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Gray-and-Silver Haired Brits Like to Look for New Travel Product Launches
But They Still Like TV over Online Launches: Results from a new demographic study of British travelers show that one out of eight (12 percent) of Baby Boomers (aged 53 – 73 years) and 14 percent of Traditionalists (aged 74 and over) say they’re most likely to be on the lookout for new travel brands or experiences. This is one of the key findings derived from a study commissioned by the UK-based launch marketing specialist agency, Five by Five.
While travel brand launches are important to what Five by Five describes as “The Grey Pound,” the picture is different for other groups:
—Only 9 percent of UK consumers overall say that travel launches are what they look out for most,
—Almost one in five (19 percent) most anticipate new technology products.
—Only 5 percent of Millennials say that travel launches are their number one focus.
—In addition, one in ten Traditionalists say the travel industry delivers the most memorable launches, compared to only 3 percent overall.
The survey also found that in a world of digital and social media, TV is still the main medium by which older consumers learn about new product launches:
—Fifty-three percent of Baby Boomers say they first noticed new products when they appeared on television
—Fifty-one percent of Traditionalists say they first noticed new products when they appeared on television, while
—Only 3 percent of Baby Boomers saw them on social media and 5 percent in online ads.
James Roles, sales and marketing director for Five by Five noted that “shareable content and social buzz allow travel brands to generate pre-launch engagement in a way no other medium can hope to match. However, it seems many brands have been launching online with the product in mind and not the customer. A lot of older people still rely on TV and print ads to learn about new holiday destinations and opportunities.”
Most Don’t Seem to Notice at All: The new research also found that 61 percent of UK consumers – rising to 74 percent of Baby Boomers – are not aware of any new launches from the past 12 months at all.
—In addition, only 3 percent believe celebrity endorsement makes launches stand out.
—Just one in 14 people (7 percent) said they actually noticed a launch because a celebrity or influencer mentioned it.
—On social platforms: Only one-quarter of consumers (and only one in five Baby Boomers) say they would share branded content or information about a new product or service launch in return for a promotional offer while less than one-quarter (23 percent) would share branded content if they felt it met a friend or family member’s needs.
New International Air Service
—Air Canada is dramatically expanding its North American footprint in order to drive USA travelers to its key international connecting airports of Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Edmonton. New routes scheduled to launch next spring include:
- Toronto to Eppley Airfield (OMA) in Omaha, Nebraska, daily service starting May 1, 2018
- Toronto to Green Airport (PVD) in Providence, Rhode Island (seasonal), daily service starting May 17, 2018
- Montreal to Baltimore–Washington International Airport (BWI) in Baltimore, Maryland, daily service starting May 17, 2018
- Montreal to Pittsburgh International Airport (PIT) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, daily service starting May 17, 2018
- Vancouver to Sacramento International Airport (SMF) in Sacramento, California, daily service starting May 17, 2018
- Edmonton to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) in San Francisco, California, daily service starting May 1, 2018
—Azul airlines has launched a new route from Belém, the capital of the state of Pará in the northern part of Brazil to Fort Lauderdale. The new service is offered on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays, landing at 4:20 am and departing at 1:30 p.m.
—LEVEL, the long haul low cost airline brand of the International Airlines Group (IAG)—it includes British Airways— will operate three weekly flights between Paris Orly and Montreal starting on July 2, 2018. One way flights start at $199 (Canadian). The IAG brand, based in Barcelona and operated by IAG’s Iberia and OpenSkies, is establishing a base in Paris and will also be introducing four weekly flights to Newark (New York) on September 4 from the French capital.
—On Dec. 1st, Aeroméxico began flights from the Merida to Atlanta. Aeromexico Is emphasizing the point that the flight to the home base of its partner, Delta Air Lines, now gives passengers from the state of Yucatan access to 148 destinations in the United States and Canada.
—Also on Dec. 1st, Air Canada began service between Vancouver and Melbourne, Australia marking the first ever direct, non-stop flight from Canada to the Australian city. The new route offers a seasonal four times weekly service until 4 February, before beginning a year-round service in June 2018.
—Aeroméxico has begun operating a new route from Mexico City to Portland, Oregon. The daily leaves Mexico at 6:05 p.m, arriving in Portland at 9:05 p.m. The return flight leaves Portland at 11:20 p.m. and arrive in Mexico at 6:40.
