Published Feb 7, 2019 12:00AM
Twenty-five years ago, when most tour operators were striking the word “tour” from their brands, afraid that the escorted tour was falling into obsolescence, if you had said the next generation would like escorted tours, most travel professionals probably would have looked at you like you were crazy.
Nevertheless, that is what happened. MMGY Global, the gold standard in travel market research, made it official recently in a study commissioned by the U.S. Tour Operators Association (USTOA) about Americans traveling internationally. One of its conclusions was that Millennials like traveling on “guided vacations.” Same game, different name.
Well, not quite the same game. Tour operators have evolved, renamed their products “guided vacations” and adapted them to keep pace with the growing interest in the traveling public in immersing themselves in destinations, having authentic experiences of different cultures, and getting behind the scenes and interacting with locals. It turns out that the guided style of travel is well-suited to the needs of the evolving American traveler.
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