UK visitors to Universal Orlando Resort are booking longer stays and upgrading existing bookings as they look to “treat themselves” after the pandemic.
Speaking at the IPW Conference in Orlando, EMEA sales vice-president Alison Montague said there had been a “surge” in demand when borders reopened, with a mix of new bookings and rebookings pointing to a “very good” summer.
She said 2023 was also looking strong and said a decision to retain sales staff during the pandemic and engage with existing trade partners and new groups including homeworkers was paying off.
“We retained a really strong salesforce and adjusted to ensure we were present wherever our trade partners were,” she said.
“We had an immediate surge of demand when the borders reopened and it was noticeable that we were seeing upgrades of accommodation levels and longer lengths of stay as people were treating themselves.”
She added: “We are still seeing a mix of rebookings and bookings and we need to reinstate the booking patterns of old so people are booking early, but 2022 is looking very good and 2023 is looking strong even though there is still work to do.”
Montague said investment in on-site hotel accommodation was also driving sales, with value properties such as Cabana Bay proving popular with families.
Eric Marshall, senior vice-president of sales, said continued investment in attractions during the pandemic was also bearing fruit, with UK visitors able to experience new and recently-opened attractions including Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, the Jurassic World VelociCoaster and the Bourne Stuntacular for the first time.
He added: “We had strong momentum before the pandemic but if anything we feel like we have more momentum now. We have continued to invest and shown our commitment to our core markets including the UK.”