CVC Poised to Benefit from any Recovery in Brazil
Tour and Travel Industry Indicators also Positive: For the first time since the economy of Brazil crashed into its deepest and longest recession ever in the middle of 2015, there are some positive, though tentative, numbers which suggest that the nation’s economy, including its tour and travel industry, is in recovery.
What makes a recovery? To quote Ed Dolan, a blogger for EconoMonitor, “The logical way to start … would be to cite an official definition of ‘economic recovery,’ but it turns out there isn’t one. The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research, which is the group that calls the economy’s cyclical turning points, does not use the term ‘recovery’ at all. In the committee’s words, ‘a recession is a period between a peak and a trough, and an expansion is a period between a trough and a peak.’ That leaves no room anywhere for ‘recovery.’”
It is clear that the economic crisis—Brazilians refer to the economic situation simply as “The Crisis”—has taken its toll on the ability of many traveling Brazilians to visit the United States during the recession.
The Latest Numbers: The most recent quarterly data, for Q3 2017, show the following.
—The revenue of tourism companies revenues grow 4.3% in 3Q17 compared to the same period in 2016.
—Two thirds (66 percent) of the companies show the intention of making new investments in 2017.
—The most significant increases were in the segments of parks and tourist attractions (+ 11.4 percent), air transport (+ 11.2 percent), operators (+ 10. percent) and travel agencies (+ 9.3 percent).
—Of the companies that intend to invest part of the revenues, 15.2 percent are receptive, followed by events (8.1 percent), lodging (5.2 percent) and air transportation (4.7 percent).
—Overall, GDP closed the third quarter of 2017 with a rise of 0.1 percent compared to the second quarter, in the seasonally adjusted series. Compared to the third quarter of last year, GDP growth was 1.4 percent. (Even so, GDP accumulated in the last four quarters, however, remains negative, closing at 0.2 percent in relation to the immediately preceding four quarters.)
What the data suggest is that, should Q4 show a second consecutive quarter of GDP growth, it appears that the Brazilian economy will have entered a period of recovery—even if the U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research doesn’t use the term.
A Speculative Note: Should the Brazilian economy—and the performance of its tour and travel industry—have bottomed out, and should it be in a recovery mode, one winner is CVC, the largest tour operator/travel agency in the country, which will be well positioned to benefit. While a number of tour and travel businesses shut down or curtailed their operations during The Crisis, CVC made acquisitions and launched a campaign at the beginning of 2016 to build a 100 news agency stores a year through 2018. According to the latest reports, the company has built 200 new stores (It now has 1,200 nationwide) with a 100 to go. All of the new stores were built in less-populated or rural parts of the country, as CVC pushed to get the country’s residents to travel domestically, while awaiting better conditions to push for outbound international travel, for which it is already the industry leader.
Just-Launched Site Offers Service Comparing Escorted Tours
A new UK-based website is now offering its users a place where travelers—mostly Britons for time being—can compare what escorted tours have to offer. The site is TourHound (www.tourhound.co.uk) and it enables holiday makers to compare the components of a tour not currently covered in travel websites.
As veteran travel writer Fred Mawer describes it in a piece for the Daily Mail, “There are plenty of websites that will help you find and compare flights and hotel deals, but TourHound is the first to provide a one-stop search of touring options … The tours shown are all available, and prices are clearly displayed – you can include flights where offered, and amend the prices so they are for a single traveler. And results are shown in an unbiased way. A neatly presented summary of each tour is given, and you can click through to the relevant company to book.”
While Europe understandably leads the world regions featured on the site (Europe, Asia, Australasia, Africa, South America and North America), North America leads other regions in long-haul product, with 710 tours featured.
To illustrate the ease with which one can navigate the TourHound site, Mawer said that it took him “less than a minute to find a digestible 11 tours, offered by three companies, for cultural and foodie small-group tours to Italy next May,” and that he was able “to pare down more than 100 cultural tours of the USA in May 2018 to seven that visit New Orleans.”
All tours show are all available, and prices are clearly displayed. A visitor to the site can include flights where offered, and adapt prices for a single traveler. And results are shown in an unbiased way. A neatly presented summary of each tour is given, and one can click through to the relevant company to book.
For the moment, the new site is a bit of a work in progress, as TourHound doesn’t provide background information on the variety of tours, or guidance on choosing a suitable tour. But that should change as the site grows.
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