How will you manage the divide in expectations and needs between the Boomer / traditional travelers and their younger counterparts within your company's offerings and operations?

18 April 2013
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imageJorge Pérez of Tierra del Volcan


“What we do in Tierra del Volcan, is to have options for the different kind of clients and their different needs. We offer tailor-made tours, all-inclusive packages or do-it-yourself opportunities.”

imageAlexandra Greenwood, Head of Sales of HF Holidays Ltd.


“Well, that’s the next challenge we’re working on....I think that there’ll always be a role for international companies to send groups of like-minded travellers overseas, however, we’ll have to continue to ensure that we work ethically with the local communities with real contributions made to local people and culture in the areas that groups visit.”

imageMaria Elena Price, Co-Owner of ExperiencePlus! Bicycle Tours


“We’ve worked (and are still working) to diversify our services and types of tours so that they can satisfy a broad range of clients. We are looking to find new ways to help people create bespoke adventures by bike in Europe and South America where we already have solid local knowledge and expertise. Whether it is someone organizing one trip with a group of friends or a company that has never offered cycling trips looking for on-the-ground support. Ultimately, we had to look at what our core strengths were – providing bicycle travel services to a wide range of customers - and then think about how that core strength can cater to the changing demographics. It is all still a work in progress! We hope that by keeping our ears open we continue to learn what our travelers want.”

imageRobin Weber Pollak, President of JOURNEYS International


“We actually see three distinct markets that we need to serve: boomers, families with kids, and the ‘next generation.’ There is definitely a challenge in maintaining relevance for these very different audiences, which requires essentially three different communication plans with minimal overlap. At the same time, I believe that refining the ways in which we educate the next generation about the value of using a company like us will help us make a better case to boomers as well.”

 
imageManfred Häupl, of Germany's Hauser Exkursionen


“We will develop and define different lines to fulfill the different type of traveler. We have three parameters to follow: soft adventure to hard adventure; low price to high-end pricing; group to individual.”

imageJames Thornton, Managing Director of Intrepid Travel


“Intrepid currently has different travel styles to meet different budget levels and expectations in comfort. Currently we service our different customers via Basix, Original and Comfort styles. We also have a number of different themes like Family, Food, Marine, Walking, etc. Finally we offer different levels of physical and cultural activity. We often find our groups are a mixture of age ranges but they all have the same spirit of curiosity.”

imageGert Nieuwboer, CEO of SNP Natuurreizen


“In my opinion the differences between the Boomer generation and the new generation are mainly in how we present our trips and adventures, more than in the actual experience itself. Also the new generation wants to experience nature, be active, encounter local people, learn about a country and its traditions, etc. It’s the formula in which they want to travel that makes great differences. That’s why I think we will have to provide for both target groups and therefore diversify our operations and offerings.”

imageJimena Barrera, Americas Division Manager at Condor Travel


“Creating different brands and training our sales and operations staff in different types of travelers. Condor Travel has embarked on a project specifically to attend them all! We have recently launched two new brands: Infinity by Condor Travel and Liv by Condor Travel. We did not create programs, but created daily excursions/experiences for each... that way people can combine as they want! We are aware that global education is the future for the next generation’s workforce, and providing multi-generational travelling is the way to achieve it.”

imageDan Austin, Director of Austin-Lehman Adventures


 

“We simply continue to focus on what we do and try and not chase the concept of all things to all people. We focus on active travel with an adventurous spirit. There are enough tour operators out there that with a bit of effort each and every traveler should be able to find the perfect fit…”

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