THE battle for share in the youth market kicked off afresh this week with the summer 2000 launches from Club 18-30 and 2wentys.
It is a market which, 15 years ago, industry observers believed had a ceiling of only 100,000 people.
Yet with combined carryings among the youth operators of almost 200,000, the appeal of young people’s holidays have been clearly underestimated.
Today, with around 1m people between the ages of 18 and 30 taking a package summer holiday, it is not hard to see why it is a growing market.
With every new launch comes new innovation. Both Thomas Cook-owned Club 18-30 and 2wentys, part of First Choice, have new features for 2000.
Club 18-30 is experimenting with a variation on the all-inclusive theme at two of its properties in 2000 – the refurbished Matina Studios in Rhodes and the Xanadu in Tenerife.
Called The Works, the price includes a fridge full of beer on arrival, snacks, full English breakfast which is served until lunchtime, disposable camera and free bar for 1hr every day.
“It’s an all-inclusive option geared towards their needs,” said Club 18-30 general manager Andy Tidy. “It’s important to keep developing your product.”
Tidy is convinced the youth market is one that will continue to grow, not least because of the pressure heaped on the young at college and work.
“They are constantly being told what they should achieve. Life is very serious and we want to give them a release, something that is not to be taken seriously,” he said.
Tidy said changing social behaviour is also opening up new markets with mixed-sex groups ending the reliance on male or female-only groups.
2wentys is attempting to lure more women to the market which it hopes will increase its male customer base.
“Where the women go, men will follow,” said head of product marketing Kyle Haughton. “We already have an even split of men and women but by targeting females we can increase overall sales.”
But he added the reputation of young people’s holidays – which, among the public, still has a lads-on-the-booze image – was making it tough.
“It is awkward adopting this approach because of the youth holiday image,” said Haughton. “We want to create a more pleasant image so our brochures are not full of pictures of lads drinking lager and pouring it over themselves.”
2wentys has introduced a block rockin’ concept for 2000, where some hotels and apartments are bang in the heart of the resort and offer bars and clubs around the clock.
More English speaking reps will also be employed.
In light of the Airtours bid for First Choice and the now fading merger proposal by Kuoni, the operator refused to divulge growth targets – deemed too commercially sensitive in its current situation.
Nor would it reveal whether prices had been increased from 1999.
Airtours youth brand Escapades, which will be launched in August, said the sea, sand and sex image was still prevalent but asdded the quality of the product was improving.”It is not the dirt cheap, bog standard product it was,” said head of specialist products Gary Wardropoe. “We are also attracting slightly older customers than we used to.”
One youth operator which sought to break new ground was Xodus which targeting the club market.
Under the guidance of Steve Endacott, who helped launch Airtours’ Escapades product, he was looking to take share from his former employers. He insisted the youth market had moved on from the sun, sea and sex image and was now more interested in a club crawl rather than a pub crawl.
Unfortunately for Endacott, Thomas Cook unceremoniously dumped Xodus, along with Inspirations, when it completed its deal with Carlson. But not all the work went to waste as Club 18-30 adopted half the featured properties and many Xodus ideas. “There was merit in the operation but the costing was too great,” said Tidy.