As rail holidays continue to grow in popularity, Fred. Holidays is positioning themselves as the go-to rail specialist for tailor-made holidays in Europe and worldwide. Building on this momentum they have partnered with some of the world’s top rail suppliers to launch the UK’s first-ever dedicated agent rail event.   The Rail-ly Big Event, which is taking place at the iconic Swindon Steam Museum on Wednesday 23^rd April between 6pm and 10pm, will provide agents with a great opportunity to network with the world’s best rail providers such as Belmond, Eurostar, Rocky Mountaineer, GoldenPass Express, Bernina Express, Glacier Express, Die Zentralbahn, Maharajas Express, Jungfrau Railways, Rovos Rail, Caledonian Sleeper and Gornergrat Railway, as well as Travel Switzerland and Lake Lucerne Navigation. Agents will also enjoy training sessions and plenty of food and drink, plus there will be some truly amazing prizes up for grabs.   Sally Barlow, Rail Product Manager for Fred. Holidays, comments: “With an impressive 80% uplift in bookings year to date, we’ve seen a huge demand for rail holidays. Following the successful introduction of our first stand-alone rail brochure, we felt that the time was right to launch a dedicated event to educate agents and help them feel confident about recommending a rail holiday to their customers. With some fantastic rail partners and a venue that will really help encapsulate the rail atmosphere, I’m sure that agents will find the evening beneficial and fun.”   To register for a place at the event, agents should visit the Fred. Holidays agent portal www.agentfred.co.uk or email tradesupport@fredholidays.co.uk

Fred. Holidays has launched a new programme aimed at the 300,000-plus bridge playing community in the UK. Fred. Bridge Holidays will offer holidays with bridge is at the heart of the experience. The programme has been developed in partnership with Declan Treanor, a consultant with years of experience of organising and hosting bridge holidays. Each itinerary has been designed for bridge enthusiasts, whether they are beginners or seasoned players. Each holiday has tailor-made schedules designed around excursions and suitable weather. Daytime sessions offer a balance of competitive play and free time to explore or relax, while evening sessions include Masterpoints and prizes. ‍Every bridge session uses advanced Bridgemate electronic scoring, pre-dealt duplicate boards and detailed hand records. English Bridge Union-qualified directors lead sessions and run seminars or workshops twice a week to help players sharpen their skills. There are also friendly hosts who can make up a table as needed. Solo travellers are catered for with a singles meeting at the start of the holiday, hosts to ensure that everyone has a partner and special singles rates available on each trip. Bridge Consultant Declan Treanor said: “We recognised a gap in the bridge holiday market for the flexibility of tailor-made holidays and are very excited to launch Fred. Bridge Holidays.” Every hotel we are using is one I have stayed at and know meets the needs of bridge players including those who may have mobility concerns.” Currently, Fred. Bridge Holidays are available in Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Madeira, Malta, Menorca, Poland, Portugal, Tunisia, Turkey and the UK. The first departure is on 26 September 2025 which is a seven- or 14-night stay at the four-star AluaSoul Menorca, with prices from £995 per person including all meals and drinks, Club Classic bridge programme with varied itinerary bridge programme and seminars. Fred. Holidays can also arrange flights if required.

  Fred. Holidays has announced the launch of Fred. Bridge Holidays, a brand new specialist programme aimed at the 300,000-plus bridge players in the UK who want to explore beautiful destinations, make new friends and enjoy a holiday where bridge is at the heart of the experience.   The programme has been developed in partnership with Declan Treanor, a consultant with years of experience of organising and hosting bridge holidays, with each itinerary being thoughtfully designed to deliver an unmatched experience for bridge enthusiasts, whether they are beginners or seasoned players.   Each holiday features tailor-made schedules designed around excursions and the weather. Daytime sessions offer the perfect balance of competitive play and free time to explore or unwind, while evening sessions include Masterpoints and prizes. ‍Every bridge session uses advanced Bridgemate electronic scoring, pre-dealt duplicate boards and detailed hand records, so guests can focus on enjoying the game.   English Bridge Union-qualified directors lead sessions and run engaging seminars or workshops twice a week to help players sharpen their skills in an informal and supportive environment. There are also friendly hosts who can make up a table as needed and introduce fellow travellers so that each holiday combines unique blend of challenge, companionship and relaxation.   Solo travellers are catered for with a singles meeting at the start of the holiday, hosts to ensure that everyone has a partner and special singles rates available for each trip.   Commenting on the launch, Bridge Consultant Declan Treanor said: “I am delighted to be working again with the Fred. Olsen Travel Group, having successfully collaborated with them in taking 100s of veterans to Normandy on Boudicca for the 75^th anniversary of D Day whilst chairman of Arena Travel. We both recognised a gap in the bridge holiday market for the flexibility of tailor-made holidays and are very excited to launch Fred. Bridge Holidays. Developing high quality bridge holidays has been my passion for many years and as a bridge player I know what works. Every hotel we are using is one I have stayed at and know meets the needs of bridge players including those who may have mobility concerns. We are starting with a full overseas holiday programme and will add UK destinations in the coming months. By being flexible on duration and having the only flight centre in this niche market, we offer a compelling level of service for the discerning bridge holidaymaker.”   Currently, Fred. Bridge Holidays are available in Croatia, Ireland, Italy, Madeira, Malta, Menorca, Poland, Portugal, Tunisia, Turkey and the UK.  The first departure is on 26^th September 2025 which is a seven- or 14-night stay at the four-star AluaSoul Menorca, with prices from £995 per person including all meals and drinks, Club Classic bridge programme with varied itinerary bridge programme and seminars, services of an EBU-qualified director and friendly bridge hosts, use of hotel wellness facilities, use of sports facilities at sister hotel and return airport transfers on main changeover days. Fred. Holidays can also arrange flights if required.

