Newmarket Holidays said sales via travel agents for Elvis-inspired tours to America’s Deep South are at an all-time high following the release of a movie celebrating the star’s life.
For the week including the opening of Elvis on Friday (June 24), the escorted tour operator reported a spike in trade bookings for guided group holidays exploring Presley’s life and influences in Memphis, Nashville and New Orleans, taking the escorted tour to top spot in the company’s own sales charts.
Over the past six weeks, the operator has recorded a 144% increase in sales for breaks to America’s musical heartland compared to the same period in 2019.
The increase rises to 200% for trade bookings made since the film’s release on Friday.
Richard Harrington, Newmarket Holidays product director, said: “Our Elvis tours have always been big sellers, but this year has been the best yet.
“Excitement around the movie has fuelled interest, and we expect it to get even bigger as Elvis fever takes off.”
Ahead of the film’s release, the company launched its ‘Dream It. See It. Share It.’ campaign to save up to 15% on escorted tours in 2022, 2023 and 2024 for bookings made before July 31.
The trade team went on a nationwide tour to deliver a dedicated Elvis training programme to the trade.
Richard Forde, head of retail sales, added: “Agents have pulled out all the stops this year and it’s wonderful to see them selling well now that travel restrictions to the US have been lifted.
“Our Elvis training programme was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with the trade and have some fun, and the results we’re seeing now show that agents really got behind our efforts.”