Lynda Maxwell, owner of Destinations Incorporated, Columbia, Md.,
has translated her husband's interest in his ancestry into a way to
boost her business to Great Britain. Maxwell, who is also a second
vice president of ASTA's Central Atlantic Chapter, says her husband
is president of the Baltimore Chapter of the St. Andrews Society.
The society is made up of persons of Scottish ancestry.
"Even before he took on this post, both of us had been
interested in his Scottish roots," says Maxwell. Through her
husband's involvement, the society has asked Maxwell to organize a
trip to Scotland this fall. As part of that program, some
participants have added on post trips to England and Ireland to
discover their roots, Maxwell says.
"There is a lot of interest in ancestral travel to Great
Britain," Maxwell says. "After all, so many Americans came from
England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland; it's a huge market." Maxwell
has placed ads for her agency in the St. Andrews Society membership
directory and plans to market in the future to local chapters of
the King George Society, which represents people of English
ancestry, and the Hibernian Society, which represents those of
Irish ancestry.
Patty Suchy, an outside agent for Destinations Incorporated,
also operates her own business, called Novel Explorations of
Columbia, Md. With Novel Explorations, Suchy has carved out a very
specific niche market for travel to Great Britain.
"My theme for Novel Explorations is 'Where fiction and travel
merge,'" says Suchy. "I decided about seven years ago when I
started this to marry my love of reading with travel. And there is
so much love in the reading and writing community for Great
Britain."
Suchy organizes programs that may concentrate on a specific
author like Jane Austen or Charlotte and Emily Bronte, which take
participants to the areas the writers lived, worked, and wrote
about. Other programs include a particular era in history -- like
Victorian times -- or a particular aspect of the country -- like
its castles -- for organizations such as romance writers'
groups.
In marketing her business, Suchy networks with a wide variety of
writers' associations and related organizations. "When I first
started I looked at organizations that deal with writing and
reading," she says. "I joined groups like the Romance Writers of
America and the Mystery Writers of America as an associate member."
Suchy has even taken classes with Romance Writers of America and
"through this I have come to understand what their markets are."
She has also joined other organizations like the Victorian Society
of America and the Friends of Libraries.
Suchy says, "It takes a lot of time to do what I do in building
a niche. You have to immerse yourself in the organizations you join
and get really involved. You'd better love what you're doing." But
she is a true believer in niche marketing. "I think more and more
people who travel today are interested in doing something that
involves learning," she says.
In addition to extensive networking through her organization
memberships, Suchy uses other marketing tools. She has her own Web
site ( www.erols.com/novelexp) and is also planning to
produce a newsletter, probably on a quarterly basis, which she will
distribute through e-mail and direct mail.
At Boca Express Travel, Boca Raton, Fla., consultant Marjorie
Amster is successful selling Great Britain to first-time travelers.
Amster, who specializes in upscale FIT business, says the lack of a
language barrier and the ease and comfort of travel in Great
Britain make it a perfect destination for clients who have never
traveled abroad. "It's the easiest way to get them started," she
says.
Amster has also developed markets of grandparents traveling with
their grandchildren and of Floridians looking for the kind of
cultural experience they can't find at home.
"People in this area come from all over originally, including a
lot of former New Yorkers," she says. "A trip to Great Britain is
an easy sell for the theater, museums, shopping and luxury hotels
they can't find in southern Florida."
Amster says there are several things agents need to know to
service the growing grandparent/grandchild travel market. Many of
the older, more traditional hotels in Great Britain, even the
luxury properties, will not accommodate a third person in a room,
for example, and grandparents would not want to leave a younger
child alone in a separate room. Amster says she has to use newer
properties and larger chain hotels for these clients.