Collette, which also sells small group tours, city breaks and river cruising alongside classic escorted touring itineraries, has operated in the UK for 18 years but never hosted a fam trip.

“Travel agents are our biggest audience and we are trying to do more for them, and to really build those relationships,” said head of marketing Michelle Laverick.

“There are some widespread perceptions about the touring sector that we hope to challenge by enabling agents to experience our product for themselves,” she added.

Fourteen agents will be taken on Collette’s eight-day Christmas on the Danube river cruise with Lueftner, departing from Frankfurt on November 27, including visits to the cities and Christmas markets of Rothenburg, Nuremberg, Regensberg, Passau and Vienna.

This Danube itinerary is one of five river cruise products that Collette features in Europe, along with Yangtze river cruising in China. Overall, Collette has 65 tours in the UK and Europe, and 130 around the world.

“River cruising is still fairly new for Collette and agents might not realise we sell it, but the feedback we’ve had has been immense,” said Laverick. “On this fam trip, agents will cruise alongside Collette clients and experience our tour guiding.”