The JG Travel Group has hailed the role of agents as it reported “strong demand” for its 2024 European programmes, with bookings across its Just Go! Holidays and National Holidays brands combined up 42%, year on year.
It said the expansion of its winter sun programme to the Costa Blanca – to include more destinations such as Malta, Turkey and Cyprus – plus the quadrupling of its river cruise offering in partnership with A-Rosa, new tours and new JG Explorer coaches are all helping to drive sales for next year.
Claire Dutton, trade sales manager at JG Travel Group, said: “We knew from our customer feedback this year that demand was likely to be even stronger in 2024, and we worked hard to ensure we had more product available for agents to sell.
“In recent months we have introduced new tours and holiday options to offer even greater choice and the trade has played an important role in helping to drive sales.”
The group’s 29-day duration winter-sun holidays – especially those in Cyprus and Turkey that feature four weeks for the price of three – are proving a “huge success”.
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JG Travel Group expands long-stay winter sun programme
A new ‘meet at hotel’ option on many of its 2024 river cruises has helped provide more flexibility for agents across the UK.
Alongside coach options, customers can now also choose to make their own way to their hotel in Kent for an overnight stay, before joining the coach that takes them across the channel to meet their river cruise ship.
The new JG Explorer coaches, which hit the road in May 2024, are also proving a hit, added the company, thanks to their “extra level of comfort and style”.
Dutton added: “We are seeing more and more that customers want to book a place early, to have their holiday plans secured and to take advantage of our early bird pricing.
“Our customers do not tend to follow the traditional winter booking patterns that agents are more used to, and we see this even more with European tours.
“They don’t wait for Christmas to be over – they will book any time, not necessarily in the peak booking period.”