CANCUN — ALG Vacations said its European operations will generate about $150 million in revenue this year, on its way to an ambitious goal of $500 million within three years.
The goal, announced at the company’s Ascend 2024 conference here, comes as ALG increasingly diversifies from its roots providing vacation packages to all-inclusive resorts within easy flying distance of the U.S.
“There was a time just three years ago where 100% of our hotels were in Mexico and the Caribbean,” ALG Vacations president Ray Snisky told about 1,300 advisors attending the weeklong event. “Now we have 40% of our hotels in Europe.”
Snisky said that in its first 18 months in Europe, more than 10,000 travel agents have made an ALG European booking.
Jacki Marks, global head of trade brands for ALG Vacations, said Italy, France and Greece remain the most popular destinations for North American clients in Europe but that secondary and lesser-known places were starting to gain traction.
“The areas I’m most excited about are Spain and Portugal,” said Marks, adding that TAP Air Portugal has added more flights to Portugal than any other carrier has to other European destinations, giving ALG’s resorts there more air capacity and lower prices.
Tours editor Tom Stieghorst spoke with Snisky at the Ascend 2024 conference about what’s new for 2025.
Snisky added that Portugal’s tourism board had stepped up its promotions, even as some other national tourism agencies have been cutting back.
Marks said she’s continuing to educate agents about City & Sea, an ALG program that combines a couple of days of urban sightseeing with a couple of days of relaxation at one of the company’s all-inclusives.
“I think there’s a stigma that you go to Europe and you walk 12,000 steps a day and you see a bunch of churches, and for some that’s not what they want to do,” she said.
Marks said reframing the experience has expanded ALG’s customer base for Europe. “Those that maybe didn’t consider going to Europe are now considering it.”
A TAP Air Portugal Airbus A330. ALG says the airline’s expansion in Portugal gives its resorts in the destination more air capacity and lower prices. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Tap Air Portugal
Room for improvement
Snisky said that two areas ALG will be focused on improving in 2025 are rail connections and multicity itineraries.
Trying to make a seamless connection for agents to the varied European rail networks has been frustrating, Snisky said, due to the antiquated technologies used by legacy rail systems and the complexity of fare rules. “I wasn’t selling travel in 1972, but I imagine this is what it was like,” he said.
And travelers to Europe tend to seek more multidestination trips, he said, posing a challenge for a company whose longtime model has been roundtrip flights to all-inclusive resorts.
ALG is trying to add more inter-European flights to their booking engine to make it easier for advisors and travelers to build multicity itineraries.
ALG’s 2022 acquisition by Hyatt Hotels has also opened new opportunities for multidestination trips.
“Historically, the owner base for our hotels was wealthy Mexican and Dominican families, and one of the great benefits of being part of Hyatt is we now have this institutional ownership where we have portfolio deals like Lindner Hotels in Germany,” Snisky said.
In 2022, Hyatt and Dusseldorf-based Lindner entered into an exclusive collaboration agreement to add approximately 30 hotels across seven European countries. Many are now available under ALG Vacation programs.
