escorted touring
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and on a coach trip you meet fellow travellers and make new friends you wouldn’t do if travelling independently. Escorted touring is an easy way to experience a destination, with everything taken care of, and it’s an easy, efficient and fun way to travel.”
New horizons Escorted tours are now available to virtually every corner of the globe and more adventurous tours or ones catering to special interests are attracting younger clients and more active clients and giving agents a wider market to sell to. Mark Henderson, Senior Product & Commercial Manager - Touring, Travel 2, said key areas of expansion include New Zealand, which is hosting the British Lions rugby tour this year, North America, India, Asia and South America. Other milestone events this year include the 70th anniversary of India’s independence. “We alsoavnticipate growth in destinations that have recently seen restrictions soften such as Burma and Cuba,” he added. “We also expect core destinations such as Canada and Australia to perform well, and have increased the product offering in both by adding new tours.” For clients that want to let the train take the strain, there is a notable increase in escorted rail tours for 2017. Alex Roberts, Group Marketing and Sales Director of Rail Discoveries, said: “The sociable atmosphere of an escorted group tour with Great Rail Journeys is perfect for people who want to take the stress out of travelling. They are able to be as involved or as independent as they want, knowing that all the logistics and problem solving is in the competent hands of our experienced tour managers.” Peter Liney, CEO of sister company Great Rail Journeys, added: “The tour manager helps the group to bond by finding out common interests and sharing insider knowledge of the destination.” Escorted tours are an excellent option for solo travellers and Cosmos Tours caters for the
Main picture: Escorted touring still offers opportunities for independent exploration. This page, clockwise from top left: pizza in Venice with Shearings; the Taj Mahal, India, and Great Wall of China - big destinations for escorted touring; Rome
market with a wide range of single rooms with no supplement in destinations including Croatia, Northern Cyprus and Morocco. It is also one of few operators to offer ‘single share’, the option of sharing a room with another single traveller at the normal price of a twin share. If there is no other person to share with, the client enjoys a single room at no extra cost. Keesia Samuels, Product & Commercial Manager, said: “Single travellers can enjoy exploring a destination with the reassurance of being part of a group. Customers have told us that our tour directors make the holiday and bring the destination to life. As they are on hand for the entire holiday, travellers benefit from their advice, knowledge and company.” Final word to Caroline Brown, Shearings Holidays’ Commercial Director, who said: “Take time to speak to your customers when they enquire about a holiday. Find out about their hobbies and interests and then use this knowledge to cross sell.” Whether it’s walking part of the Great Wall of China, cycling through France, the thrill of attending a major sporting event or taking a leisurely river cruise, rail or coach tour, when it comes to escorted itineraries there’s a wealth of opportunity to sell a trip that will enable your clients to travel in good company.
sellingtravel.co.uk
“Escorted coach tours offer an unforgettable holiday. Instead of a single destination you experience the many highlights of a particular country or region in a convenient way” SIMON EDWARDS, PRODUCT MANAGER EUROPE, TITAN TRAVEL