel shows have had a similar effect.
“The surge mirrors similar results seen during past seasons of Race Across the World, where demand spiked to Japan and Southeast Asia, and aligns with a wider trend of TV-led travel inspiration,” said King, pointing to celebrity travelogues from Michael Portillo, Joanna Lumley and Alexander Armstrong.
Cathay Pacific said searches for “flights to China” have soared 1,124% versus last year while “things to do in China” has jumped 813% since the show’s return.
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