Smaller group tour trend satisfying for Tauck and travelers
Tauck’s small group departures with only 20-24 guests have been so successful that bookings have improved by more than 40% each year, says CEO Dan Mahar.
“Our small group bookings are growing faster than any destination or region, or any other segment of our business,” he said.
Regular departures on the same journeys have generally twice that many guests.
“Tauck has been increasing its small group business by adding additional dates to itineraries where it had already featured the small groups option, and by expanding the number of different Tauck trips on which small group departures are offered,” the company says.
For 2012, the company will operate over 230 small group departures spread among 46 different Tauck itineraries worldwide.
“Not only are small groups departures enjoying particularly rapid growth, their bookings are also trending slightly ahead of Tauck’s regular itineraries,” Tauck said.
What’s more, the small group trips are helping bring new customers to Tauck.
Newcomers to the trips average a higher percentage of first-time Tauck guests than the company’s standard departures.
In the three key metrics Tauck tracks (value, likelihood to travel with Tauck again, and overall experience), guests are consistently scoring the small group departures at or above the high marks already earned by regular departures of the same itineraries.
Along with the special departures featured on selected Tauck itineraries, the company is also serving the small group market with its collection of Culturious journeys. Launched in 2009, the Culturious trips feature smaller group sizes on every departure (averaging 16-20 travelers).
According to Mahar, this good news for Tauck is also good news for the company’s travel agents. Because small group bookings command a higher price (approximately 15% higher on average), they also generate higher commissions for the agents who book them.
By David Wilkening
David
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