New Irish trips may be direction of tour travel future

The future shape of the tour industry was highly likely a “preview” trip by a handful of journalists who sampled the first of Brendan Vacation’s “Small Group Discoveries” in Ireland. So you may wonder: what’s the difference between what is now offered and this new product?
 

The simple answer: smaller groups (half the normal tour size). More upscale five-star lodging (think 15th century castles). The ability for visitors to spend more time seeing more “intimate” and local-resident-connecting sites.
 

“We still have our regular schedule of tours but these will be added on in April,” said Nico Zenner, Brendan’s president. He and Catherine Reilly, director of Brendan Ireland, accompanied a press group to promote the tour company’s new offerings. Zenner won’t say specifically what he has in mind for the future but if the Irish tours are successful, others will certainly follow a similar pattern.
 

The Irish setting is appropriate since the company, which now has over 800 packages to over 60 countries, started almost 40 years ago in that country. Brendan’s founder, Jimmy Murphy, was from Ireland. And though he sold the company a few years ago to The Travel Corporation, it’s still common to hear Irish accents from its employees who generally stayed on. The company has since grown into a global operator and among the best-known of the world’s tour operators offering a wide variety of escorted tours.
 

The new tours Zenner likes to describe as more “experiental,” which is a common word in travel these days and means more intimate and immersive.
 

It’s “increasingly what the market is asking for these days. Indeed, nearly all operators are responding to the demand in their own ways,” said David Cogswell, a press passenger on the preview trip who covers tours as executive editor of TravelPulse.com.
 

The three Brennan tours are “Castles and Manors” which includes a stop at Inishbofin Island, where a highlight is a ferry boat ride to a bird-rich and people-poor (current population: 200) island; the “Taste and Tales of Ireland” trip includes a visit to the Dromoland Castle, parts of which date back to the 15th century and where a highlight is a falconry demonstration; the “Castles, Lighthouses & Pots of Gold” excursion includes some traditional stops (the Blarney Castle, where visitors climb 108 steps to hang upside down to kiss the famous stone) and more non-traditional such as the Heritage Center in Cobh, which is where most emigrants used to depart when they left to set sail for America.
 

Prices range from US$1799 for a 9-day air and land trip to $2899 for an 11-day version.
 

What’s the difference on the new tours? Count them: several.
 

The usual size of Brendan’s larger tours is up to 48 people. But the new Small Group Discovery product will not have more than 24 people, making it a far more manageable group in various practical ways. Schedules are more leisurely with fewer “early wake up” calls. Groups are led by a driver/guide rather than a separate tour director and driver. While the prices may be higher than normal Brendan Tours, the buses are smaller and more luxurious. Smaller groups can also stay in more intimate properties such as B&B’s and castles (ala Dromoland).
 

Major traditional sites are not forgotten but Zenner says the smaller groups allow tour guests to stop at more out-of-the-way sites such as smaller pubs that visitors might not know about. Similar to more traditional tours, the trips also offer shopping at well-known traditional towns such as Galway City and time off to spend in a pub or café.
 

The trips are designed to be accessible to people who might not want to take more than a week off. ”Americans are more time-deprived than ever,” said Zenner.
 

Who else might the trips appeal to? Tourist who want less crowds, more flexibility and greater intimate connections with local residents during their travels.

Isn’t that just about everybody?
 

By David Wilkening