Coming off a record year, Goway is expanding its GroupsOnly leadership team and holding a sweepstakes for travel advisors in February. The tour company saw 25% growth in sales and 100 groups bookings made in December alone.
Citing industry-wide growth in custom group travel, Goway noted the following emerging trends:
- Longer lead-time for bookings to secure space in popular destinations such as Japan and Italy.
- Last-minute bookings to capitalize on timely deals and availability.
- The growth in women-only group travel, which taps into emerging trends and fosters customer loyalty.
“It’s a dynamic time for custom group travel,” says Shirley Rourke, VP Goway GroupsOnly. “People are responding to market forces such as overtourism and affordability by joining like-minded travellers to embark on custom group vacations.
“Group travel is affordable and provides a lot of convenient perks, such as access to behind-the-scenes experiences, so it’s only growing more appealing in a world where it’s sometimes hard to make travel dreams a reality.”
Leadership team
In response to the demand Goway GroupsOnly has made a series of appointments:
- Jennifer Murray (banner photo, centre) has been promoted to Director of Groups Sales & Reservations. Having played a key role in the division’s record sales over the previous four years, in her new role, she will ensure Goway GroupsOnly is scaled for growth and maintain consistency across all destinations.
- Goway GroupsOnly has also hired Ali Rizvi (banner left) as Groups Sales & Reservation Manager for Asia and the Americas and Patrick Corriveau (banner right) as Groups Sales & Reservation Manager for Europe.
“The interest in custom group travel shows no signs of slowing down,” says Rourke. “By promoting Jennifer Murray and bringing Ali Rizvi and Patrick Corriveau onto the team, we’re setting ourselves up for success in the years to come and ensuring we’re equipped to ride this wave of popularity for custom group travel.”
February sweepstakes
Goway GroupsOnly is sharing the love this February with a sweepstakes for travel advisors, offering the chance to earn up to $1,000 on their GowayPro Virtual Rewards Card. Every new group booking made in February a travel advisor five entries into the contest, with the chance to win one of three prizes: $1,000, $500, and $250.
The three winners from all the correct entries will be randomly selected in early March. See the sweepstakes page on GowayPro.com for full details.
If you enjoyed or found this story useful, we’d appreciate if you would forward it to a colleague or friend who may also enjoy it. If, on the other hand, a friend shared it with you, welcome! You can get all the latest travel news and reviews from Travel Industry by simply clicking HERE.