Travel deals company Travelzoo has joined the Association of Touring and Adventure Suppliers (Atas) to capitalise on the growth of the sector and share market trends.
The company has more than 31 million members worldwide, with 9.2 million of them in Europe.
James Clarke (pictured), general manager of Travelzoo in the UK, said one of the key reasons for joining is the fact that so many of its partners are already members of Atas.
“It is a natural step,” he told Travel Weekly.
“The other part is our demographic – when we speak to our members, this form of holidaying [touring and adventure] is top of their wish list.
“It is a logical move for us to be part of a body that represents our demographic.”
Its membership of Atas also follows news that Travelzoo is the new headline partner of the Travel Weekly Hotlist publication.
It will be published in June, in association with Clia and Atas, and will feature 35 trade and consumer categories decided by votes from the travel agent readers of Travel Weekly and Travelzoo subscribers.
“We sponsored the Hotlist because cruise and touring are really important to our members,” said Clarke.
“One of the most common traits between all our members is the fact that they are adventurers at heart. They want to experience the world.”
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Consumer research by Travelzoo has shown that city breaks have overtaken beach holidays – with culture, history and food-themed breaks also increasing in popularity.
More than half of Travelzoo members are aged 45 or more and, on average, are planning 2.6 international trips in 2024.
“We’re looking at a generation, particularly those 50-plus, who feel that they’ve missed out on two exciting years of travel; they have that appetite to travel,” he said.
“They want to explore the UK as well as internationally. They are keen explorers.”
Clarke said that Atas and Travelzoo also share sustainability ambitions.
Atas launched a sustainability hub earlier this year, and late last year Travelzoo unveiled its Travel for tomorrow campaign, which received tens of thousands of pledges from its members about how they travel.
“That could be anything from shopping locally, understanding the culture better or trying to speak the language,” he said.
“A lot of our members are very conscious about how they travel to a destination – asking ‘can I take a train instead of a plane or can I hire a bike when I’m in resort?’.
“The use of plastics was also mentioned heavily by our members – and not travelling during peak seasons.”
Travelzoo will also be at the Atas conference in the autumn, added Clarke.
“We’ll be able to share a lot of data, a lot of insights,” he commented.
Claire Brighton, Atas director, said: “It’s great to welcome Travelzoo to the Atas family.
“They recognise the many exciting growth opportunities in the touring and adventure sector and see membership as a crucial way to be more closely involved in the market, sharing trends, tips and ideas with agents and members.”