After 60 years of taking middle-aged couples and retirees around the world, Trafalgar Tours is opening the motorcoach doors to children as young as 5 years old with the launch of a new Family Experiences brochure.
What started as three family itineraries that have been offered for the past few years in the U.S. is being expanded to 10 itineraries: five in the U.S. and Canada, and five in Europe.
"In the last few years, we created unique family experiences in the America program, and in 2009 they sold out despite an overall decline in the USA business," said Trafalgar President Paul Wiseman. "So it was clear that the family business was very popular."
While the price point is similar to the standard Trafalgar tours, the inclusions and activities in the Family Experiences itineraries are different.
"In Paris, on a standard tour, the inclusion is the ascent to the second level of the Eiffel tower. On a family tour, they go all the way to the top of the tower," said Wiseman. "They will have pizza making in Italy rather than pizza eating."
For the last few years, operators across the industry have been pushing multigenerational family travel, which many say has proven to be one of the most resilient segments of the market through the economic crisis.
Still, family travel is seeing its share of hardships. One of the splashiest brands to enter the market in recent years, Adventures by Disney, reduced its departures by 25% for 2010, after four straight years of destination and departure growth.
But Wiseman remains bullish on the family market.
"First of all, we’re experiencing the organic growth," he said. "We are developing our programs based on what we already know is successful.
"Our price point is around half of what Adventures by Disney is," he added. "We’re in a position to deliver a very good family product."
Trafalgar Family Experiences is launching with 89 departures dates for 2010.
The five itineraries in Europe are Magic and Make Believe (London and Paris); Gladiators, Gondolas and Gold (Italy); Kingdoms & Tales (Prague, Vienna and Budapest); Spanish Salsa (Spain); and European Wonderland (London, Paris, Venice, Florence and Rome).
In the U.S. and Canada, the five itineraries are Wild West Cowboys and Buffalos (Salt Lake City, Yellowstone Park and Denver); Pioneer Adventures of the Old West (Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon and Flagstaff, Ariz.); Adventures in the Wild Northwest (Seattle, Portland and San Francisco); Rocky Mountain Adventures (Jasper, Banff and Calgary); and California Dreams (San Francisco, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite National Park and Monterey).
Land-only prices range from $1,499 per person for the eight-day Wild West itinerary to $2,985 per person for the 14-day European Wonderland itinerary.