WHY IT RATES: Travel advisors can learn about these faith-based travel options through ETS' fam trip program. --Janeen Christoff, TravelPulse Managing Editor

Faith-based travel brand ETS announced its 2024 scheduled departures for Holy Land Catholic Pilgrimages and three all-new travel advisor familiarization trips to experience the Holy Land, Greece or Turkey on selected dates in 2023.

The company’s new Catholic Pilgrimages for 2024 include an 8-day travel program starting at $2898 w/airfare out of the NY area, and a 10-day option starting at $3298 w/airfare out of the NY area. In addition to reveling in faith-based sites, expert-led touring, faith-based education, and unique cultural experiences – Catholic pilgrims can celebrate Mass in venerated churches and sanctuaries like Church of St. John, Church of the Good Shepherd, Basilica of Annunciation, Chapel of the Primacy, and more. Scheduled departures are spaced out throughout the year and are now available for booking for 2024.

“With roughly 50 million Catholics in the USA and unprecedented demand for travel from this segment of the faith-based travel market, we are very pleased to unveil our brand of outstanding opportunities for travel advisors to add ETS Catholic Pilgrimages to their 2024 offerings,” said James Ridgway, CEO of ETS Tours.

“Beyond that, we are thrilled to support our travel advisor partners with new familiarization trip opportunities that help them learn firsthand how life-changing faith-based travel truly is and how they can best sell our amazing and high-loyalty-building travel experiences,” continued Ridgway.

With such rave advisor reviews on how beneficial ETS fam trips have been for them, the company has created even more of these valuable faith-based programs in a diverse range of destinations. The new 3nd and 4th quarter 2023 FAM’s ETS is introducing include:     

Holy Land FAM, July 10-17, $1199 Ground-Only: Holy Land is perhaps the ultimate pilgrimage travel destination, and this is the perfect opportunity that gives travel advisors a deep-dive into the magic of selling faith-based travel on this 7-day Holy Land journey that takes travel advisors to literally walk in the footsteps of Jesus. From Bethlehem, the City of David, and Jericho, to Galilee, Jerusalem, and the Dead Sea, the top sites of interest for faith-based travel await to create the moments of a lifetime. Adventurers will have a splendid view over the Old City of Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, visit the Garden of Gethsemane where the Gospels of the New Testament report that Jesus lived the agony in the garden, and stand on the Teaching Steps where Jesus himself preached 2,000 years ago. Further along, advisors will explore many sites of religious significance, including the Dome of the Rock, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher, and the Garden Tomb – thought to be the site of crucifixion, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

Greece FAM, November 7-14, $1998 including flights out of the NY area: Not only is Greece one of the hottest, in-demand travel destinations, this land of philosophers and dreamers is also an important pilgrimage destination, taking travelers to walk in the paths of Saint Paul the Apostle—from Philippi, and the modern port city of Kavala, to Thessaloniki, Delphi, Athens, Corinth, and beyond. Travelers will also visit the rock forest of Meteora in western Thessaly, where they can imagine the Apostle Paul walking that treacherous terrain on his missionary journey, then gaze up at the breathtaking Byzantine monasteries spectacularly perched on soaring, sheer-sided, grey sandstone pillars. Amazing moments await advisors at every turn.

Turkey FAM, November 13-20, $2150 including flights out of the NY area: Many may not necessarily think of Turkey as a first thought when considering a faith-based travel program, but the destination truly does have so much for Christian pilgrimage travelers to discover intermixed with outstanding opportunities to enjoy the country’s cultural heritage. Surrounded by the mystique of Istanbul, advisors will visit sites including Hagia Sophia the largest church in Christendom for 1000 years. In Cappadocia, known for its fantastic cone-shaped rock formations, cliff homes, and over 3,000 rock churches exist in the region – as well as key attractions that include Rock Chapels of Goreme, the Cave Village of Avcilar, and the Monastic Complex of Zelve. Further along, the journey takes them to Pamukkale with a stop in Pisidian Antioch, the site of Saint Paul’s first recorded speech and place where the first-ever fully Gentile Christian community was established. On from there Colossae, Ladodicea, and Ephesus – featuring one of the Churches of the Revelation, will captivate travelers chock-full of days brimming with experiences that will simply fascinate advisors.
     
Travel Advisors can learn more about ETS’ upcoming FAM trip by registering online to become an ETS Travel Advisor Partner at https://www.etstours.com/fams.

SOURCE: ETS press release.