Greece boom drives Caribtours expansion

South Africa is another area of further growth in the operator’s 2019 brochure collection – which goes live on September 6 with Our Caribbean and Our Beautiful World brochures.

The Europe collection features highlights such as the Princesa Yaiza Suite Hotel Resort, Lanzarote, and additional properties in the Greek islands such as St Nicholas Bay, Crete. In South Africa, a variety of new locations have been introduced that “provide a true flavour of the country’s offerings”. These include Ellerman House, Cape Town and Madikwe Safari Lodge, bordering Botswana.

Caribtours managing director Paul Cleary told TTG: “While the Caribbean is our bread and butter, we are always looking at other opportunities.

“We launched Europe about
a year ago, and while I always had high hopes for it, I didn’t attach targets to it. But it has proven to be very popular, and Greece phenomenally so.

“We did £1 million in sales to Greece alone over the past year.”

Cleary acknowledged, though, that while the operator’s heartland, the Caribbean, had performed “OK”, there was about £1 million in “business that couldn’t travel” compared to 2017, due to resort closures and infrastructure challenges.

That said, new hotels in the collection include Quintessence in Anguilla – an island that Cleary said in particular was “bouncing back”.

Caribtours has increased its Anguilla offering to four properties in total. Unico 20° 87° in Mexico has also joined the collection, and Caribtours said the Caribbean brochure “features what is truly the very best the islands of the Caribbean have to offer”.

During September, the operator will give customers the chance to save up to £300 on any 2019 holiday booked that month, while agents can earn up to £200 worth of vouchers based on booking value.

In addition, agents who make a booking in September, and include premium seats on British Airways flights, will earn an extra £50 per booking. Using a tiered voucher scheme, agents will receive vouchers depending on the booking value.

For every booking made between September 1-30, 2018, for travel in 2019, agents will be entered into a prize draw with the chance to win a luxury stay at the newly-renovated Fairmont Royal Pavilion, Barbados, with return BA flights and transfers.