Gold Medal has added Europe to its Pure Luxury brochure as it capitalises on increased demand for upmarket travel over the past few weeks.

The trade-only operator says luxury bookings have been its fastest growing sector since travel restrictions began lifting last month.

In September they were 66% higher compared to August – with Dubai, Barbados, Mauritius, and the Maldives performing most strongly – helping to ensure the final week of September was Gold Medal’s best period of trading since the start of the pandemic.

Nearly half (46%) of the luxury bookings taken were for departure in 2021.

The 224-page programme, which is the first Pure Luxury brochure since 2019, features five-star and higher graded hotels and introduces Europe as a standalone product for the first time.

Properties in Europe include the Royal River Luxury Hotel, Costa Adeje Tenerife (opened in July 2020), the sleek eco Hotel Aguas de Ibiza, Santa Eulalia on Ibiza’s southeast coast, the exclusive Lefay Resort & SPA Lago di Garda and Lefay Resort & SPA Dolomiti in Italy’s stunning lakes and mountains, and the Mykonos Blu Grecotel Boutique Resort, Psarous Beach in Greece.

Managing Director Lisa McAuley said: “It’s great that we’ve been able to put our new Pure Luxury brochure in the hands of agents just as we’re seeing a strong uptick in demand in luxury bookings.

“It’s very exciting to see the growth in demand for longer and more luxurious holidays, proof positive of a trend we’ve seen growing for some time now suggesting holiday-hungry consumers are desperate to make their next holiday extra-special and don’t want to wait until next year for it if possible.”

The programme is currently available on the Gold Medal website and printed copies will be out soon.