Your guide to tour operator news for 2025
We’ve sourced product updates from scores of tour operators, keeping you abreast of new developments for the coming year.
Jumping on trends from the popularity of cruise and land packages to boutique hotel stays around the world, operators are cascading new product into the market for 2025, ensuring there will always be something new and delightful to share with your customers.
AAT KINGS
New for the Australia and New Zealand escorted tour operator in 2025/26 is a 10-day Tropical Queensland tour, which includes a two-night stay on Magnetic Island, a nature lover’s paradise with 23 bays and beaches and the largest colony of koalas in Northern Australia. Additionally, a range of new experiences have been dropped into existing itineraries, including exploring Mimbi Caves in Western Australia with an Indigenous guide and an Emu Ridge Eucalyptus Tour on Kangaroo Island.
Ben Hall, chief executive, says: “The new experiences take our itineraries to the next level with more variety, more culture and heritage, and more discovery.”
AUDLEY TRAVEL
Audley Travel has expanded its offering in the Dolomites for 2025. Packages can be tailor-made with activities such as discovering the craft beer scene of South Tyrolean capital Bolzano with a local beer expert, seeing the ‘Man from the Ice’ in Bolzano’s Archaeological Museum, and visiting a traditional cheese workshop while enjoying the stunning views of Seiser Alm.
Alicia Welsman, Italy product manager, says: “The expansion of our offering is well timed to offer more choice for clients who want to take advantage of the new flight route launched by SkyAlps, cutting travel time down with a flight direct into the Dolomites (Bolzano) from Gatwick, taking approximately two hours.”
EASYJET HOLIDAYS
Following on from easyJet’s route launches to Djerba and Tromso, packages can now be booked to both destinations. Durations for the beachy Tunisian island of Djerba range from three days to 28 days, flying from Manchester and Luton. There are 10 hotels available for Tromso city breaks, flying from Bristol, Gatwick and Manchester, tempting customers with the northern lights, whale watching and incredible scenery.
FRED.HOLIDAYS
Reporting sales of rail holidays increasing 32% year-on-year, Fred.Holidays has bolstered its rail programme with a number of highlights including the new La Dolce Vita Orient Express. This can be packaged in a nine-night Bella Italia: Venice, Florence, Rome & Sorrento by Rail tour. Also new is Dublin and Belfast by Rail and Sea; Prague by Sleeper Train; Vintage Steam Trains of Switzerland; and a Grand Tour of Japan by Rail. The operator also revealed that 30% of all rail bookings have a value of over £5,000, while the most expensive individual rail holiday booking this year was £47,000 for two people.
Explore Worldwide
New introductions for the group tour operator include a two-week Best of Ghana tour, packed with cultural experiences. There’s also a new week-long Walk Northern Ireland and Donegal tour; a 10-day Uganda and Rwanda Gorilla Discovery tour; and a six-day Finnish Lapland Adventure. Two new Chile tours are supported by a four-day Easter Island extension, while a new flight-free Overland Everest Base Camp tour offers a longer route (22 days) to cut out the need for a domestic flight into Lukla airport, widely recognised as one of the world’s most challenging commercial landings.
Product manager Chris Ellis says: “This is a classic bucket list trek, with an Explore twist – no flights! It’s now possible to travel from Kathmandu and Salleri in the Lower Khumbu Valley by 4WD, allowing visitors to walk through the stunningly beautiful and barely-visited lower valleys before joining the Everest Base Camp trail proper.”
G ADVENTURES
Solo travel champion G Adventures says more than 50% of its global travellers now opt to join small group adventures on their own. A new travel style created exclusively for solo travellers, Solo-ish Adventures, harnesses the power of community tourism for those seeking personal growth, connection and safety as they travel. Solo-ish features 13 adventures, with no upper age limit, in popular destinations such as Costa Rica, India, Peru, Vietnam and South Africa. Another product launch for 2025 is sailing around the Greek islands on G’s new purpose-built yachts (carrying 10 travellers in five double cabins).
Vince Donnelly, director of global sailing at G Adventures, says: “The boats have been fitted with solar panels and state-of-the-art engines and generators that minimise environmental impact without sacrificing performance. This commitment to the environment and spreading tourism dollars to lesser-visited communities on smaller Greek islands really sets the bar high for operators in the region.”
