Florida has returned to its traditional position as top seller for long-haul specialist Gold Medal.
The trade-only operator reported growth in bookings for villas and homes in the sunshine state, as it reclaimed top spot ahead of Dubai and the Maldives – destinations which had risen above Florida in terms of sales in recent months.
The spike in Florida sales has coincided with the launch of a peaks campaign focussed on the state, and most bookings have been for travel in 2022, Gold Medal – which is guaranteeing pricing for packages with Virgin Atlantic flights travelling next year – confirmed.
However, there has also been a strong demand for October half term in 2021, as well as winter breaks in November and December this year.
Six agents from 200 who joined a Florida webinar have bagged a place on the Mega Fam (see winners below), which will take place when travel restrictions ease.
Twelve more spaces are still up for grabs, with three offered to Gold Medal’s top Florida sellers up to March 21, three for the top Virgin Atlantic sellers and six picked from a prize draw for all Florida bookings.
Nick Hughes, sales director at Gold Medal, said: “We’re delighted with the response to our Florida campaign so far. It’s always been such an important destination for us, and we can see from the volume of entries for this incentive and the number of bookings coming through that agents are just as enthusiastic about it as ever.
“Our partners at Visit Florida, Universal Orlando Resort and Virgin Atlantic will ensure that the mega fam to the Sunshine State will be extra special when it happens, so we’re encouraging any agent who is interested in joining it to get busy and enter before the deadline. It will certainly be something to look forward to!”
The winners from the webinar were:
- Emma King, of La Vida Travel
- Lynne Friery, a Not Just Travel homeworker
- Jodie Bartholomew Oates, an ITE homeworker
- Stacey McGreavy, of Althams Travel
- Matthew Morely, of Explorer Travel
- Greig Ewins, of Stewart Travel