Fred. Holidays expects this year’s peaks period to be its most successful ever having started the month with a record week of trading and sales up 144%. The company also experienced its highest ever number of calls which were all answered within 90 seconds on average. Additionally, it had a run of best ever trading days ahead of Sunshine Saturday on 9, 10 and 11 January. It said 40% of bookings were for rail and tailor-made holidays and tours which Fred. Holidays attributes to the launch of its rail brochure. It also had the best week ever for cruise, accounting for over 60% of sales with 55% of these sales for Cruise & Stay packages. The top performing countries for sales were the US, Canada, Italy and Spain. Early indications for last week show that sales were up on a daily basis on the previous week with many initial agent enquiries now starting to convert. Tricia Birmingham, Fred. Holidays director of tour operations, said: “I’m delighted with how positively we have started the peaks season, with all areas of the business smashing their targets.” “I’m particularly pleased with how well cruise has performed. As we head towards our most successful peaks ever, I would like to thank our agent partners for their support.”

  Asian river cruise specialist Pandaw has announced details of an exciting new expedition on the Hooghly River that connects Kolkata with the Ganges. Commencing October 2025, the 18-stateroom Kalaw Pandaw will sail from Kolkata to Baranagar and back on India’s most sacred rivers. The adventure captures the essence of the real India: enchanting countryside, magnificent palaces, mystical temples and artisanal villages, not to mention very friendly folk and riverside communities.   The nine-night itinerary also includes two nights in Kolkata, allowing passengers to spend two full days sightseeing in the former capital of the Indian Raj. The city has a huge museum, 18th-century churches, temples, mosques and architectural splendours that reflect the Raj’s glory days. On the final day, passengers will enjoy a late disembarkation with full board catering as most international flights from India depart in the evening.   Fred. Holidays, Pandaw’s GSA in the UK, has packaged up this itinerary with regular departures between October 2025 and February 2026, and September 2026 and March 2027. Prices from 3,499 per person including return flights from London (regional flights available on request), overseas airport transfers and the nine-night cruise with all meals, excursions and activities plus a complimentary drinks package. Plus there is no single supplement for the first season.

Asia river cruise specialist Pandaw has unveiled details of a new expedition cruise on the Hooghly River that connects Kolkata with the Ganges in India. Commencing October 2025, the 18-stateroom Kalaw Pandaw will sail from Kolkata to Baranagar and back on India’s sacred rivers. The India river cruise explores the real India: the countryside, palaces, temples and artisanal villages and riverside communities. The nine-night itinerary also includes two nights in Kolkata, allowing passengers to spend two full days sightseeing in the former capital of the Indian Raj. The city has a huge museum, 18th-century churches, temples, mosques and more. On the final day, guests enjoy a late disembarkation with full board catering as most international flights from India depart in the evening. Fred. Holidays, Pandaw’s appointed GSA in the UK, has packaged up this itinerary with regular departures between October 2025 and February 2026, and September 2026 and March 2027. There is no single supplement for the first season.

  Fred. Holidays is predicting that this year’s peaks will be its most successful ever having started the month with a record week of trading and sales up 144% compared with the same week in 2024.  The company also experienced its highest ever number of calls which were all answered within 90 seconds on average. Other highlights include:  

