Recommend November 2010 - (Page 10)

tour talk I ESCOrTED TOurS rick shively the evolution of In the not too long ago—and even among some unaware consumers today—escorted tours were unfairly tainted with the aged, “If it’s Tuesday, it must be…” generalization—a far cry from what today’s escorted tours offer the traveling public. The evolution of escorted tours, in fact, has rapidly reacted to the demands of the marketplace and the changing tastes of the consumer, specifically to the ever-growing interest in experiential travel that’s pretty much worn out the outmoded concept of mass tourism. Today, the focus is on more free time, longer city stays and, more importantly, more interactive travel opportunities. “The days of driving past something and looking out the window at it are gone—people want to go out to the same farmers’ market the locals go to and see what the locals are up to and what they’re all about,” explains John Stachnik, president of Mayflower Tours and chairman of USTOA. The experiential, the “sight-doing” (as he calls it) is an integral part of the programs now. “I think the changes began when we started building in what we called ‘Organized Independence,’ giving people free time when we got to the national parks—somebody wants to go hiking, somebody wants to go bicycle riding, somebody wants to go golfing. We learned that early in the Shenandoah National Park there are different things everybody wanted to do, so rather than plan everything for everybody, we left some time for that ‘Organized Independence.’” In fact, he points out, that sense of people wanting a feeling of independence within a group setting has resulted in one of the hottest selling components in Mayflower’s current product inventory—river cruising. “The largest single thing that’s been important to us in the last several years has been the advent of river cruising—it’s bringing a new dynamic. It’s a group experience, yet it’s not a group experience. We charter a river vessel for 112 or 120 passengers, they’re all Mayflower Tours passengers and they’re part of a group, but for some reason they don’t consider it a group experience because the ports of call are usually right there in the downtown areas, right in the heart of one of the old cities of Europe. The people feel generally unencumbered—it’s the classic ‘Organized Independence.’ It’s turned out to be the single fastest growing part of our business.” Bronwyn Wilson, president of Australian Pacific Touring (APT), cites her company’s “Freedom of Choice Touring” and “Freedom of Choice Dining” programs offering independent options, balanced with the pleasure of traveling with a group of like-minded people. On APT’s 10 november 2010 Premier Plus and Premier Escorted tours, she says, “Clients can select individual tours and activities they have a particular interest in, while still taking in all the major attractions of the area as a group. The same applies to the dining option where clients can opt for a selection of a variety of dining in various cities, rather than the hotel.” In terms of how clients have reacted to these options over the years, Wilson says, “It’s a mix—some just prefer the convenience of dining at the hotels after a day of seeing fantastic sights, others are just like individual travelers who want to go out and experience everything.… And that’s why there’s still the balance where we do have the dinners all together, particularly for feature nights where, for instance in Australia, it may be an Aboriginal display with dance and music and dinner. Then we have everybody together and again, that’s the balance we have and it’s important to keep that balance because that’s part of the escorted experience—having a lot of fun with a lot of like-minded people.” Jim Kelly, v.p., sales for CIE Tours International, also says it was the feedback from customers that added to the evolution of the company’s escorted tours, first and foremost in Ireland. “Through feedback from customers, they tell us they want a little more longer stays in castles, ‘We want more free time, we want a little baby adventure, we like walking tours.’ So with all that feedback, we’ve developed walking tours of various cities, longer overnight programs in five-star castle hotels, we have given time to spend in spas and time to combine a golfing experience with their escorted tour. “But mostly what we’ve done for the person who wants everything pre-booked and who might not want to be on a coach, but they want all the same facilities as a coach tour, we’ve taken our most popular tours and designed them into ‘Go As You Please,’ where you get a car and go on exactly the same tour that’s being promoted—the same tour being offered for coach passengers on an escorted basis so you do have a choice for the same tour.” Wilson of APT sums up the evolution of escorted tours best, “It’s got aspects of FIT, but at the end of the day it’s more like escorted tours evolving and bringing in the best of both worlds.” n contact information Australian Pacific Touring: (800) 290-8687; aptouring.com.au CIE Tours International: (800) 243-8687; cietours.com/us Mayflower Tours: (800) 323-7604; mayflowertours.com recommend.com http://aptouring.com.au http://www.cietours.com/us http://www.mayflowertours.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend November 2010

Editor's Notes/Agent Speak
Hotel Desk
Tour Talk
Medical Tourism Introduction
India: The Guest is God
Turkey: Investing in the Future
A Medical Tale of Two Latin American Countries
Quality Care in Taiwan
Uruguay's Making Waves
No More "Risky Business" in Colombia
River Cruising for 2011
Israel-100 Years of Green
South Africa With Style
Chicago: Nothing Second About This City
Jacksone Hole, Wyoming
Shining the Spotlight on Amelia Island, Florida
Koh Chang, Thailand
Barbados: Back to Work
Jamaica: Back to Basics
Acapulco on the Rise-Again
Re-Discovering the Wonders of the Yucatan

