Operator picks re-emerging winter sun titan for long-haul debut
New, longer-stay options to Sri Lanka with Just Go! Holidays and National Holidays could be the winter-sun escape your budget-conscious clients are looking for
Just Go! Holidays and National Holidays are going long-haul for the first time, with the addition of Sri Lanka, which is expected to do well for winter sun.
As Sri Lanka lies close to the equator, a steady year-round climate offers almost guaranteed warm sunshine in the winter months when it can be harder to find it closer to home.
Claire Dutton, trade sales manager, Just Go! Holidays, says: “Our European winter sun programme has gone from strength to strength, and adding a long-haul option was the natural next step. Our insight data showed our customers want to and are travelling further afield, and that they trust our brands to take them there.”
Agents can offer their clients four different duration holidays (11, 15, 22 and 29 nights) to the Tangerine Beach Hotel in southern Sri Lanka departing on selected dates between October 2024 and May 2025.
Dutton describes the Tangerine Beach Hotel as one of the “classic” properties in Sri Lanka. “All our guests stay on an all-inclusive basis, making it great value for money,” she says. “We have also included special touches such as an exclusive lounge area where afternoon tea and coffee are served daily.”
Facilities include an outdoor pool, gym and spa plus tennis, squash and badminton courts. Yoga and meditation wellbeing classes are held on the beach, and there is regular entertainment including live bands, cultural shows and a DJ.
The hotel is located near the resort town of Kalutara, which is accessible by foot or tuk-tuk. The 11-night holiday includes two excursions and the 15-, 22- and 29-night durations include four. Examples include a visit to Kalutara fish market with the hotel’s executive chef followed by a cookery demonstration. There’s also a tour of the south of the island with river safari, a visit to Galle Dutch Fort and a sea turtle conservation project, and a trip to the Garden of Brief, a beautifully landscaped garden, which sits on a former rubber plantation.
Further excursions can be booked in resort, and there’s also a five-day pre-tour that can be added, covering Dambulla, Polonnaruwa, Kandy and Nuwara Eliya (from £749pp).
Dutton adds: “I would urge agents to focus on the fact that this is a great way to escape the British winter, to go somewhere a little different and at great-value prices – we are offering four weeks for the price of three on our Sri Lanka holidays, starting from £2,499pp for 29 nights.”
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Place of registration: England and Wales.
Company number 08723341.
Registered address: 6th Floor, 2 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU
