Atas members showcase set-jetting, noctourism and destination dupes

Touring and adventure specialists have urged agents to take advantage of trends such as set-jetting, noctourism and destination dupes to boost sales.

 

Speaking at the conference of the Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (Atas), executives from Titan Travel, Hurtigruten and Regent Holidays shared tips with agents to help them capitalise on changing consumer tastes.

 

Shane Lewis-Riley, Titan Travel’s trade distribution director, said set-jetting – where holidays are inspired by films and TV shows – is a “really big opportunity” for the touring and adventure sector.

 

“More than half of travellers said that TV shows and movies inspire their travel plans,” he said, citing a survey.

 

Other stats included a 386% increase in availability searches for Four Seasons Maui saw after season one of The White Lotus, set in Hawaii; New Zealand saw a 40% increase in travellers, amid “the hobbit effect”; and there was a 155% increase in flight bookings from the UK to Paris, thanks to Emily in Paris.

 

“Look at Netflix and the trending programmes – start joining the conversation on social media, use the hashtags,” he advised delegates at the conference in Newport, Wales.

 

“Make sure your websites have a dedicated set-jetting slot and keep it regularly updated.

 

“Swap out words; instead of a seven-night deal in Sicily, why not use ‘live your White Lotus dream in Sicily’ instead?”

 

He also urged agents to keep an eye out for the next season of Race Across the World (RATW) and to download the SetJetters app to research movie locations.

The BBC has just announced the latest series of RATW will be a celebrity version, with contestants travelling through the Caribbean and Pacific coast of Central America.

 

Dave Chidley, UK account manager for Hurtigruten, said noctourism and astrotourism – to see dark sky reserves, the northern lights, eclipses, nocturnal wildlife and seas glowing with bioluminescence – is a beautiful and ‘Instagrammable’ way to see the world.

 

Andrea Godfrey, head of Regent, highlighted the benefits of off-the-beaten track locations and destination “dupes” or swaps.

 

The operator has pioneered tourism to the likes of Albania, Iceland, Greenland, North Korea, Chernobyl and Kosovo.

 

“Destination swaps are a brilliant way to uncover the unexpected,” she noted, suggesting swapping Mediterranean beaches for Nordic shores; Italian lakes for lakes Bled and Bohinj in Slovenia; the vineyards of Tuscany for the wineries of Moldova; and Hawaiian volcanoes for the geothermal wonders of the Azores.