Recommend November 2010

Recommend November 2010 - (Page 1)
Recommend November 2010 - (Page 2)
Recommend November 2010 - (Page 3)
Recommend November 2010 - (Page 4)
Recommend November 2010 - (Page 5)
Recommend November 2010 - Editor's Notes/Agent Speak (Page 6)
Recommend November 2010 - Editor's Notes/Agent Speak (Page 7)
Recommend November 2010 - Hotel Desk (Page 8)
Recommend November 2010 - Hotel Desk (Page 9)
Recommend November 2010 - Tour Talk (Page 10)
Recommend November 2010 - Tour Talk (Page 11)
Recommend November 2010 - Medical Tourism Introduction (Page 12)
Recommend November 2010 - India: The Guest is God (Page 13)
Recommend November 2010 - India: The Guest is God (Page 14)
Recommend November 2010 - India: The Guest is God (Page 15)
Recommend November 2010 - Turkey: Investing in the Future (Page 16)
Recommend November 2010 - Turkey: Investing in the Future (Page 17)
Recommend November 2010 - A Medical Tale of Two Latin American Countries (Page 18)
Recommend November 2010 - A Medical Tale of Two Latin American Countries (Page 19)
Recommend November 2010 - Quality Care in Taiwan (Page 20)
Recommend November 2010 - Quality Care in Taiwan (Page 21)
Recommend November 2010 - Uruguay's Making Waves (Page 22)
Recommend November 2010 - Uruguay's Making Waves (Page 23)
Recommend November 2010 - Uruguay's Making Waves (Page 24)
Recommend November 2010 - Uruguay's Making Waves (Page 25)
Recommend November 2010 - No More "Risky Business" in Colombia (Page 26)
Recommend November 2010 - No More "Risky Business" in Colombia (Page 27)
Recommend November 2010 - River Cruising for 2011 (Page 28)
Recommend November 2010 - River Cruising for 2011 (Page 29)
Recommend November 2010 - River Cruising for 2011 (Page 30)
Recommend November 2010 - River Cruising for 2011 (Page 31)
Recommend November 2010 - River Cruising for 2011 (Page 32)
Recommend November 2010 - River Cruising for 2011 (Page 33)
Recommend November 2010 - River Cruising for 2011 (Page 34)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 35)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 36)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 37)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 38)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 39)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 40)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 41)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 42)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 43)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 44)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 45)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 46)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 47)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 48)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 49)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 50)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 51)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 52)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 53)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 54)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 55)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 56)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 57)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 58)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 59)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 60)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 61)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 62)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 63)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 64)
Recommend November 2010 - Israel-100 Years of Green (Page 65)
Recommend November 2010 - South Africa With Style (Page 66)
Recommend November 2010 - South Africa With Style (Page 67)
Recommend November 2010 - Chicago: Nothing Second About This City (Page 68)
Recommend November 2010 - Chicago: Nothing Second About This City (Page 69)
Recommend November 2010 - Chicago: Nothing Second About This City (Page 70)
Recommend November 2010 - Chicago: Nothing Second About This City (Page 71)
Recommend November 2010 - Jacksone Hole, Wyoming (Page 72)
Recommend November 2010 - Jacksone Hole, Wyoming (Page 73)
Recommend November 2010 - Jacksone Hole, Wyoming (Page 74)
Recommend November 2010 - Jacksone Hole, Wyoming (Page 75)
Recommend November 2010 - Shining the Spotlight on Amelia Island, Florida (Page 76)
Recommend November 2010 - Shining the Spotlight on Amelia Island, Florida (Page 77)
Recommend November 2010 - Koh Chang, Thailand (Page 78)
Recommend November 2010 - Koh Chang, Thailand (Page 79)
Recommend November 2010 - Barbados: Back to Work (Page 80)
Recommend November 2010 - Barbados: Back to Work (Page 81)
Recommend November 2010 - Barbados: Back to Work (Page 82)
Recommend November 2010 - Barbados: Back to Work (Page 83)
Recommend November 2010 - Jamaica: Back to Basics (Page 84)
Recommend November 2010 - Jamaica: Back to Basics (Page 85)
Recommend November 2010 - Jamaica: Back to Basics (Page 86)
Recommend November 2010 - Jamaica: Back to Basics (Page 87)
Recommend November 2010 - Acapulco on the Rise-Again (Page 88)
Recommend November 2010 - Acapulco on the Rise-Again (Page 89)
Recommend November 2010 - Acapulco on the Rise-Again (Page 90)
Recommend November 2010 - Acapulco on the Rise-Again (Page 91)
Recommend November 2010 - Re-Discovering the Wonders of the Yucatan (Page 92)
Recommend November 2010 - Re-Discovering the Wonders of the Yucatan (Page 93)
Recommend November 2010 - Re-Discovering the Wonders of the Yucatan (Page 94)
Recommend November 2010 - Re-Discovering the Wonders of the Yucatan (Page 95)
Recommend November 2010 - Re-Discovering the Wonders of the Yucatan (Page 96)
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