LAS VEGAS -- Tauck Tours, one of the escorted tour industry's
best-known brands, scheduled more small-ship cruises and in-depth
Europe tours as part of enhancements during its 75th anniversary
year.
Peter Tauck, company co-president, said the Westport,
Conn.-based firm also "will be rolling out several surprises during
the course of the year to commemorate our anniversary."
In an interview at the USTOA conference, he said the expansion
of small-ship cruises is one of the company's main focuses, along
with a "more aggressive approach" to offering creative land options
to the cruises..
"A lot of people around our industry are talking about this, but
in some cases they are overpromising and underdelivering," he
said.
Tauck said there is no doubt in his mind that escorted tours
have to evolve with the aging of the baby boomer, the tour
operators' emerging client base that wants more adventurous,
slower-paced escorted tours that focus on an experience rather than
sightseeing.
"We are constantly looking at how we can create a better image
of tours and the need to fundamentally change the product," he
said. "I think our operations department is rising to the occasion
in creatively building itineraries so that people do not feel
herded."
Tauck said that there is plenty of evidence that people will
enjoy the companionship of traveling in groups well into the
future; it is the feeling of being part of a large, anonymous group
and losing their individuality that they do not like.
"I think we, as operators, can make the size of a group seem
smaller than it is" by offering independent options that clients
can take to pursue individual interests and limit the amount of
time spent on a bus, he said.
As far as new products that are evidence of the evolution of
tours, Tauck points to the Yellow Roads of Europe program, in which
at least two nights are spent at each destination.
New in 2000 is a 21-day eastern Europe and Amsterdam tour, which
includes an Oberammergau stay; and a seven-day Week in the Alps
tour.
The weeklong programs, such as A Week in Ireland and A Week in
Spain, have been popular, Tauck said, attracting busy professionals
or those who want to use a tour as a centerpiece to FIT travels in
Europe.
Tauck is chartering Clipper Cruise Line's Nantucket Clipper for
eight-day Islands of Southern New England cruises in May, and then
in September will launch eight-day Autumn Cruising on the Hudson
with the Yorktown Clipper.
The other new program is an eight-day Treasures of Greek Isles
cruise from May through September aboard the Halcyon, a
46-passenger yacht that Tauck has used in the past for small-ship
charters.
In each case, Tauck takes over the cruise program, offering a
unique on-board product and land excursions.