GIC Villa Collection
The Greek villa specialist is expanding its portfolio on the smallest Ionian island, Paxos. They include Villa Forest, a one-bedroom villa with swimming pool, in the hamlet of Makraticka and the clifftop Triton’s Nest, surrounded by olives grows and with sea views across to tiny AntiPaxos.
GOLD MEDAL
Three key new products have been picked out by Deborah Wadhams, head of long-haul product. First up Epic Universe and Helios at Gold Medal’s top-selling Florida destination. “The hotly-anticipated opening of Universal
Epic Universe and the onsite Universal Helio Grand Hotel is high on our Florida agenda for 2025 and we predict continued strong sales into 2025 and beyond,” Wadhams says.
Also on the agenda is the 2025 opening of Jumeirah Marsa Al Arab, Dubai, Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts’ latest property. “Certainly one to watch, the property will boast unparalleled views of the Burj Al Arab, Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Beach,” she adds.
And lastly, Gold Medal anticipates Secrets Saint Lucia Resort & Spa opening in January 2025, with its ‘Unlimited-Luxury’ all-inclusive offering, will be popular with customers.
INDUS EXPERIENCES
Indian river cruises are really booming, according to the destination specialist, which is adding Pandaw’s new eight-day Kerala Backwaters cruise, from October 2025. This can be combined with a luxury train journey to cover both Kerala and Rajasthan, two of the most sought-after states for visitors to India.
The specialist operator is seeing more bookings for boutique hotels and villa-style properties throughout India, comments Asiya Zargar, director of marketing. New to the portfolio is the Lodge at Wah, just outside Palumpur, in northern Himachal Pradesh. Zargar says: “The Lodge at Wah is an exquisite homestay escape on an original tea estate. Guests are personally welcomed by the family of Kangra tea planters, who have occupied the property for four generations. It’s a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in Himachali culture, while learning the traditions and science involved in creating a cup of tea.”
INSIDE ASIA
South Korea is Inside Asia’s fastest-growing destination, where there’ll be a new Small Group Tour for 2025, ‘Soul of Korea’, with four departures during the year. The 10-day tour travels by the KTX high-speed rail system from Seoul to Unesco City of Gastronomy Jeonju, seaside Busan and the ancient Silla capital of Gyeongju. India will be a new destination for Inside Asia in 2025, and for Inside Japan, the focus continues to be on easing the increasing issue of overtourism in a few key spots. A Northern Soul tour of Japan in 2025 will for the first time include Kensenuma, an area that was hit hard by the 2011 tsunami but is being revived by community groups in the town.
INSPIRING JOURNEYS
The sister company to AAT Kings has added three new tours for 2025 including the 11-day Kimberley Gorges & Gibb River Road; the seven-day Tasting Tasmania & Flinders Island; and the seven-day South Australia Murray River Cruise & Wine. With an average group size of 16, tours include more off-the-beaten path locations and boutique accommodations.
INSPIRING TRAVEL
There’s lots to talk about in the Caribbean for the operator moving into 2025, with Peter Island reopening in the British Virgin Islands this month, having been closed since Hurricane Irma in 2017; Salterra resort opening in the Turks and Caicos in February; and the debut of design-led Blue Monkey Hotel & Beach Club in Barbados. Club Colony by Elegant Hotels in Barbados is due to reopen in the summer after a major refurbishment, while Sugar Beach, a Viceroy Resort, is adding a spectacular nine-bedroom villa overlooking the Pitons.
Intrepid Travel
Intrepid has launched four new tours to support its Not Hot List, a report that seeks to address overtourism by inspiring travellers to discover different and unique experiences around the world, with communities that can truly benefit from more visitors. New tours include a 10-day overland Greenland Expedition; a 15-day Benin, Togo and Ghana Adventure, taking travellers to rarely-visited spots like Teshie-Nungua in Ghana where skilled artisans craft elaborate art coffins symbolizing continued passion into the afterlife; an 11-day Trans-Mongolian Railway Adventure, stopping at remote villages along the Gobi Desert, and an 11-day Cape York & Torres Strait Explorer journey to the northernmost tip of Australia.
Erica Kritikides general manager of global product, says: “Our group size is very small (average of 10 travellers), we only employ local leaders and almost exclusively use locally owned accommodation and suppliers.”
