Cox & Kings Expands European Journeys

Cox & Kings, the venerable luxury tour operator, has introduced three new itineraries in Europe as it continues to expand its portfolio on the Continent. The announcement was made at New York media event where Patrick Richards, president, said the company, founded in 1758, “invented experiential travel.”

The new Europe itineraries are: Switzerland & Snow-Capped Alps, an 11-night journey; Exploring Denmark & Sweden, a seven-night trip; and Royal Scotland, a seven-night “Luxury Small Group Journey.”

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The new trips follow up on a number of new programs announced earlier this year, including a Patagonia Motorcycle Journey; Croatia by Private Yacht; Iceland Luxury Glamping; and Armenia & Georgia: Past and Present.

Late last year the company introduced Luxury Small Group Journeys. Developed by the destination experts, these group departures offer the same exclusive access and quality service offered on individual bespoke tours, but with a small group of fellow travelers. Richards said the product is an effort to bring the Cox & Kings experience at a lower price point without losing the kind of access and local connections that differentiate the operator.

Richards said the company has done well with partnerships like with Azamara Club Cruises for pre- and post-cruise city tours. He said the average age for a Cox & Kings traveler is 55-60 but added, “We are doing an awful lot of multi-generational travel, which is very much in our wheelhouse.”

Jared Alster, vice president of marketing, told TravelPulse that the operator gets most of its business from travel agents. It recently began working with Axus which, he said, will help agents create itineraries and customize trips for clients. The operator runs agent incentives regularly including a recent one that offered a 20 percent commission for the new group journeys. It is also preferred with several agent consortia.

The Cox & Kings difference, said Richards, starts with the destination specialists in its headquarters offices who “live, drink and breathe travel” and whose knowledge is conveyed to travel advisors. Examples of the operator’s experiences in the new itineraries are a private sleigh ride in the Swiss Alps ending with diner at a small local restaurant; a yacht tour of the Stockholm archipelago in Sweden; and an 84-mile ride on the Jacobite steam train in Scotland.