A luxury travel brand known for offering long-haul breaks to locations such as the Maldives, Mauritius, Thailand and the Caribbean is now offering trips to Wales.
Kuoni has teamed up with tour operator McKinlay Kidd, selling holidays to destinations within the UK and Ireland.
Some of the holiday locations it will be offering trips to in Wales include Gower and Llandudno.
The company believes this will appeal to anyone who might be disappointed they won’t be able to enjoy their much-needed overseas holiday this year, as uncertainty around travel plans continues.
And the news will be pleasing for businesses in Wales, where so many livelihoods depend on tourists visiting.
Lockdown restrictions have changed the face of holiday destinations in Wales. Locals once welcomed and relied on visits from out-of-towners, now the idea of tourists flocking to the area is enough to cause uneasiness, to say the least.
But for when lockdown rules allow it the travel company is offering an eight day road trip which includes stays in Crickhowell, Gower, St David’s & Betws-y-Coed.
There's also an eight day trip by rail through North Wales with accommodation in Llandudno, Betws-y-Coed and Portmeirion.
As well as this, travellers can enjoy a 14-night rail tour which begins in Llandudno and includes stays in Portmeirion, the Brecon Beacons, Cardiff, the Gower Peninsula, Penally and St. David’s.
Derek Jones, CEO of Kuoni, said: “We’re famed for planning special trips to beautiful places around the world but we think there are many equally stunning places to discover closer to home as well.
"The coronavirus crisis has played havoc with people’s travel plans so we wanted to create a collection of quality, premium trips throughout the UK and Ireland which blend local culture, adventure and exploration with luxury style.”
“This is about working with like-minded specialists with similar values, and introducing more reasons for people to trust us with their special travel plans so we can broaden the scope of what we can offer.”
Heather McKinlay, co-founder of McKinlay Kidd said: “Our expertise for creating stunning holidays is a great match with Kuoni and we’re looking forward to working with them so more people are able to discover the beauty of their home country and close neighbours later this summer and beyond.”
“Lots of people know Kuoni for their beautiful beach escapes and we want to surprise people about what’s on their doorstop. On a sunny day, a beach in the Outer Hebrides can do a fantastic impression of the Caribbean, with white sand and turquoise waters.
“Some of the beaches are so vast, you will barely see another soul – you could say social distancing is the norm.
“Conservation and wildlife is another reason lots of Kuoni customers travel to places like Africa, India and Borneo. Around our own countries, wildlife abounds in rural and coastal areas – eagles, otters, seals, badgers, pine martens and more. You can even go whale-watching off the west of Ireland and from the Isle of Mull in Scotland.”
The Kuoni UK and Ireland collection, which is now on sale for holidays in 2020 and 2021, will be ready for travel once the lockdown is eased to allow such trips once more.
As the coronavirus pandemic is still an ongoing issue, the Foreign and Commonwealth has advised British residents to avoid all international travel, unless it is essential.
