After navigating turbulent times during the pandemic, soft adventure expert Explore was rewarded for its perseverance at the end of 2022. And more than just a little.
In an interview with Karryon, Explore Worldwide managing director Michael Edwards said that during its early January sale, the company had experienced a “record day on Monday [2 January] in our 41-year history”.
“It tells you that travel is back – and it was our record day by a long way,” he remarked.
“The first four days of the sale have all been in our top five days for sales ever … so that’s pretty remarkable, in terms of demand, and it’s really pleasing to see particularly for everyone who’s had to sit through what have been pretty tough times.”
Amid the record sales, Edwards said Explore was witnessing three distinct trends “that are markedly different than pre-pandemic”.
Getting physical
The first trend is for active holidays following a period of relative inactivity for many people during the pandemic.
“So our walking programs, for example, are 30 per cent up on pre-pandemic levels. People just want to do something active,” he stated.
“We can’t sell enough walking and cycling stuff at the moment – people want to see a destination, but be in it, if you like. Kind of that slow travel thing.”
Solo, not single, travellers
The second trend relates to Explore’s customer base, with a whopping 60 per cent of new bookings for solo travellers.
“We’ve always sold a lot of solo travel, but it’s kind of gone through the roof at the moment,” the Explore boss explained.
“It’s not taboo anymore to go off and travel on your own. It’s not singles travel necessarily; it’s solo travel. And being able to join a group of 12 or 13 other like-minded people … people tend to love that.
“We kind of call it that carpe diem spirit. After two to three years of restrictions, people just want to seize the day, have an experience and get out there, and they’re not going to let their situation or their circumstances stop them.”
The power of travel advisors
In encouraging news for the travel trade, the third trend relates to growing support from travel advisors.
“In Australia, we’ve always been well supported by trade. But over the last four months, we’ve seen a 50 per cent increase in our travel agency bookings [in the UK] and that’s partly us … nurturing those relationships in terms of support and commercials,” Edwards told Karryon.
Because of the pandemic, Edwards said people had sought “safety and security and knowledge” and hence had “gone back to travel agencies in a big way, we feel”.
He added that customers wanted to know that “if something goes wrong, [if] there’s a problem with a destination or with your airline”, someone has their backs.
“And they know that they’ll get that through travel agencies,” the Explore boss said.
Aussie traveller outlook
Explore recently announced it would be opening its first office down under, which will be led out of Brisbane by Regional Director for Australia and New Zealand, Ben Ittensohn, with on-location training and support for travel advisors provided by Evolution Travel Collective (ETC). And it’s a market Edwards is confident will love Explore.
“Solo travel’s pretty big out of Australia, and Aussies have always liked to do active types of travel, right?” he said.
While Australian holidaymakers love exploring Europe, Edwards said there was the potential for “flow through to a bit of the Middle East as well … the Jordans and the Moroccos, which we see are quite strong for Australians”.
“So we do see with our Australian customers a bit of combo stuff.”
An active holiday specialist, Edwards says Explore particularly appeals to travellers aged between 40 and 60 years. And more and more Aussies, it will be hoping.
