Luxury tour operators report longer booking windows

The year’s strong stock market performance is translating
into a welcome booking surge for luxury travel companies, and some operators
say they are also seeing travelers booking further and further out.

“We’ve absolutely been seeing an increase in the
booking window, particularly in recent months as our guests’ confidence in the
economy has returned following some stock market volatility late last year,”
said Jeremy Palmer, senior vice president of Tauck Land Tours.

He also sees the trend as being long-term.

“Bookings across our entire 2020 portfolio are very strong,
with our Oberammergau Passion Play itineraries and our three new Douro River
cruises all doing incredibly well,” Palmer said. “This is definitely
part of a longer-term trend we’ve been seeing for some time, and we’ve
responded by steadily bringing our products to market earlier in order to
better serve our guests and our agents.”

Abercrombie Kent noted the trend in a recent news
release, saying that guests were booking its Luxury Small Group Journeys a full
month earlier this year — on average, eight months in advance — while certain
popular destinations like Egypt and East Africa required even longer lead
times.

Jon Grutzner, U.S. president of Insight Vacations and Luxury
Gold, said he hasn’t seen the same consistency in booking windows but that, concurrent
with the strong economy and stock market, his brands are seeing a solid rebound
after a first quarter that was slower than expected.

“Guests want to travel this year, and space is still
available,” Grutzner said. “This is

Article source: https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Tour-Operators/Luxury-tour-operators-report-longer-booking-windows