Capturing the youth niche requires more than just making motorcoach
travel “cool,” but that’s exactly what Contiki Holidays has done.
Contiki has put more 18- to-35-year-olds on motorcoaches than
any other U.S. tour operator, with about 100,000 young travelers
going to Europe, Australia, New Zealand and North America every
year.
The Anaheim-based company’s tours, which range from budget
itineraries for first-time travelers, to 48-day “ultimate Europe”
vacations, have even been featured on MTV’s “Real World” reality
program.
Still, Lisa Wooldridge, Contiki’s sales and marketing director,
often finds herself trying to convince agents there is a youth
niche.
But Contiki’s success proves that younger travelers are looking
for travel products designed to meet their specific needs.
Young people often travel in groups, for example, and Contiki
offers quad-share accommodations, or same-sex roommate matching to
save on single supplement fees.
Young travelers don’t just sightsee. Contiki’s excursions
include everything from bridge climbing in Sydney to snowboarding
in Austria.
And, of course, Contiki’s motorcoaches, with young drivers and
tour managers, are equipped with stereos.
In troubled times, it makes sense to focus on the youth market,
which tends to be more resilient, added Wooldridge.
“Things like 9/11 and war don’t affect the youth market,” she
said. “They travel anyway.”
Consumers can book directly with Contiki, but agents are the
company’s “bread and butter,” said Wooldridge.
So this month, Contiki is launching an affiliate program for
agents to access Contiki’s booking engine, allowing agents to use
live inventory on their own branded Web sites.
Commissions start at 10 percent, but Contiki pays on both land
and air. In addition, Contiki has developed a free manual that aims
to convince agents that the youth market is a niche worth
pursuing.
The manual is available via Contiki’s Website (www.contiki.com)
in the travel agent section.
Some highlights of the youth niche market:
" One of every three people in the U.S. falls in the
18-to-35-age range;
" One in three travelers to Europe are 18-39;
" In 2001, 20 percent of international travelers were in the
youth category; that is expected to increase to 25 percent by 2005,
according to the World Tourism Organization.
Though the target range is 18-to-35, Contiki breaks the youth
market into two categories: 18- to 24-year-olds and 25- to 35-year
olds.
The younger group, typically students, may be looking for budget
travel, but sometimes the parents are buying. Many are first-time
voyagers who want to see as many countries as they can.
The older group includes young professionals with more money,
but less time. They want to spend more time in one destination.
In fact, growth in the young professional category has brought
Contiki into the resort business.
Last year Contiki joined with Accor Asia Pacific to operate the
Great Keppel Island Resort off the coast of Australia. The
all-inclusive resort can be booked as a stand-alone vacation or in
conjunction with a tour.
The resort has been such a success, Contiki this month announced
plans to operate a second resort on the Greek island of
Mykonos.
Formerly the Aphrodite Beach Hotel on the Kalafatis bay, the
property will open as a Contiki resort in May 2004 with the same
concept as Great Keppel Island. Eventually, company officials hope
to develop a network of youth resorts.
Ultimately, one of Contiki’s biggest selling points is that
clients will know they are traveling with others in their own age
range.
Those ages 36 and older will be referred to one of Contiki’s
sister brands, such as Trafalgar or Insight Vacations. The brands
are among 12 owned by Bermuda-based The Travel Corp.
Said Wooldridge: “At the end of the day, the goal is to get more
young people to travel.”