Jet2 Holidays
Bournemouth becomes Jet2.com’s 12th UK airport base, offering flights and holidays from the south coast to 16 destinations across Europe for summer 25. Seville joins the Jet2CityBreaks programme, with a seven-day city break allowing passengers to explore the area, the sights and historic villages.
The addition of Salerno Airport opens up the Amalfi Coast and Salerno to more passengers. The reinvented five-star Valmar Corfu will be exclusive to Jet2holidays in the UK market for 2025, offering a premium all-inclusive experience. New for Summer 2025 adults-only property Cabo Corfu will bring a touch of class to the Vibe by Jet2holidays portfolio with its sea views and poolside DJs. In Menorca, Jet2holidays will be offering the island’s first Fergus property with the Fergus Club Carema Splash (alongside the Fergus Style Carema Beach). The hotel is recommended for families with its onsite splash park and all-inclusive offer.
JG TRAVEL GROUP
While UK coach groups continue to be core to the operator’s business, next year will see increased focus on the overseas programme available through both Just Go! Holidays and National Holidays. Greece is a new introduction, with three tours on sale, including the 10-day Jewels of Crete. Italy has been boosted with new tours, such as the new Taste of the Italy and Majesty of the Lakes itineraries. And Portugal gains new tours including a Douro Adventure. Coming soon, there will also be a first touring itinerary for Sri Lanka, Jewels of Sri Lanka, including a range of experiences from a game drive in Yala National Park to a spice garden tour in Matale.
Claire Dutton, trade sales manager, JG Travel Groups, says: “We continue to build our all-inclusive offering and to add new destinations and experiences such as staying in historic buildings in Portugal or battlefields tours with expert guides so we have an even broader variety of holidays available to suit an even wider audience.”
Jules Verne
The small group escorted tour operator has new destinations (Ghana and Switzerland) and additional tours for customer favourites such as Italy. The seven-night Magnificent Maggiore uses a historic hotel in Stresa on the shores of Lake Maggiore as a base to explore the region, while the five-night Timeless Venice from the Water is based aboard stylish cruiser MS Michelangelo, with a vineyard visit on Mazzorbo island and a day trip to Padua a sampler of the excursions on offer.
Kirker Holidays
Kirker’s customers are led by their stomachs as well as their eyes, says the cultural specialist, prompting the additions of a four-night holiday to discover exquisite Swiss wines (just 2% are imported) and a five-night holiday joining chef Valentina Harris for a tour of Milan.
Ted Wake, director of sales and marketing, says: “We have more and more requests for gastronomic tours – whether it is a foodie walking tour, a wine-tasting at a vineyard, or a very specific restaurant. Booking table reservations is always an important part of the Kirker Concierge role, but for 2025 we have added a wider than ever range of gastronomic tours in key cities: from croissant and chocolate tours of Paris, to tapas-tasting in Seville, or parmigiano and prosciutto in Bologna.”
Kirker’s Dutch art tour switches from Amsterdam to the Hague in 2025, where clients will relax in the splendid Hotel Des Indes, and tour a treasure trove of art galleries in the Netherlands in the company of art historian Ger Van Den Munckhof.
Leger Shearings
Leger’s rail tours now exceed 40, warranting a dedicated Fully Escorted Rail Holidays brochure. Among eight new tours are Lakes, Mountains and Railways of Switzerland; Monet’s Garden & Chateaux of the Loire Valley; and Strasbourg & Black Forest Christmas Markets by Rail. Meanwhile, Shearings has three new brochures: Discover the Best of Europe; Discover the Best of the UK & Ireland; and Self-Drive Breaks. An expanded range of solo traveller tours in the UK include Highlights of the Lake District and Scotland’s West Coast and the Isle of Bute.
Leger Shearings’ group product manager Matt Herbert says: “Leger’s battlefield tours were huge in 2024, buoyed by the D-Day anniversary publicity, however, there’s no sign of the demand waning so we’ve increased 2025 capacity by 23%. Also, for the first time Shearings will be selling a 28-day escorted coach tour to the Costa Blanca – a great way to escape the UK winter.”
