Adventure travel is booming. In a recent survey almost three quarters of adventure operators reported increased bookings in 2013, while 61% of operators saw average customer expenditure increase.
A sector once regarded as niche is now becoming mainstream, says Niall Douglas, managing director at Full Circle Travel. “There’s a much wider choice [of trips and operators] now,” he says, adding: “It’s much more accessible for everyone.”
It’s a trend which Tropical Sky has seen the value of, having signed up to sell G Adventures tours three months ago. Director Chris Hawkins says: “People are getting more adventurous; they want exciting itineraries. Escorted tours and self-drive are nibbling away at the fly-and-flop market.”
Once considered the domain of the gap year student, these travellers are increasingly moneyed professionals looking to experience all the thrills of a gap year within the limits of their annual leave - creating a “micro adventure” packed with experiences.
“People are storing up their four to five-week holiday and cramming it together,” says Laurence Bresh, marketing director at STA Travel. “Sometimes they’re doing in four to five weeks what they might have done in four to five months.”
Sales and marketing manager at Imaginative Traveller, Lorna Archibald, agrees. “Working people seem to be saving up their annual leave - especially over Christmas time - to go away for four weeks and really make the most of their time off,” she explains.
“Gap year travellers tend to go for much longer than four weeks, so this does seem to be a working-people phenomenon.”
“People are doing in four to five weeks what they might have done in four to five months.”
G Adventures is seeing a similar trend, with trips lasting around the three week mark experiencing a big growth in demand. “Trips of 25 days or more are up 30% year-on-year,” says managing director John Warner. “That’s a huge increase.”
James Ingham, senior marketing manager at the Intrepid Group, reports that the company has had to increase the number of trips which last two weeks or longer to meet demand, and notes that one of its most popular trips, the Western USA Circuit, lasts 25 days.
Timing also points to the influence of working professionals. Tucan Travel reports that Easter and Christmas are its busiest periods, and marketing manager Jacqueline McPherson points out that these times of year allow employees to benefit from bank holidays, giving them maximum trip duration for minimum annual leave.
More flexible working practices are another contributing factor to the growth of the market. According to the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, up to 41% of employers now offer sabbaticals. Research by Hilton Worldwide incidates that 70% of UK professionals dream of taking one, with 10% already planning to do so this year.
While the Hilton research states that 38 is now believed to be the ideal time for a sabbatical, micro-adventures do not appear to be confined to a particular age bracket - the main thing customers have in common is that they are cash-rich and time-poor.
How can agents tap into the market?
Full Circle’s Douglas says it is often down to agents to spark interest in adventure travel. “You do get some customers coming in to do that [ask for adventure travel tours] but the majority you have to sell to,” he says. “Make suggestions.”
Douglas adds that holidaymakers who are undecided on where to head next are often easy to sway. “When we get someone that isn’t sure what they want to do, you can tempt them with a different style of holiday.”
To this end, agents must keep informed on the variety of trip types available - as well as costs and destination information - if they expect customers to trust their trip proposals, which often represent unfamiliar territory.
“It’s about having the confidence to sell a destination,” says Hawkins, who adds that destination knowledge is key.
For adventure travel in particular the opportunities are ample for agents to demonstrate they can still add value through their expertise, says Douglas. Trips are often multi-centre, and typically they involve exotic destinations. Agents can help their customers wade through the plethora of operators, as well as offer advice and assist with administrative details such as visas.
Ultimately, listening and careful customer profiling remain fundamental elements of the consultation process, Douglas warns. “It’s not everyone’s cup of tea,” he says. “Start by asking questions.”
He adds that managing expectations is a pivotal part of adventure travel sales. “You’ve got to make people aware it might not be the most comfortable trip,” he says. “It’s very important to profile them and make sure they’re not expecting too much from it.”
Who to sell to
Solo travellers
Tropical Sky’s Chris Hawkins says that escorted adventure travel tours are ideal for the solo traveller, who might otherwise have been too nervous to go it alone. “It’s very difficult and daunting for a single traveller,” he says, adding that such trips also provide lone travellers with a great opportunity to meet like-minded individuals.
Empty nesters
Empty nesters are a ripe demographic, according to G Adventures’ Warner. He says that members of this group may have missed out on a gap year because they were too busy bringing up a family, while others who did spend time abroad may want to relive the experiences they had. “The older traveller is just as keen to take part in our trips [as young people],” Warner says. “It’s an area of huge growth for us.”
Families
For Full Circle’s Douglas it’s demand from families that has skyrocketed in the adventure travel arena. “In the family market we’ve seen a big increase - people are seeing it’s really educational and useful for their kids.” He adds: “If you ask every member of a family what they want from a holiday, chances are they don’t all want to go to the beach.”
