Riviera Travel has hailed the work of travel agents as it unveiled its 2024 European escorted tour programme.
Head of Brand and Acquisition Sarah Fowler said the escorted tours and river cruise specialist had seen a rise of 231% year-on-year rise in new-to-brand customers and that was partly due to the ‘great support’ from agents.
Tom Morgan, UK and Ireland Head of Trade, said overall bookings were up 42% versus 2019 and 242% above last year’s levels.
“One of the reasons for that success is our long-haul programme and we’ve made an effort to retrain travel agents,” he said.
“The trade is booking our higher value programme.”
Last year, the operator introduced 40 upgraded European and worldwide itineraries as part of its ‘Signature’ tour collection.
Tom outlined how 35% of trade bookings were for this programme. Each Signature tour is for a maximum of 25 people and designed to be ‘exceptional, exclusive and immersive’.
“Pre-pandemic we were more known for our river cruises,” he added. “We’re trying to listen to our travel agents more.”
A recent Riviera survey showed that 97% of agents rated the operator four or five out of give for ‘ease of booking’.
Riviera has launched two rail departures and two solo travel options in its full European escorted touring programme for 2024.
The itineraries, which are now available to book, cover destinations across Europe with tours from March to November.
Prices for the Discover Italy by Rail – Turin, Venice and Rome itinerary start from £2,599 per person.
The itinerary, which includes a guided tour of the Colosseum, is one of two new departures focusing on rail.
The other is an eight-day Switzerland’s Golden Pass Railway, Lake Geneva & Montreux itinerary. Prices start from £2,799pp.
The two new solo tours are Helsinki, Tallinn and Riga and Ecuador and the Galapagos.
All itineraries include return flights or trains, transfers, scheduled visits and guided tours, breakfast and selected meals.
Main picture: Italian city of Turin which features in the one of Riviera’s new tours
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Head of Brand and Acquisition Sarah Fowler said the escorted tours and river cruise specialist had seen a rise of 231% year-on-year rise in new-to-brand customers and that was partly due to the ‘great support’ from agents.
Tom Morgan, UK and Ireland Head of Trade, said overall bookings were up 42% versus 2019 and 242% above last year’s levels.
“One of the reasons for that success is our long-haul programme and we’ve made an effort to retrain travel agents,” he said.
“The trade is booking our higher value programme.”
Last year, the operator introduced 40 upgraded European and worldwide itineraries as part of its ‘Signature’ tour collection.
Tom outlined how 35% of trade bookings were for this programme. Each Signature tour is for a maximum of 25 people and designed to be ‘exceptional, exclusive and immersive’.
“Pre-pandemic we were more known for our river cruises,” he added. “We’re trying to listen to our travel agents more.”
A recent Riviera survey showed that 97% of agents rated the operator four or five out of give for ‘ease of booking’.
Riviera has launched two rail departures and two solo travel options in its full European escorted touring programme for 2024.
The itineraries, which are now available to book, cover destinations across Europe with tours from March to November.
Prices for the Discover Italy by Rail – Turin, Venice and Rome itinerary start from £2,599 per person.
The itinerary, which includes a guided tour of the Colosseum, is one of two new departures focusing on rail.
The other is an eight-day Switzerland’s Golden Pass Railway, Lake Geneva & Montreux itinerary. Prices start from £2,799pp.
The two new solo tours are Helsinki, Tallinn and Riga and Ecuador and the Galapagos.
All itineraries include return flights or trains, transfers, scheduled visits and guided tours, breakfast and selected meals.
Main picture: Italian city of Turin which features in the one of Riviera’s new tours
The post Riviera Travel praises agents as it unveils 2024 escorted tour programme appeared first on Travel Gossip.
Continue reading...
