Gallery: Clia and Atas Expedition and Adventure Forum
Cruise and adventure associations host inaugural Manchester event. Harry Kemble Reports
‘Adventure travel is not just for younger customers’
Age is “irrelevant” and should not be a consideration when talking to customers about adventure destinations.
Wildlife photographer Paul Goldstein, who has worked with Exodus Travels for 24 years, and Janet Parton, sales director at Cosmos and Avalon Waterways, both agreed age should not be a factor when helping customers choose a destination.
Goldstein said: “There are programmes for younger and older people. You can join up a dozen people on a trip to see Machu Picchu and the two people in their 60s will be the first people there.”
He urged agents not to bring up age in conversations with customers but instead give examples of people in their 50s who enjoy “extraordinary adventures” and be “candid and transparent” about the details of a tour.
Paul Goldstein
Parton added: “Do not fall into the trap that adventure travel is for a younger audience. Age is irrelevant. It is a mindset.”
Referring to the adventure sector’s potential, Goldstein said: “[Adventure] has been a growing area for a long time. Many clients are realising that a more demanding and stimulating holiday, both physically and mentally, is going to reward them more than two weeks in a villa.”
However, journalist Jamie Lafferty warned that Antarctica is “a young person’s destination”, adding that “you need to have your wits about you” when crossing the notoriously choppy Drake’s Passage.
But he admitted that many young people could not afford an 11-day Antarctica cruise and therefore passengers were generally older.
“Because it is so expensive, you get a lot of retirees [and customers celebrating] big birthdays and anniversaries,” he said. “The oldest person I’ve sailed with was 86. Kids are actively discouraged because they don’t really understand about wildlife and being so close to it.”
Selling touring and adventure is way to future-proof your travel agency
Agencies that focus their efforts on adventure travel sales are “future-proofing” their businesses.
Destinations such as Jordan, Borneo and Costa Rica that are popular among adventure operators today would become mainstream “in a few years’ time”, according to Travel Weekly features and supplements editor Katie McGonagle.
Addressing nearly 100 agent delegates, she said: “There is a wealth of opportunity out there for agents who really embrace this sector. You’re all here at a forum that’s mixing both adventure travel and expedition cruising, so you can see the potential to cross-sell between the two.”
She added that agents could take home more commission by making sales in the growing sector.
“These are higher-value bookings,” she said.
“And that’s not just at the luxury end of the market. When you book an adventure tour, you’re earning commission on everything included in the tour – meals, activities, sightseeing and more.”
Katie McGonagle
Comparing an adventure tour sale with a city-break booking, she said: “With a city break, you’re only earning on the flight and the hotel.”
McGonagle added: “I firmly believe adventure travel is the way you future-proof your business. Adventure travel is a huge area of growth in every age group.”
The economic benefits of tourists travelling to previously “lesser-known regions” were also important, McGonagle added.
“It spreads the economic benefits of tourism to lesser-known regions and local communities that really need it, and as some areas become saturated with tourists, that’s really important for our industry.”
Agents who built up experience by selling adventure travel would attract “the customers of tomorrow”, McGonagle added.
Cosmos and Intrepid reveal free and discounted rates for agents’ own trips
Suppliers revealed new trade incentives at the forum, including free cruises and tours.
Janet Parton, sales director at Cosmos and Avalon Waterways, said agents could get free trips with both Globus brands through a new scheme due to launch this month.
Janet Parton
She said: “If agents book a minimum of four passengers, discounts start to kick in and you can experience your own tour or Avalon cruise. Those discounts go up to 100%, so you can travel for free.”
Daniel Pawlyn, head of new business at Intrepid Travel, revealed agents could now book their own voyages on 200-passenger ship Ocean Endeavour for half-price.
The trade discount is available on Antarctica sailings for the next three summer seasons – the length of the operator’s charter deal with Chimu Adventures.
Pawlyn suggested other agents that had “a market for polar” would be invited on sailings.
Create your own content to build trust, says wildlife presenter Aryee
TV wildlife presenter Patrick Aryee called on travel agents to be “commissioners of content” to help drive the adventure and expedition cruise market.
Aryee, who has worked on three series with Sir David Attenborough, said there was “an uncomfortable amount of opportunity” for agents to use content to their advantage and promote their services.
“People want escapism, and if you work in the travel industry, escapism is your bread and butter,” he said.
Patrick Aryee
“Use media to your advantage because you will build the trust of your audiences, and leverage that position to sell the product or your services.”
He later told Travel Weekly: “It is all about exposure of your brand. Customers need to know the name of your agency, otherwise they will not search for your name.”
He suggested making podcasts on fam trips.
“Set aside one hour each day to speak to one person,” he said.
“On one trip you could speak to 10 people. See yourself as a curator of experiences.”
Experts, he added, would be eager to appear on podcasts to help build their own public image.
Arctic or Antarctic cruise? Here’s how to decide
Agents must ask the right questions to help decide whether to send first-time expedition cruise customers to Antarctica or the Arctic.
Travel journalist Jamie Lafferty said time, money and the available fauna were all influential factors. He said: “Ask customers what they want to get out of the trip.
“The main difference is polar bears [in the Arctic] are gigantic land predators, so every other animal has to modify its behaviour so they don’t get eaten.
Jamie Lafferty
“If you want proximity to animals, probably go for Antarctica.”
However, he pointed out that customers on an 11-day Antarctica cruise would only be in Antarctica for five days because the crossing through Drake’s Passage was “ridiculously long”.
“It is two and a half days to South Georgia,” he said. “This is when a lot of lectures happen and the scientists who have experience of living there will brief you on the native people and wildlife.”