GEA Group sees 11% growth in package tours

The independent travel agency network GEA Group enjoyed “a good year in terms of growth” with an 11% increase in package tour sales to September 2018.

The news was announced at GEA’s 14th annual convention which took place in Sesimbra between 2-4 November with 275 attendees.

Pedro Gordon, CEO of GEA Group, said that the network has enjoyed a 5% increase in the number of independent travel agencies joining the network this year to a total of 322 agencies and 422 branches.

“Overall we’ve had a good year with growth” he said, adding that sales of package holidays within the group increased by 11% to September 2018 compared to the same period in 2017 which means total turnover of €47.5 million for its 12 main travel agencies.

Of these 12, Soltour led sales, followed by Jolidey, Soltrópico, Nortravel, Viajar Tours among others.

As to popular destinations, Pedro Gordon says that these remain the same as last year but some are registering “important growth” including the Canary Islands, Tunisia and Morocco. “In terms of turnover volume the Caribbean, Cape Verde Islands and Balearic Islands are doing well for package holidays,” says Gordon.