Special Interest Tourism: Exploring Unique Travel Experiences Lesson 2

Special Interest Tourism: Exploring Unique Travel Experiences

Learning Objectives

At the end of the lesson, you will: 

- Understand LO1

- understand the grade criteria 

- know about special interest tour operators

Assignment Breif

The learner should produce a definition of specialist tourism together with a description of different types of specialist tourism, which may include volunteer, adventure, sporting, dark, health, spiritual, etc.

Pick 2 examples of providers of specialist tourism services and provide an overview of their products and services, which should include an overview of the activities they offer and where they can be done (around the world). The learners should include a map of locations, times of year, specialist equipment needed, etc. 

Grade Descriptors

What do you already know about special interest tour operators?

Special interest tour operators

The majority of special interest tour operators are

either independent or horizontally integrated.

For example, Voyages

Jules Verne is owned by Kuoni, a niche market specialist, while Page & Moy, whose clients are

expected to be 45 or over, is owned by Travelsphere, maintaining at the same time a clear brand

distinction and aiming at slightly different target markets.

 Operators

Most of these operators have solely web-based distribution or at least online booking facilities. Because of the niche and unique nature of their product, they tend to sell directly to

customers instead of using travel agents as intermediaries, fearing that agents may not have

sufficient product knowledge to sell their product.  Special interest operators tend to be small companies that started as sole traders and have grown to become a medium-sized enterprise through steady growth or possibly through a merger with another company of a similar profile.

The large, vertically integrated operators have all responded to the growing 

popularity of special interest holidays.  Thomson purchased a skiing operator 

called Crystal while MyTravel  (formerly one of the ‘big four’) purchased

Bridge Travel, a city break specialist. Thomas Cook, on the other hand, 

developed its Signature brand in order to compete in the niche market 

Task

Using evidence from websites and brochures of special interest holiday operators. 

Pick 2  providers of specialist tourism services and write an overview of their products  and services .

Special interest activities

The nature of special interest holidays depends on a

number of factors. 

There is a wide selection of water-,land- and air-based activities on offer. 

These could be sailing, diving, skiing, horse riding or paragliding.

Activities, such as trekking or golfing, can be done

individually, pursuing one’s own interest, while others require a team approach

Special interest activities

There is a variety of reasons why people travel on special interest tours such as:

Art Lovers -  cultural tour that explores Renaissance painting.

pursuing a challenge - overland expedition, crossing a desert or a jungle

Relax - choose a spa holiday – where they receive a selection of treatments or a yoga break.

Thrill seeker holidays - safari, trekking through Antarctic.   

Location

The nature of activities links closely with the location of special interest holidays. The locations of special interest holidays vary and depend on the nature of the activity they offer. They range from purpose-built center's, where people can do various activities, to a designated location.

Holidays such as religious tours or heritage tours take travelers to places of religious significance such as Mecca or Jerusalem, or historic destinations such as Carcassone or Venice

Some specific holidays require access to certain facilities. Consider a climbing holiday: you can travel to Snowdonia or the Peak District to pursue your interest or you can use climbing walls, which simulate natural conditions, in activity center's. Or if you are interested in sailing, you can use a Centre such as Herts Young Mariners Base, described in the case study opposite. The location of some special interest holidays may deliberately be remote and isolated.  

Retreats are a good example of this as people travel there for relaxation and to ‘get away from it all’

On the other hand, cultural and heritage tours normally take people to urban locations, such as towns and cities, as this is where the wealth of culture and heritage is available

Task

List ten special interest holidays.

Explain what determines their

destination.

recap

At the end of the lesson, you will: 

- Understand LO1

- understand the grade criteria 

- know about special interest tour operators

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.