AIRTOURS is targeting the adult market by launching two programmes for summer 2000 which will see it compete head on with specialist operators.
The introduction of dedicated Special and Prestige collection brochures, which go on sale on Thursday, aim to fill a gap in Airtours’ in-house products.
Both are aimed at couples with the emphasis on quality accommodation ahead of location and price.
Marketing, sales and development director Ed Sims admitted it was a gap inthe Airtours portfolio which needed addressing.
“We are recognised in the value-for-money family market but we felt strongly we needed to expand,” said Sims.
“Both Special and Prestige are driven by customer demand and lifestyle rather than location. Summer Sun is becoming less and less a standard flagship for Airtours.”
The Special Collection, which is aimed at the 30-plus aged group, features 50 small, family-run hotels, and 20 villas away from the mass-market areas. Destinations include the mainstream summer sun resorts with fly drives available in Italy.
“This is for independent travellers who want to get off the beaten track,” said Sims. “It is more of a specialist product than we have had before. In today’s market you need product differentiation.”
He admitted it would be pitched against traditional specialists operating in the market.
The Prestige Collection includes 86 four and five-star properties in 29 destinations. It is targeted towards the 40-plus bracket.
Airtours has also launched its All Inclusive brochure featuring 26 destinations and, for the first time, dedicated programmes to Portugal and Cyprus where deputy managing director Richard Carrick admitted it had ‘lost the plot’.
“We has a dedicated Cyprus brochure but thought we could get away with putting the product into the core brochure. We want to regain lost ground,” he said.
Both programmes will be targeted geographically.
“We have the ability to determine which area of the UK is going to which destination,” he added.