Smaller Tour Groups Mean Bigger Opportunities for Agents

Group travel is booming, but, to paraphrase that Oldsmobile ad, it’s not your grandma’s group. Group tours of 40 grandmas on a bus meandering through the countryside have gone by the wayside, just as the Olds did.

Seniors still comprise the prime market for group tours, especially as growing numbers of Baby Boomers enter their senior years. But today’s seniors are traveling with their children, grandchildren and friends and choosing tours that focus on experiences.

They’re traveling in smaller groups too. As a result, the very definition of the “group” in group travel is changing.

Opening new markets
The way group tours are booked is changing too, as clients find new ways to customize trips to suit their interests and travel preferences. At the same time, group tours that cater to special interests are attracting younger people in growing numbers.

These trends are opening up new markets for tour operators and travel agents.

“You are rejuvenating the idea of group travel, because you are expanding clients’ concepts of group tours. It’s no longer a motorcoach filled with older people,” said Robert Brennan, a veteran tour operator who heads Seattle-based Canada a la Carte (CAC).

Trend toward small
Groups are now defined by 10 or more people, according to Brennan. This means agents no longer have to fill a 40-passenger motorcoach for each departure.

Even older customers aren’t interested in large-group motorcoach tours, noted Richard Genovese, vice president and chief marketing officer of YMT Vacations and Travcoa.

“There’s that whole ‘I don’t want to be on a bus with 40 other people’ and that is why there is the trend to smaller groups of 20 to 30,” Genovese said. He added that senior travelers still like the security, comfort and value provided by group tours.

Hedging their bets
While Baby Boomers and younger clients want to travel with family and friends, many still have negative preconceptions about group tours.

These clients prefer to hedge their bets by traveling with people they know, while still taking advantage of the price benefits of group travel, said Mike Schields, Globus’ managing director, groups and emerging markets.

As a result, Globus has seen its average group shrink from 20 people to 12 to 14, Schields said.

Modules, not for independents only
Another change in the group market is the fact that many smaller groups are booking packaged tour modules designed for individual travelers, allowing groups to customize their vacations without sacrificing the value provided by the operator’s buying power.

At Globus, group sales of its Monograms city packages, originally designed for independent travelers, are up 60% for the second year in a row, according to Schields.

At the same time, customization is “absolutely exploding” among Globus’ passengers, Schields said.

New opportunities for agents
For travel agents, the customization trend opens up possibilities for promoting group travel to niche markets in which they specialize, Schields said. That means going out into the community and telling people about your expertise and value-added services, he advised.

Brennan noted that using FIT modules to customize tours is empowering agents to market to a wide variety of groups.

And because of customization, agents and their clients are no longer limited by set itineraries and departures, he pointed out.

Family, friends & solo travelers
In terms of demographic niches, small group travel is ideal for families, including for reunions and special event celebrations, said Travcoa’s Genovese. He noted that the trend has been growing since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

“Families are scattered around the country, and travel is a great way to bring everyone together,” said Geneovese.

Another prime market for group travel consists of single women. Single women often make friends on tours and become a good source of repeat and referral business, Genovese said.

Creative programs
Tour firm executives noted the expanding possibilities in group travel for agents and their clients as a result of current trends.

“With the many niches, styles, travel categories and evolving tastes from Boomers, group travel is alive and well,” Schields said.
 
Brennan commented that when it comes to groups, travel agents and their tour operator partners “are only limited by our imaginations,” Brennan said.

“We are doing things now that we have never ever done before,” said Brennan. As an example, he cited a rail trip that Canada a la Carte put together for a group of bridge players who wanted to play cards while crossing Canada on Via Rail.

Whether it involves a group of bridge players, farm visits in Alberta or father-and-son golf tours, “you can design a vacation that is totally inclusive and set up activities to engage all the group members,” said Brennan.

Higher earnings too
At Insight Vacations, president Marc Kazlauskas said more travel agents are selling escorted tours to groups because they can make more money on them than on selling cruise groups. Customer satisfaction is as high or higher, he said.

But, Kazlauskas added, agents have to recommend the group tour option to clients – and recommend it with confidence.