Travel takeover
fter exhausting our staycation content for the last few years it’s great to be able to say that travel is most definitely back with a bang in the Selling Travel office, with members of our team jetting off to the USA, to experience the new Rocky Mountaineer train journey in Colorado, and Madeira, for the Advantage Travel Conference.
The latter was the agent consortium's first annual conference to be held overseas in two years. Speakers were full of optimism for the future of travel, with Advantage stating that holiday sales for this year’s May half-term are almost level with those in 2019. Delegates were also told of a “phenomenal” increase in agent enquiries from customers who had previously only booked direct. According to the consortium, 80% of members say they are now hearing from customers who are new to agents.
With clients slowly returning, agents just need to navigate their way through the remaining in-destination restrictions, flight changes and confusion over passport expiry dates and they may just start seeing some well-deserved commission!
In other news, I was excited to see the beaming faces of those finally able to reunite with loved ones as New Zealand opened its borders on May 1. A few years back I was lucky enough to drive around the South Island in a campervan and would say it is a must for outdoorlovers (skydive optional!) Read what’s new in the destination on page 8.
On the subject of scenic routes, Selling Travel’s Editorial Director, Steve Hartridge, was among the first journalists this year to experience Rocky Mountaineer’s new Rockies to the Red Rocks itinerary. The route travels from Denver, Colorado, to Moab, Utah, passing canyons, deserts and rivers. Read his My Journey piece on page 28.
We also have a whole section on luxury travel to inspire those high-value bookings and upgrades.
In the meantime, we’re gearing up for Australia’s ATM, the USA’s IPW and Canada’s Rendez-Vous trade shows, to continue bringing you the latest news from the industry’s biggest events.
So long staycation!
A