• The best trading days in the run up to Sunshine Saturday  were 9^th, 10^th and 11^th
• 40% of bookings were for rail and tailor-made holidays and tours which Fred. Holidays attributes to the launch of its rail brochure as well as its recent re-brand.
• It was the best week ever for cruise which accounted for over 60% of sales with 55% of these sales for Cruise & Stay packages, 35% for river cruise and 10% for expedition.
• Top 10 performing countries for sales were: 1-USA;  2-Canada; 3-Italy; 4-Spain; 5-France; 6-India; 7-Germany; 8-Norway; 9-Portugal; 10-Iceland. These figures highlight Fred. Holidays’ European and tailormade worldwide expertise as well as the success of the operator’s new Canada & Alaska brochure which has received praise from both suppliers and agents.
• Early indications for last week show that sales were up on a daily basis on the previous week with many initial agent enquiries now starting to convert.
• Holidays is already seeing 50% growth in agents booking with them this year which comes on the back of a year when they saw a 100% increase in trade sales.
• Agents have been inspired by Fred. Holidays Re:imagine campaign which features a range of products based around the company’s top eight travel trends for 2025 including  immersive travel experiences combining luxury travel with ocean or river cruises.
• Agents are also loving Fred. Holidays new Re:ward incentive which provides them with the opportunity to earn up to £1,000 per booking before 28^th February 2025.

  Tricia Birmingham, Fred. Holidays director of tour operations, comments: “I’m delighted with how positively we have started the peaks season, with all areas of the business smashing their targets. I’m particularly pleased with how well cruise has performed, with agents starting to realise that we work with over 40 cruise partners and have a team of experts on hand who can provide a tailor-made service combining cruise with flights, rail, tours and land stays. As we head towards our most successful peaks ever I would like to thank our agent partners for their support and everyone at Fred. Holidays for all their hard work.”

Following extensive research, Fred. Holidays has unveiled a major rebrand. It showcases the company’s evolution and a move to redefine worldwide tailor-made travel.  As part of the timely rebrand ready for Peaks, Fred. Holidays has produced a 52-page guide entitled ‘Re:imagine.’ It introduces the new look and features eight travel trends that the company predicts will be big in 2025:   Re:wind - rail & sail Re:charge – wellbeing & wellness Re:connect – culture & multi-generational Re:act – last minute bookings Re:wild – nature destinations Re:invent – solo travel Re:fine – luxury travel Re:align – stargazing   Each section features a description of the trend accompanied by two sample packages. Tricia Birmingham, Fred. Holidays’ Director of Tour Operations, said: “Following research, we realised that our old branding didn’t resonate with customers or trade partners and that our offering was confusing.” The rebrand is not just about looking good, it is a declaration of our renewed vision - to be the go-to travel provider.” Every single itinerary is designed with this in mind to inspire customers to explore the world their way.” To celebrate the rebrand, and in alignment with the Re:imagine campaign, Fred. Holidays has introduced a brand new travel agent incentive scheme called Re:ward which provides agents with the opportunity to claim up to £1,000 per booking. Valid until 28 February 2025 and applicable to all new Fred. Holidays package bookings, the new incentive offers a range of One4All vouchers dependent on the value of the booking. £25 voucher for bookings up to £5,000 £35 voucher for bookings between £5,001 and £10,000 £50 voucher for bookings between £10,001 and £20,000 £100 voucher for bookings between £20,001 and £30,000 £150 voucher for bookings between £30,001 and £40,000 £200 voucher for bookings between £40,001 and £50,000 £250 voucher for bookings between £50,001 and £60,000 £300 voucher for bookings between  £60,001 and £70,000 £400 voucher for bookings between £70,001 and £80,000 £500 voucher for bookings between £80,001 and £90,000 £750 voucher for bookings between £90,001 and £100,000 £1,000 voucher for bookings of £100,001 and above Agents can claim their voucher via the agent portal by the end of the calendar month. Claims will be reconciled and the voucher dispatched 45 days after the end of month submission. To support agents during the peak booking period, Fred. Holidays will be operating extended opening hours throughout January and February 2025 at the Contact Centre. From Monday to Friday the opening hours will be 0900 - 2000 (previously 0900 - 1700) and on Saturdays it will be open from 0900 - 1800 (previously 0900 - 1700).

  Following a year of double-digit growth, Fred. Holidays has launched its brand new 2025-2026 Europe & Worldwide Rail Holidays brochure which has been designed to inspire and showcase a range of example rail holidays at-a-glance - from short budget breaks and luxury trains to grand tours and rail & sail. The 60-page A4 brochure features a sleek new design and includes two new offerings - the Caledonian Sleeper and La Dolce Vita Orient Express which is set to debut in 2025. Also included are some of Fred. Holidays’ best-selling classic tours, an extended range of key destination city breaks and budget rail trips, little-known off-the-beaten-track rail journeys, an expanded worldwide offering, some incredible high-end rail & sail packages and options to to extend, upgrade and customise any holiday.   Sitting alongside the new brochure is a six-page Expertly Crafted Rail Holiday Guide which provides an overview of Fred. Holidays’ rail product and some of the rail partners that they work with.   Sally Barlow, Rail Product Manager for Fred. Holidays, comments: “With a high percentage of our rail enquiries coming from pre-packaged examples, we decided to move away from the traditional text-heavy brochure and instead focus on maps, beautiful imagery and high-level tour details which will be far more useful for agents when guiding their customers. Fred. Holidays is uniquely placed in the market to be able to offer seemingly endless possibilities which can all be tailored to customers’ individual preferences. I’m confident that this new brochure will make it easier for agents to understand exactly what we offer and, with the assistance of our team of experts, help them sell our products.”   The brochure is divided into six sections with highlights as follows:   Budget Breaks

