‘This was the best Excursions show for some time, we didn't stop all day and we all came away very happy with a lot of work to do on quotes for groups. Where do we sign up for next year?‘ Ellen Walker, Travel Editions… Numerous exhibitors and visitors to the show have hailed Excursions™ 2020 a success. More than 800 GTOs and tour operators descended on The Great Hall at Alexandra Palace on 25th January for one of the UK’s premier one-day domestic group travel shows.

Now in its 44th year, the annual group-travel show is firmly established as a must-attend event for the group travel community and brings together GTOs and tour/coach operators with destinations, attractions, venues, cruise companies, ticketing agencies, hotels and resorts from across the UK and near Europe.

The dulcet tones of the Spitfire Sisters welcomed visitors on arrival. The internationally acclaimed vocal harmony trio performed several times during the day, including a special performance for the VIP coach guests, who enjoyed exclusive access to the VIP area plus a wine and cheese tasting reception courtesy of Denbies Wine Estate. Based in Dorking, Surrey, Denbies in one of the UK’s largest wine producers, whose wines have won international Golds. Denbies offers a wide selection of tours to accommodate groups, including indoor wine tasting experiences, outdoor vineyard tours or joint tour packages with a number of other local attractions.

Experience Oxfordshire exhibited at the show to promote their official Oxford Walking Tours and were joined on their stand by several Oxfordshire businesses including Blenheim Palace, The Oxford Artisan Distillery and The Randolph and Macdonald Bear Hotels. Annie MacDonald at Experience Oxfordshire commented, 'Excursions was a very enjoyable and helpful event, with lots of leads to follow up from Group Bookers looking for ideas for days out in Oxford and Oxfordshire! It was a great chance to promote our Oxford Official Walking Tours and also a lovely opportunity to meet up with our Experience Oxfordshire Partner businesses in Oxfordshire, a great day out for all.”

For Visit Greenwich, the official DMO for the Royal Borough of Greenwich, Excursions is an annual trade show favourite. This year, they exhibited for the first time with Royal Museums Greenwich, Old Royal Naval College and Thames River Sightseeing. The key messages to operators at the show were how easy it is to book a range of things to see and do, the wonderful mix of old and new and the unmissable experience of travelling by river. Greenwich is an essential part of a London itinerary as well as a destination in its own right. “Excursions was a great opportunity to strengthen our existing relationships with the travel trade and make new contacts” Barrie Kelly, CEO of Visit Greenwich said. He continued “We have a new 4-year growth plan to increase the value of tourism by 18% over the next few years so raising our profile at major travel trade events like Excursions is becoming increasingly important for us.”

Excursions will return in 2021. For more information, please visit www.excursionsshow.com