As travel resumes and consumer confidence grows, The Travel Corporation (TTC)’s Groups Division has recently experienced a surge of enquiry, leading to some new trend discoveries.
The Travel Corporation (TTC)’s Groups Division has recently experienced a surge of enquiry, as overseas travel plans progress from dream to reality.
The team says they are keen to share key insights and opportunities with agent partners to inform and inspire their international group activity.
Here, a few new trends that the TTC Groups team have recently observed…
New and popular group types and requirements
Group itineraries seem to be concentrating on a single country, where previously multi-country options were more common.
Nordic countries, Canada and the UK are currently very popular destinations.
Extended family groups and ‘reunion’ type trips are trending too.
“A great example is a meet-in-the-middle Sri Lanka itinerary for April 2022, where families are coming from UK and Australia to reunite after two years apart,” says Adventure World Travel’s Head of Groups, Ange Mount.
Demand for conscious travel experiences that offer authentic interaction and have a positive social and/or environmental impact on host communities are also in demand.
TTC’s Make Travel Matter Experiences are being included in more and more custom itineraries.
Travel Advisors hosting their own group departure has become an even more powerful USP, giving clients that extra peace of mind during their travels.
Emerging enquiry and distribution patterns
Clubs and Lifestyle Villages are offering strong potential for Groups business.
Uniworld River Cruises are experiencing a popularity spike in Golf affinity groups with golf club visits arranged at various ports.
More generally the appeal of travelling in a connected social group has never been stronger.
TTC also reports there are new emerging group agents, with the majority of enquiries coming from non-traditional partners.
“For first-time group agents, we are here to demystify international groups, provide guidance across all arrangements, guaranteed pricing in local currency and ongoing logistical support,” says TTC Head of Groups, Robyn Brown.
There is also proof of strategic collaboration to achieve maximum group numbers, with multiple agents promoting and selling into one group departure. #TogetherinTravel.
What group trends have you seen since the #ArrivalRevival? Let us know, email editor@karryon.com.au.
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