A future for Group Tours?

PIP Consulting Consultingting

Consultants to the Travel Trade since 1998

Who pays if you have to be brought home from holiday?

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Is there a future for group tours?

I think that the traditional coach travel market will continue to decline. It is clear that, despite the many problems associated with air travel, most clients prefer queues and security checks to long hours in a coach. Yet, older people and single travellers especially enjoy the companionship and convenience of group tours.

The solution, perhaps, is to offer air travel to a destination airport and comfortable coach for short-haul journeys thereafter. The exception to this is the old DA Study Road to the Isles programme which explored Scotland by coach in an entirely unique way, and I am examining the possibility of offering some of DA's best Scotland and Ireland tours. I am also looking at small number of air holidays to Europe and beyond. These will be designed to incorporate a cultural "edge" that most package holidays lack. They will be holidays first and foremost, but I intend them to be the "thinking travellers' holidays". I cannot compete on price with the "big boys", but I CAN offer personal attention and a degree of originality that the big boys cannot.

These are ventures that cannot be embarked upon lightly. The market reserch has commenced. If you would like to be kept informed of developments, please e-mail me at pip@pipj.com.

Kind regards
Piers Jones.

Statue of nun at window of house near Beguinage, Bruges