Specialist tour operator Explore Worldwide claimed Monday (January 2) was a record day for bookings, thanks to the start of its Big Blue Sale.
The sale has seen more than 300 of the operator’s trips discounted by 20% and prompted the biggest single day of bookings by revenue in the company’s 40-year history,
Michael Edwards, managing director, said: “We knew there was real appetite for adventure holidays in 2023, and had seen increased enquiries and web traffic towards the end of last year.
“We knew the Big Blue Sale would be popular, with even more dates discounted right up until the end of the year. But this has really blown us away.
“It’s fantastic to see the return of long-haul destinations, with a real mix of destinations being booked in big numbers.”
Italy and Portugal were the most-booked destinations, while the Botswana Wildlife Safari, a 14-night safari tour to Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, was the most-booked trip of the day.
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Natural Wonders of Guyana and Pakistan’s Karakoram Highway also saw “bumper” bookings.
The discounts follow a 50% increase in agent sales recorded by Explore at the end of 2022.
Philippa Baines, agency sales manager, said: “We were already so excited to get stuck into 2023, with some really exciting plans and growth ambitions for our agency sales this year, so to start it with such an incredible response to our Big Blue Sale has been amazing.”
The Big Blue Sale runs until January 18, with discounted trips available until the end of 2023.