The upmarket operator said it had seen a “huge thirst” from clients for immersive travel, including increased year-on-year demand for traditional bucket-list destinations such as Thailand, South Africa and India, as well as emerging options such as Namibia.
Kuoni’s Travel Forecast 2024, which is based on data from the January and February sales period, also revealed “value for money is still a conversation” the operator’s agents have been having with customers.
Marco Rocha, product and commercial director at Kuoni, added: “We anticipated that value for money was going to be front of mind for all our customers this year, whether they are honeymooners, families, singles or older couples.
“We have been focused on broadening our range and developing our commercial approach, so we’re as competitive on price and service as we’ve ever been.”
Rocha said that “attractive prices” had helped to boost sales for Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, while destinations such as South Africa and India were also benefiting from their “great value”.
“We’ve had a strong start to the year but anticipate that we’ll also see demand come through later this year as people assess their travel plans and budgets,” added Rocha. “But all evidence shows that travel is very much on the priority list for the year ahead.”
Kuoni’s list of “trending” destinations for 2024 include Mauritius, Thailand, Greece, Namibia, Sri Lanka, Portugal, South Africa, Canada, Grenada and India.
The operator said that Portugal and Greece were “stand-out” performers for short-haul sales, while Sri Lanka was now “reclaiming its place” as one of Kuoni’s top-selling long-haul destinations and Thailand was “back on the map with a notable uptake in bookings”.