NEWMARKET HOLIDAYS
Short-haul European destinations continue to be popular with the over-50s market, says Newmarket, with new tour additions such as Paradores and Pousadas of Spain and Portugal; Baltic Capitals – Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius; and Adriatic Coast – Dubrovnik, Neum and Mostar, all lasting eight days. Two new Exclusively for Solos departures reflect the growing demand for this style of travel – these are the eight-day Ephesus and Highlights of Western Turkey and the nine-day Delights of Croatia.
RAMBLE WORLDWIDE
From exploring England’s enchanting Eden Valley to gaining a local perspective on Cuba’s rural landscapes, there’s a bumper new crop of product from the walking specialist. One month in the Canary Islands will provide an unforgettable adventure for your hardiest walking clients, while the week-long Morocco: Atlas & Ocean combines sweeping Atlantic beaches, views across rugged Atlas Mountains peaks, haggling in a kasbah, and set jetting for Games of Thrones fans in Essaouria. There are also 18 new Cruise & Walk adventures in 2025, marrying small ship cruise experiences with carefully graded guided walking itineraries.
Whistlestop Norway, departing Liverpool onboard Fred Olsen Cruise Line’s Bolette on 29 May, will travel along the dramatic Naeroyfjord and Gudvangen to the small alpine village of Olden, encircled by towering mountains and deep fjords, disembarking for a scenic glacier hike.
Osprey Holidays
The tailor-made specialist is gearing up to sell La Dolce Vita Orient Express, Italy’s first luxury train, with eight two-to-three night itineraries to choose from. Osprey is also bringing back London theatre breaks, and will be adding three new four-star hotels for 2025: Brown’s Central in Lisbon, Starhotels Splendid in Venice; and Hotel Indigo Bordeaux Centre Chartrons.
RIVIERA TRAVEL
The touring specialist has introduced new worldwide Grand Tours for 2025, ranging from 16 to 26 days, giving guests longer to explore, while group sizes on Classic European tours have been shrunk from 50 to a maximum of 36. Signature versions have been created of eight European tours, featuring exclusive visits and activities, in the likes of Sicily; Krakow; and Slovenia & Lake Bled.
Vicky Billing, head of trade and partnerships, says: “The move to a smaller group size on our European tours will enhance the guest experience even further, while new Grand Tours and solo options have been designed to appeal to those who want to discover Europe and further afield in an even more insightful and eye-catching way.”
Solmar Villas
The villa specialist has a new collection of villas available to book from next May on the Greek island of Skopelos, known for its natural beauty. The villas make the most of the scenery with infinity pools, hilltop locations, and sea or mountain views. As there is no airport on the island, Solmar includes free ferry transfers with all villa pricing, along with a meet and greet transfer service from the airport to the ferry port.
Julie Blake, chief executive, says: “The beautiful backdrops of Skopelos are familiar to many as the filming location for Mamma Mia!. With no airport on the island, it has remained untouched by mass tourism, and with our free airport and ferry transfers, we’re making sure that getting there is as easy and stress-free as being there.”
Ski Independence
The tailor-made ski specialist has added three new resorts in Europe – Engelberg, a picturesque resort close to Zurich airport, therefore ideal for shorter breaks; Crans Montana, which could suit clients looking to ski in both Europe and North America in the same season, using an Epic Pass; and Wengen, a chocolate-box village with extensive ski areas to explore. There's also the introduction of a small chalet collection, and an expansion of the operator's Italian Dolomites collection.
Sunvil
In 2025, Sunvil celebrates 50 years of offering holidays to Greece. The island of Kalamos is being added as a twin-centre with Lefkas. The operator describes it as an unconventional island, a mountain range that floats on the sea, where pebbly beaches are lapped by brilliantly clear waters. A three-centre island-hopping tour to the Diapontian islands is also a new combination with Corfu, meeting demand for longer, more complex trips. The operator is continuing to offer no-fly holidays to more destinations, including Spain, where a new rail tour combines the cities of Girona, Madrid and Seville. In the Nordics, there's a bunch of new properties including Silver Birch Resort in Rovaniemi, Finland, which opens its doors in January, and Wilderness Hotel, Saariselka, a hotel designed with couples in mind, in Finnish Lapland.
For any tour operators who would like to add product news to this round-up, please contact feedback@ttgmedia.com
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Company number 08723341.
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