Grand UK Holidays adds 40 new tours

Grand UK Holidays is capitalising on the baby-boomer generation by offering a wider selection of escorted tours and more upmarket properties. A Caribbean cruise, a New York holiday and a new tour of China are among the 40 new tours which are featured in its 2008 brochure. The over-55s specialist is also offering more holidays by air and a greater choice of river cruises to cater for consumer demands for a wider variety of options.

Sales director Harold Burke said: “The over-55s market is evolving – there is no such thing as a traditional coach operator anymore.

“Much of our growth comes from sectors such as ocean and river cruising. A third of the UK population is over 50 – within a decade it will be 40%. The ‘baby-boomer’ generation, born after WWII, has more disposable income, with mortgages paid off and kids who have left home. We benefit, as the over-55s have more money and are more adventurous.

“Our customers are taking three or four holidays a year, and the traditional eight-day tour is seeing a resurgence.

“We are also excited about our expanded cruise programme, which features the Marco Polo for the first time.”

The 33-day West Indies cruise, costing from £2,299, visits 13 idyllic islands including Antigua, St Lucia and Barbados.

Grand UK Holidays also features five new river cruises in its 2008 brochure, thanks to the healthy sales from this growing sector.

Two new long-haul holidays have been added to the ‘Far Away Shores’ section – ‘New York, New York!’ and ‘Beijing & The Great Wall of China’.

The New York holiday costs just £699 for six days and includes a free half-day sightseeing tour of Manhattan.

The six-day Beijing holiday features highlights of China’s capital, including Olympic sites, for £999, and offers an extension to see Xi’an’s Terracotta Warriors for just £349.

“We hope the Terracotta Warriors exhibition at the British Museum will boost interest in China, and the Olympics will be a great shop window too,” said Burke.

Demand for more luxurious accommodation is catered for with such holidays as the new ‘A Touch of Class!’ tour, which offers the De Vere Mottram Hall or the De Vere Oulton Hall, for £329 for five days on a half-board basis.

Our Warner breaks are also popular, such as the ‘Somerset Hideaway’ holiday at Cricket St Thomas, the Grade II listed house featured in ‘To the Manor Born’, costing from £339 for a five-day holiday.

The operator is looking to boost sales to Ireland in 2008 by more than 30%, after a record season this year, prompting the number of tours to rise from seven to 11.

Burke said: “Tours to Ireland have been selling strongly, thanks to the popularity of the destination and its attractions.

“New tours added to the 2007 brochure helped sales to this destination increase by more than 35% and we’re looking for a similar growth rate in 2008 with the added holidays.”

The new Irish tours include the ‘Irish Jig’, which features the Giant’s Causeway and Donegal, from £309 for seven days; and two holidays by air.

Television documentaries have helped boost interest in the company’s itineraries, which range from the UK to Egypt and beyond.

The BBC series ‘Coast’ is one of several which sparked interest in Grand UK Holidays’ domestic tours – others include ITV’s ‘Britain’s Favourite View’ and BBC’s ‘Mountain’.

Tours added to the European portfolio include a ‘The City of Diamonds’ tour to Antwerp costing £289 for five days, and the ‘Four Capitals of Central Europe’ (Prague, Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest) which costs from £559 for eight days, including flights.

Prices start at £139 for a four-day mystery tour departing on March 7.

For bookings see Theukholidaygroup.com.