Download - On My Mind: Still Standing
on my mind � jeff gayduk
“IT’S THE ECONOMY, STUPID.” No
truer words were ever spoken for any-
one involved in the travel industry as we
grapple with the negative effects of this
nation’s worst recession in decades.
How’s our industry faring? We asked
that question of Leisure Group Travel
readers this past February, with some
surprising results.
What we found was that nearly 70%
of readers anticipate planning an equal
or higher number of group trips this
year as ’08, although nearly the same
percentage anticipates load factors will
be diminished. Motorcoach trips hold
the most promise this year, with three
out of four readers expecting to book as
many or more coach trips this year as
last. International travel is taking the
brunt of the downturn; nearly two-
thirds of planners anticipate their inter-
national group trips to be down this
year due to more travelers staying closer
to home and spending less on travel and
fewer nights on the road. Full results of
this survey are found in this month’s On
The Record column, starting on page 8.
We continue to be impressed with the
number of Leisure Group Travel readers
who have expanded their traditional
business to reach niche and affinity
groups, and this year’s survey indicates
that more readers are exploring nature
& eco-tourism, reunions and family
trips, religious, student & youth travel
and girlfriend getaways & buddy trips.
The future growth in the group travel
business is in the development of niche
and affinity markets where packs of
like-minded people who share a com-
mon bond gather to explore their inter-
est as a travel group. Our agenda here
has been to provide the knowledge base
to help you take that leap, with dedi-
cated columns and special interest sto-
ries in Leisure Group Travel and
LeisureGroupTravel.com. But as these
segments take on an increased impor-
tance in everyone’s business model, our
need for more dedicated coverage of
niche and affinity group travel has led
us in a new business direction.
INTRODUCING INSITE ON…
NICHE MARKET E-MAGAZINES
About half of our readers currently sub-
scribe to InSite on Leisure Group Travel,
our bi-weekly e-newsletter for the group
travel community. We were the first
company to publish an e-newsletter in
this market, and while others have fol-
lowed, InSite still leads by a large mar-
gin in both circulation and quality
editorial. We are creating a series of e-
magazines (e-newsletters on steroids) for
the sports, student, religious and re-
unions marketplaces.
The first of these e-magazines, InSite
on Sports Events, will
debut this spring, fol-
lowed closely by InSite
on Student Travel. The
aim of each monthly e-
magazine is to deliver
timely destination sto-
ries, expert advice from insiders in the
field and special promotions to help
spur your niche market business. We
will be announcing details of each e-
magazine through InSite on Leisure
Group Travel, so if you’re not a sub-
scriber and want to learn more, visit
LeisureGroupTravel.com and sign up
directly from the home page.
I’ve heard a few off-the-cuff remarks
about people “refusing to participate in
this recession.” If your business is un-
fazed by the current economic events,
more power to you! For the rest of us,
this is the optimal time to regroup,
focus on our core business while look-
ing for pockets of opportunity to ex-
pand once a level of normalcy returns.
That refocusing starts now, and we’re
here to help you do that.
Happy Traveling,
Jeff Gayduk, Publisher
6 April 2009 LeisureGroupTravel.com
Niche and affinity markets signal thewave of the future in group travel.
Still Standing
Despite macro-economic figures thatindicate otherwise, Jeff is approaching2009 with great optimism. Anytime hesees a glass that’s half empty, heswallows the contents, then refills it.
