UPDATED: Travelopia confirms TrekAmerica closure and redundancies

The small tours operator and its sister company and DMC, the Santa Rosa-based American Adventures, have transferred bookings to Exodus Travels or Exodus Edits and staff are in a consultation period.

They are part of a plan to axe “around 25%” of Travelopia Adventure’s UK staff at offices in Surbiton and Northwich, which also administer Headwater Holidays. About 30 jobs are likely to be affected.

TrekAmerica covered the US, Canada, Alsaka and South America. Its best seller was the New York-Los Angeles Southern Sun itinerary, which it first offered in 1972. In 2013 it launched an itinerary covering all 48 states of transcontinental USA in 80 days.

Managing director Sam Seward said: “Closing the TrekAmerica brand after nearly 50 years of fabulous USA adventure has been a difficult decision.

“Falling demand for destination USA and rising costs had already weakened passenger volumes significantly prior to the pandemic and our need to now focus on our core brands is pivotal.”

Earlier this year, Travelopia put the Grand American Adventures brand under Exodus Travels.

Seward added: “We have seen our business move from record-breaking revenue figures in January to the worst year in our 46-year history. It has been a horrible time for the entire team, who have worked tirelessly to put our customers’ safety and happiness first.

“We have already implemented a range of measures to protect jobs as far as possible; however, due to the severity of the impact of the pandemic on our ability to operate our trips, as well as a significant reduction in forward bookings, it is with deep regret that we must take steps to reduce the size of our team.”

He said he “hoped to be in a position to re-employ our people as and when the market recovers”.