Adventure specialist G Adventures described how it has introduced tours in mainstream short-haul hotspots such as Ibiza and Corfu to enable its UK customers to experience these destinations in a new way.
Brian Young, managing director, EMEA, said in a session at WTM London that product was developed in line with where he expected airlift would recommence first.
“We knew the mainstream mass-market beach destinations would be the ones to open first, so we built our European product to go in tandem with where the airlift is going to go,” he explained.
G Adventures’ new product includes tours in in Ibiza, Corfu, Crete, Madeira and the Azores.
“Our customers are rediscovering that you don’t have to find adventure after a 15-hour flight,” said Young. “Ibiza for example is known for its music and beach bars and partying, but we can flip it and tell a very different story about Ibiza.”
He also described recent research by G Adventures that showed 94% of its customers see travel as being important to their wellbeing and mental health, and intended to travel next year as a form of rejuvenation.
Searches on the G Adventures website for “milestone travel” experiences such as climbing Kilimanjaro and Everest or doing the Inca Trail rocketed during lockdown, he reported, and had since translated into sales.
“There’s a real ‘seize the day’ mentality; our customers want to feel like they have something to show for their holiday,” he said.
