Stateside: It’s not make-believe

(16 June 2005)

Picture: Image Bank

Not so long ago, a US break might have been seen as a once in a lifetime holiday. Not so in the 21st century.

Spurred on by the ease of packaging their own short-haul breaks, today’s consumers realise how accessible the country has become, and are increasingly willing to pick and choose the separate elements of their US holiday.

The US has always been a strong tailor-made market but these days there’s more product on offer than ever: theme park passes, tickets to Broadway shows; helicopter flight-seeing tours, hotel vouchers and more.

Thanks to the weak dollar, hotel room upgrades and aspirational product such as limo transfers are now a reality for an increasing number of travellers. It’s all prebookable, so for an enterprising agent it’s a green light to earning more commission.

Jetlife is among those operators boosting tailor-made options. It promises a radically different brochure for 2006, due out next month. Group long-haul managing director Chris May said: “If Jetlife remained a traditional package holiday tour operator, we wouldn’t be around in a few years.

“The only market that has remained static in the US is escorted touring – coach tourers know exactly what they want and operators supply accordingly. But for the rest of us, there’s no going back.”

Trade-only specialist Travel 4 has long depended on the tailor-made model. Product manager Julian Lawman stressed how simple it is to tailor breaks to the US.

“The only limit is the customer’s – or the agent’s – imagination,” he said.

Lawman said California and the west is one of the richest areas for independent touring, thanks to the variety of product and the relatively short distances between key sights.

Thomson North America product manager Matt Cameron agreed that the classic western flydrive offers a wealth of commissionable extras, such as weddings and helicopter tours from Las Vegas, theme park tickets in Los Angeles and city tours in San Francisco.

Cameron also tipped the Liberty Hotel pass for those travellers who want a truly independent self-drive. The vouchers can be purchased in advance and can be exchanged at more than 500 hotels for accommodation for up to four people – participating chains include Howard Johnson, Days Inn and Travelodge.

Specialist holidays – be it a musical tour of the Deep South or a multi-activity break – also have plenty of add-on potential, but don’t assume tailor-making stops when it comes to the standard two-week family holiday to Florida. Besides the obvious theme park passes, two-centres are a good bet for a family with lots of members to keep happy.

According to Funway product manager Steven Silver, Florida’s Gulf Coast is a popular add-on to Orlando for families, but those with older kids might want to consider a city break to New York. Sadly, the Nike store isn’t commissionable but there are shopping packages that should keep the whole family happy.

From the Big Apple, Virgin features an excursion to Woodbury Common Premium Outlets, the flagship site of discount retailer Chelsea Premium Outlets, costing £21 for adults and £13 for children. With 220 designer stores offering discounts of up to 65%, it won’t just be the holiday that’s tailor-made.