• Introducing the Caledonian Sleeper with a four-night Edinburgh & the Highlands via Caledonian Sleeper tour – from £799 per person
• Two-night city breaks to Paris and Amsterdam (top sellers for Fred. Holidays) – from £359 per person
• Five-night Vienna by Sleeper Train - from £999 per person

Grand Tours

• The 11-night Slovenia & Croatia Grand Tour remains a top-seller – from £1,799 per person
• A nine-night semi-escorted Bella Italia: Venice, Florence, Rome & Sorrento tour – prices from £2,849 per person

Scenic Trains

• Holidays’ best-selling nine-night Lake Garda via the Bernina Express tour – from £1,599 per person
• The excellent-value seven-night Swiss Lakes & Mountains tour featuring the GoldenPass and the Jungfraujoch – from £1,649 per person

Off The Beaten Track

• A six-night Cote d’Azur via La Ligne des Cévennes tour – unique to Fred. Holidays. La Ligne des Cévennes is a delightful scenic line skirting four national parks in France – from £999 per person.

Luxury Trains

• Holidays offers the choice between the pure vintage charm of the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express or the sleek modern comfort of La Dolce Vita Orient Express
• Four-night Venice & the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express tour – from £4,199 per person
• Three-night Rome & La Dolce Vita Orient Express Tuscan Vineyards tour – from £3,899 per person

Worldwide

• An expanded offering particular in Asia
• Eight-night Eastern & Oriental Express Wild Malaysia – from £4,999 per person
• Nine-night India’s Golden Triangle by Rail & Tigers of Ranthambhore – from £2,699 per person
• 21-night Grand Tour of Japan by Rail – from £9,999 per person

Rail & Sail

• Nine-night No-Fly Corsica by Rail & Sea – from £1,999 per person
• 10-night No-Fly Mallorca by Rail & Sea – from £1,899 per person
• Expanded worldwide offerings

  To order a copy of the new brochure, agents should visit the Fred. Holidays agent portal - https://www.agentfred.co.uk/   A digital version of the brochure is available here

  Following a re-focus on their approach to sales as GSA for Pandaw, Fred. Holidays have announced that Joseph Grimley has been appointed head of sales for the expedition river cruise brand. This new appointment will allow Fred. Holidays to focus on driving business forward and raising awareness of the Pandaw  brand and product, both in the trade and with consumers.   Grimley joined Fred. Holidays as a Business Development Manager back in February 2024 and, in his new role, will remain part of the Fred. Holidays team while focusing on the Pandaw brand.   Grimley comments: “Since joining Fred. Holidays at the beginning of 2024 I have been really taken with the Pandaw story, it’s products and the brand. When this opportunity arose I immediately threw my hat into the ring and am absolutely delighted to be taking on this new role. Pandaw is a unique company and, over the coming weeks, I will be formulating a sales strategy aimed at raising awareness of the brand and equipping agents with the knowledge and tools to sell it to their customers. I’m looking forward to introducing agents to the wonderful world of Pandaw and to working with them to support any sales and marketing initiatives, as well as enhancing existing relationships and fostering new ones.   Paul Strachan, owner of Pandaw, adds: “" We are delighted to welcome Joseph on board at Pandaw. The UK remains our largest and most important market share and, with Joseph's energy and experience, we look forward to bringing the Pandaw experience to a broader market as we grow with new ships and routes planned over the next two years."

Fred. Holidays has appointed Joseph Grimley head of sales for specialist Asia river cruise brand Pandaw. This new appointment will allow Pandaw’s UK GSA Fred. Holidays to focus on driving business forward and raising public and travel trade awareness of the Pandaw brand and product. Grimley joined Fred. Holidays as a Business Development Manager earlier this year and, in his new role, will remain part of the Fred. Holidays team while focusing on the Pandaw brand. “Since joining Fred. Holidays I have been really taken with the Pandaw story, it’s products and the brand. I am absolutely delighted to be taking on this new role,” Grimley said. “Over the coming weeks, I will be formulating a sales strategy aimed at raising awareness of the brand and equipping travel agents with the knowledge and tools to sell it.” Paul Strachan, owner of Pandaw, added: “We are delighted to welcome Joseph on board at Pandaw. The UK remains our largest and most important market share and we look forward to bringing the Pandaw experience to a broader market."