Besides offering trips based around specific events, If Only said its new If Only Sports Travel team will be available to tailor holidays and itineraries for agents keen to seize on growing demand for sports tourism, or to extend their existing luxury offering.
If Only and Elegant, which has launched an Elegant Sports brand, will leverage the expertise of Portman Group stablemate Destination Sports to get their sports operations up and running.
If Only said it would have access to premium event tickets, exclusive hospitality packages and once-in-a-lifetime experiences, as well as high-end accommodation options. A three-night US Open tennis break leads in from £3,995pp, while four-night Singapore Grand Prix packages start from £3,595pp.
The operator is backing the launch with regional flight options, all-inclusive transfers and fees, £200 deposits and access to its experienced team – as well as its "five-star portfolio".
If Only sales director Tracy Docherty described the launch as a "significant addition" to the operator’s product line-up. "With our head-to-toe service, bespoke itineraries, and exclusive access, agents can confidently book their clients into the heart of the world’s most thrilling sporting events," she said.
The line-up includes luxury tours to major test-playing cricket nations for test, one-day and T20 matches; courtside views for major tennis grand slams; and Lions rugby tours and Six Nations clashes.
Other options include F1 holidays, golf-led trips taking in major championships, horse racing meets and NFL fixtures. If Only added it could tailor-make packages for "any bucket-list sporing event".
Gordon McCreadie, managing director of Elegant Resorts, which is part of the same group as If Only, said launching sports divisions for the two brands had been "a long-held vision".
"We are part of the Portman Group, home to sports specialists Destination Sports, [so] it made perfect sense to combine their expertise with ours," he said.
"The launch of this new division marks a pivotal step in our growth, allowing us to offer our agents a new range of luxury and bespoke escapes combined with the exhilarating world of elite sports."
