THEMED holidays in the US represent one of the fastest-growing products in the States, and the market has come a long way since the introduction of fall foliage tours in New England.
Operators now offer a range of packaged itineraries including soft adventure, bear trails, whale watching, wineries, history and culture and sports.
But one of the most popular themes to catch the imagination of the UK market over the past few years is music – with its roots firmly planted in the southern states.
Product revolves around Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, plus Texas further west and Missouri in the midwest, the so-called music corridor of the US.
Lovers of jazz, rhythm and blues, country and western, folk music, ragtime and rock, among others, are now all well catered for.
Established favourites such as New Orleans in Louisiana and Nashville and Memphis in Tennessee are being included in many new self-drive itineraries this year, as well as music-themed coach tours.
There is also a wider range of independent hotel stays in the top music cities and surrounding areas. Thomas Cook Holidays has introduced a 10-day American Rhythms flydrive to its Signature programme this year that includes New Orleans and the two Tennessee cities.
Prices start at £739 in April and include flights, accommodation and car, based on two sharing. The two nights in Nashville are at Shoney’s Inn in Music Valley.
USA product manager Matt Hill said: “New Orleans is our top-selling city in the southern states. People stay three to four nights on average and are attracted by the jazz and the Louisiana plantation homes. Usually they combine it with Nashville and Memphis, or twin it with Florida.”
British Airways Holidays has got into the act for 2000 by introducing Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee hotel stays from £27 per person and a 15-day self-drive tour from £839 including BA flights into Atlanta.
Missouri’s musical connections are being promoted by Getaway Vacations with a 10-day self-drive land-only tour between St Louis and Memphis from £414.
Called Missouri’s Music Corridor, it includes stays in St Louis for blues, Branson for its famed stage shows and Memphis, the birthplace of rock and roll.
Managing director Roy Myhill said: “St Louis in Missouri has an extensive musical culture, combines well with Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans, and is ideal for the buff wanting to experience all the contrasting styles.”
He added: “We have constructed our flydrive programmes to take account of the growing popularity of such music theme itineraries.”
Funway Holidays has added a seven-day basic Jambalaya Jive self-drive tour to its musical-themed itineraries, taking in New Orleans and Lafayette in Louisiana and Natchez in Mississippi. The land-only product costs from £215 per person on a twinshare basis, from June through to the end of August.
The operator has also expanded its range of hotels in Louisiana and Tennessee, including the new Heartbreak Hotel in Memphis, opposite Elvis Presley’s Graceland Mansion. A twin room costs £32 per person.
Funway managing director Stephen Hughes said: “New Orleans is a melting pot of not only cultures but also of musical tastes.
“A lot of people are surprised at the range of music to be found there – it is not just restricted to traditional jazz; it’s a crossover between country music and jazz. Between Memphis through to Vicksburg in Mississippi, and from New Orleans to Montgomery in Alabama, you can literally cross every musical boundary that exists.”
He added: “The overlying theme of the South is its music connections, and it is an area that is attracting more attention from repeat customers to the US.”
Latest itineraries
Kuoni: five-night stays in both Memphis and Nashville have been added to Kuoni’s New Orleans selection. Lead price is £365 in Nashville including Continental Airlines flights from Gatwick.
Jetsave: Southern Railroad Rhythms escorted tour from £1,199 for 14 days, including flights, accommodation and excursions. Takes in Kansas City and St Louis in Missouri; Memphis and Chattanooga in Tennessee, Atlanta and New Orleans. Dinner jazz cruise on the Mississippi River costs £24.
Cosmos: a 14-day Dixieland and Rhythms escorted tour itinerary is from £1,029 including flights. It also includes a visit to Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame, reserved seating at the Grand Ole Opry show, music gala in Branson, Missouri, and tour of Graceland in Memphis. Two-night add-on stays in New Orleans cost from £89.
Delta Vacations: expanded Southern section with Mississippi featured for the first time. Nightly room rates at the Monmouth Plantation, one of two hotels in Natchez, Mississippi, are from £117, on a twinshare basis.