Riviera Travel brings forward on-sale date for part of 2027 long-haul programme

Riviera Travel has brought forward the launch date of 16 of its most popular tours for 2027 from September to May to meet growing demand.

The itineraries are going on sale early after the river cruise and tour operator noted a “significant” increase in bookings for 2025 and 2026 itineraries in the first quarter of the year.

Group and solo itineraries have become available four months before the company’s full Worldwide Collection will launch in the autumn. 

Destinations include Japan, India, South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Cambodia and Canada.

The soft launch is part of a company ethos to closely observe customer demand and feedback to continuously grow and enhance its offering.

It also allows the firm to assess whether there is potential to introduce further long-haul itineraries ahead of the historical schedule. 

Head of trade and partnerships Vicky Billing said: “This is not only a valuable test-and-learn opportunity, but we are also planning for this earlier launch to deliver a halo effect on 2026 long-haul performance, particularly supporting sales of Q4 departures, where we still have capacity on a range of best-selling tours.

“Additionally, we’re in the early stages of looking into brand new destinations. 

“We know our current range is popular and performing well, and we’re also keen to explore how new emerging destinations, with some brand new itineraries, could continue to help us grow our long-haul programme even more for 2027.

“Our agent partners are well-supported on the Riv Explorer platform, where we offer educational long-haul modules, and we also pay agent commission on the usual ‘non-comms’ such as flight upgrades.”