Ever since Cliff Richard pulled on his first pair of brothel creepers, youth marketing in the UK has been growing increasingly sophisticated. Get it wrong and a 250,000-strong market can be lost overnight.
Bearing this in mind, brand leaders such as JMC’s Club 18-30, Airtours Escapades, Thomson Freestyle and 2wenties from First Choice are slogging it out to win over that highly fickle demographic: young people.
A quick look at the brochures confirms that all of the majors are trying hard to be hip, with everything from adverts to in jokes designed to help attract the 20-something crowd.
And with young people travelling more often now than ever before, operators have responded by making their product more sophisticated.
2wenties product director Kyle Haughton said: “Clients are far more demanding now than they ever were, and often have a larger disposable income. Our in-resort events have to reflect this. A day out at the beach for example may no longer be enough, so we go to the water park instead.
“We’ve also noticed a significant increase in clients upgrading their accommodation, which is encouraging,” he added.
Though the clubbing market is still the major focus of all the operators’ brochures, and the fun-in-the-sun formula has not changed, youth products are now being sold with a different spin.
JMC’s Club 18-30 has introduced an all-inclusive style product on a trial basis at two of its resorts in Tenerife and Rhodes.
Dubbed ‘The Works’, the brochure says it is aimed at those who want “the best of everything”. The Xanadu in Tenerife leads in at £229.
General manager Andy Tidy said: “Our research has shown that a lot of Club 18-30 clients have experienced all-inclusives before with their parents, and loved the concept but hated the product. We’ve tailored it away from the family market and given people what they want, such as a fridge full of beer and snacks on arrival and a full English breakfast every day until midday.”
Other goodies include free mosquito plugs in every room, gym access and one free barbecue with unlimited food and drink.
Similarly, Thomson’s Club Freestyle has introduced two Hot-Spots in Ibiza and one in Magaluf which offer guests late breakfasts, a free bottle of spirits on arrival, as well as an all-inclusive drinks option. However, Freestyle brand manager Richard Storton doubts the concept can be stretched much further.
“Freestyle clients don’t want to stay in the resorts – they want to get out to the local bars and clubs and all-inclusives don’t cater for that,” he said.
Though 1999 was reportedly a strong year for all of the operators, changes are necessary if youth brands are to continue to flourish.
Airtours director of sales, marketing and development, Ed Sims, noted that from an industry point of view, an increase in booking lead times would be desirable. To go some way towards this, Airtours brought its 2000 brochure launch forward September, with a second edition in December.
2wenties’ Haughton said the season itself also needs to be longer.
“I don’t know why the market is so centred on July and August, especially when the weather is still good later on and prices are lower,” he said.
“It’s most likely because the major club acts only appear in the high season. If this is the case, then will have to work on getting them to stay longer,” he added.