on my mind ❖
jeff gayduk
Vol. 20, No. 6 December 2010 Editorial & Advertising Office
Reach New Heights THE COVER OF THIS MONTH’S edition is indicative of the mood in the travel industry. Most tourism-related businesses saw sales and occupancy levels rise – not like that of a rocket or airplane, but more like a hot air balloon, with a steady incline to a point where it’s hovering above the ground.
minute – focus on your core group of travelers and realize they’re much more concerned about their investments than jobs or home values. 4. New experiences await. As travel has been put on hold, new development hasn’t stopped. Tourism infrastructure has been enhanced with new attractions, additions
The group travel industry will experience a solid year of growth in 2011. As we close the door on 2010 and usher in 2011, here are five reasons I believe the group travel industry is headed towards recovery. 1. Group tours aren’t as lame as “we” once thought. For years the industry has tried to distance itself from the “group tour” stigma by using alternate names, like packaged travel instead of group travel, or motorcoach instead of bus. Guess what? In a recent study by the Globus family of brands of new customers, they discovered why people took tours – because they WERE tours. So, ditch the reference to “land cruise” and call a spade a spade – if you’re selling groups trips, it’s best to tell your prospective customers that. 2. Travel is reasonable. Occupancy levels are on the rise, but rates remain stable. Hotels are benefiting from more travelers, but counter to previous recoveries, they are keeping rates in check, which benefits tour operators. 3. As goes the stock market, so goes the group travel industry. Like it or not, the Dow Jones industrial average is a barometer to how people feel about the economy. Forget about deflated home prices and unemployment figures for a 4 December 2010
and program refinements. Magnificent new cruise ships have been launched. Haven’t been to Branson in a few years there’s a new Sight & Sound Theatre that’s waiting for your group. 5. There’s less competition for consumer marketing dollars. Coming out of this recession, consumers are more frugal. They’re holding onto their cars longer, not buying a new wardrobe every season, eating out as much or “flipping” homes. This drastic reduction in consumer spending means more is left over for travel, which studies show is considered a necessity with more and more Americans, not a luxury. As far as the overall economy is concerned, we’re not out of the woods yet. But I believe the group travel industry will experience a solid year of growth in 2011, led by innovative, forward thinkers who understand they can make their own economy with determination, innovation and hard work. Here’s to next year!
621 Plainfield Road, Suite 406 Willowbrook, IL 60527 P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652 info@ptmgroups.com
Publisher – Jeffrey Gayduk jeff@ptmgroups.com
Managing Editor – Randy Mink randy@ptmgroups.com Senior Editor – John Kloster john@ptmgroups.com
Senior Editor – Elana Andersen elana@ptmgroups.com
Senior Editor – Dave Bodle dave@ptmgroups.com
Director, Design & Production – Robert Wyszkowski rob@ptmgroups.com
Regional Sales Managers Illinois – Jim McCurdy
P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652 jim@ptmgroups.com
Northeast & Eastern Midwest/Canada – Amy Janssens P 630.294.0318 • F 630.794.0652 amy@ptmgroups.com
Mid Atlantic – Ellen Klesta
P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652 ellen@ptmgroups.com
Southeast/West Coast – Cheryl Rash
P 563.613.3068 • F 815.225.5274 cheryl@ptmgroups.com
Southern – Dolores Ridout P/F 281.762.9546 dolores@ptmgroups.com Florida & Caribbean – Prof Inc. P 813.286.8299 • F 813.287.0651 jimg@ptmgroups.com West/Midwest/Online sales
Theresa O’Rourke P 630.794.0696 • F 630.794.0652 theresa@ptmgroups.com The publisher accepts unsolicited editorial matter, as well as advertising, but assumes no responsibility for statements made by advertisers or contributors. Every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information published, but the publisher makes no warranty that listings are free of error. The publisher is not responsible for the return of unsolicited photos, slides or manuscripts.
Leisure Group Travel (ISSN-1531-1406) is published bi-monthly by Premier Tourism Marketing, Inc. 621 Plainfield Road, Suite 406, Willowbrook, IL 60527. The magazine is distributed free of charge to qualified tour operators, travel agents, group leaders, bank travel clubs and other travel organizations. Other travel-related suppliers may subscribe at the reduced rate of $12.00 per year. The regular subscription price for all others is $18.00 per year. Single copies are $4.95 each.
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