Europe rebounds for Insight amid best air offer ever

Europe rebounds for Insight amid best air offer ever

Pent up demand following a dip last year, coupled with “a very strong proposition” on rates and free flights have the stars aligned for Insight Vacations as travellers rebound back to Europe in 2017.

Insight Vacations’ Global CEO, John Boulding, in Sydney this morning told Travel Weekly the “mood has changed” regarding travel to Europe following months of geopolitical uncertainty, evidenced by an instant uptake in bookings for its new Europe 2017 programme, released just this past week.

“Our key message is our guests can travel with ease and confidence, and get great value. When you’re on your own, you’re on your own,” Boulding said, referring to the benefits of travelling in an escorted group capacity.

He added that with Insight Vacations’ relatively small group size of a maximum 40 passengers, they are somewhat more nimble to change hotels or plans should unfavourable conditions arise, using the recent Turkey incidents as an example.

“We deal with 800,000 people a year travelling to Europe. We’re there on the ground to take care of passengers 24/7.”

To further bolster sales, for first time Insight are offering fly-free packages on 16 days or more Europe 2017 tours, plus heavily discounted flights on those outside the parameters. Three out of its top five Europe and Britain 2017 bestselling tours meet the criteria, which coupled with a favourable sterling, are giving momentum to early bookings according to Boulding.

The new 2017 Europe programme nett land and air combined rates are lower year-on-year due to the currency fluctuations caused by Brexit, making for even more compelling reasons to book early, Boulding said, however stipulated they were not a “price led operator”.

Two new Scandinavian itineraries, as well as a 15-day tour of Warsaw and the Baltic States are also on offer in the new 2017 programme. A series of new Signature Experiences are also expected to set Insight apart from competitors, with guests provided exclusive access to various sights but also artisans, chefs, storytellers and local experts. For the first time in 2017, guests on a number of Premium Italian itineraries will enjoy a private after-hours dinner inside the Vatican Ethnological Museum.

Boulding also said a push to ensure key messaging differentiating its two various product offerings under the Insight umbrella, Premium journeys and Luxury Gold, was important to the success of the two identities to fuel further growth. While both offer luxury escorted tours, Gold guests are spoilt with Michelin fine dining options and enhanced private VIP experiences.

New this year is the expansion of its Luxury Gold to a worldwide portfolio featuring 15 new itineraries, nine new countries, two new continents and a voluntourism extension for the first time.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

    Latest comments
    1. Well It’s so nice to hear of John Boulding’s positive news.
      We had a recent situation with Insight being strung along for months with being advised that a non GD was “likely” to go after paying in full for a tour to Sicily telling us that Sicily is very popular etc only to have it cancelled and leaving us with a big hole in our pre-arranged tour bookings. This tour was the only option to fit in with our November time frame. It was only by a number of contacts to Insight by our agent and us direct that they finally fessed up and admitted it was not going to happen. They still attempted to get us to keep the booking “live” for an extra two weeks; talk about unconscionable conduct!!. We now find it is nearly impossible to find a replacement tour, with practically all suitable tours booked out. We are most unimpressed with this very poor customer service particularly when Insight had an interest free loan of our money for over six months and we did not even get an apology!!.

britain Coach tours escorted touring europe insight vacations john boulding the travel corporation tour ttc

Latest News

  • Technology

Booking.com launches AI Trip Planner in Australia and New Zealand

Booking.com has announced its AI Trip Planner (Beta) is now available for travellers in Australia and New Zealand, the first markets to launch in Asia Pacific. Until now, AI Trip Planner was only available for US and UK travellers after it was launched in the Booking.com app in June last year. Built using Booking.com’s existing […]

  • Products

Embrace the journey: Traversing the world with the Shokz OpenRun

If you’ve been on the wrong side of a final call in the airport, or missed the stop on rail journey, it might be time to invest in a pair of Shokz OpenRun headphones. Originally marketed as headphones for fitness fanatics, runners or cyclists with a keen to steer clear of a prang with a car, […]

  • Tour Operators
  • Tourism

TTC: Deals are driving up demand for September trips

The latest market research from TTC Tour Brands shows interest in international leisure travel remains high for 2024, with 77 per cent of Australians over 18 still planning trips this year. Notably, 28 per cent of those travellers are eyeing September for their journeys. Europe continues to be the most popular destination, with 68 per […]

  • Aviation

Qantas ‘working urgently’ to fix app data leak

Qantas is looking into customer reports that passengers have this morning been able to access other passengers’ personal information on the airlines app. X user Lachlan posted that he was able log into different accounts every time he opened the app. My @Qantas app logs me in to a different person each time I open […]

  • Hotels

Revamped Wailoaloa Beach hotel opens as Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort & Spa

Crowne Plaza Fiji Nadi Bay Resort & Spa is open and ready for bookings after the first phase of a multi-million-dollar transformation. Part of IHG Hotels & Resorts’ premium collection, the transformation has seen the completion of 106 guestrooms showcasing contemporary interiors reflective of the premium Crowne Plaza brand and is a first for the […]

  • Luxury
  • News

Kamalaya Koh Samui clinches clutch of wellness awards

Kamalaya Wellness Sanctuary & Holistic Spa has so far clinched five prestigious awards in 2024, including being inducted into the ‘Hall of Fame’ at the World Spa & Wellness Awards in London. Founders of the Koh Samui sanctuary and spa John and Karina Stewart expressed their heartfelt gratitude for the awards. “We are profoundly honoured […]