The Educational Travel Community Releases the 2009 State of the Affinity and Alumni Travel Industry Report Based on the Findings from the ETC Regional Roundtables

The following is a highlight from the 2009 Affinity and Alumni Travel Industry Report. The complete report is available to ETC members only. To access the report, log into ETC's website and click on the "Resources" tab. To learn more about becoming an ETC member, click here.

Businesses across the Educational and Affinity Travel industry know only too well that as the global economy went into a tail spin last year, so too went travel.

While there were a few bright spots, by and large when asked has business changed since September 2008 the ETC Roundtables Report respondents cited a downturn. Most experienced some degree of trip cancellations and, or, a reduction in enrollments—on par with (and some say worse than) the period after 9/11. Many, however, blame not only the economy but also other deep-seated problems that have been plaguing the industry.

One ETC New York City Roundtable participant compared the state of the Educational and Affinity Travel Industry to the crisis facing America’s automobile industry, saying a radical shift in thinking, programming, and business models is critical. It’s about “survival or extinction.”

Two juxtaposing ideas were echoed across ETC’s six regional roundtables from coast to coast in May and June 2009: a need to return to the basic mission and tenets of member-based travel or to innovate and transform the industry—or, optimally, some combination of both.

Most travel planners, tour operators, suppliers, and destinations agree it’s essential to focus on the fundamentals, from their core activities to their bottom line. This is not the first time the industry is facing challenges, but most say there’s something different about what’s happening today, specifically as new technology has provided direct access to an increasingly competitive travel marketplace with unprecedented consumer choice, low trip price-points, and easier options than ever for independent travel.

“There’s greater competition and lower margins for the travel vendors,” says one travel planner. “Now more than ever, we need to sell the importance of traveling with ‘like-minded’ individuals and build programs that our travelers cannot find in the general market. Communicating our value is imperative.”

Another travel planner agrees, saying: “We need travelers to understand that educational travel is important and one of the best investments you can make.”

The ETC Roundtables Report helps identify trends in the changes of travelers’ habits, expectations, and preferences such as consumer demand for discounting amid increasing price sensitivity, a focus on more family trips versus luxury travel, and later bookings sometimes three months out or less.

At the same time, many nonprofit institutions are grappling with shrinking budgets and are being forced to rethink how they do member engagement and outreach. Add to this that most companies are working on leaner staffs “doing more with less,” and you have what sounds like a doom and gloom scenario—yet, the horizon is not all gray. While there was a decrease in business across all sectors and some reduction of staff, the majority of staff remained unchanged, with a few unexpected increases among institutions starting new programs.

The majority of respondents are hopeful that—short of economic and political volatility and natural- or human-caused tragedies—enrollments will pick up again in 2010. Already, after January 2009 and increasingly through the report’s deadline of June 2009, many respondents’ businesses and programs were seeing higher rates of revenue return than they had in the first and second quarters of 2009.

There’s a realization across the board that crafting more distinct and compelling programming will be critical to the future development of educational and affinity travel. Planners are more open to trying new ideas and are incorporating more faculty and institutionally relevant trips, as well as retooling current itineraries to offer “fresh twists on old favorites,” as well as targeted trips like a spring break tour for future young alumni, a tour for widows, and localized day and weekend trips for alumni expressing interest in staying closer to home. Tour operators are likewise re-evaluating their offerings and paying closer attention to price points, providing more flexible payment plans, and being more creative with programming, themed trips, and new destinations. Several are specifically developing more unique tours in terms of “matches” for the client institution and their travelers.

“Finding new and alternative markets,” is also key says one tour operator. “The current market/audience…does not include many minorities nor does it seem to be tapping into the appreciation of cultural diversity (ethnic and otherwise) in the country, for example; convincing the audience that they are receiving a unique program with value [and] crafting new products.”

Numerous respondents state that their programs and companies will be better positioned tomorrow because of today’s challenges. “We’ve shifted responsibilities to focus more on core objectives and develop new low-cost acquisition sources and more distinctive, competitively priced programs that resonate in these times,” says one travel planner.

Many companies and organizations are focusing on making their operations more effective through strategic planning, careful management of cash flow, programs with greater value, eliminating expenses, and marketing more creatively with fewer resources.

“As a company we are much more thoughtful in our day-to-day work. We have focused on reduction of basic expenses, both in planning and operating our tours and in managing our overhead expenses. For example, in our office we have worked specifically towards using less paper, less printing, and less snail mail, and we have simultaneously worked towards increasing our technological savvy,” says one tour operator. “Early on we suffered losses as a result of brochure expenses and loss of deposits for hotels that reserved for groups that did not materialize. However, based on very careful planning and matching of tours with specific clients and the clients’ knowing their markets, we have been able to turn this around. As a company we have become much more analytical towards our work and our decision making process.”

Similarly, a travel planner says, “I believe the impact of the downturn economy to be extremely positive. We took an active role in assisting the tour companies to find new travelers through better use of our alumni database and new communication technologies; we found ways to keep travelers even when we had to pull our faculty from the departure; we looked toward other engagement events to promote our programs to a more receptive audience. The downturn made us more competitive and forced us to think about what our business looks like to the next two generations of potential travelers.”

Both travel planners and tour operators offer advice throughout the ETC Roundtables Report on how to strengthen organizations and companies from “gaining tighter control of the company’s overhead expenses (no detail is too small in terms of trying to save money)” to “redistributing work duties” to “moving away from carbon footprint procedures and embracing technology and social media” to “ensuring travel programs positively impact clientele and support institutional goals” to “being more innovative with marketing.” One travel planner sums it up: “Bottom line—everyone is going to have to work harder and smarter.”

The ETC Roundtables Report, while not scientific, is a 29-page treasure trove of facts and figures, testimonies, and strategies for adapting and succeeding during this transitional time. Eighty-two industry professionals (44 travel planners and 38 tour operators, suppliers, and destinations) from a diverse array of organizations and companies offer insight to how they navigated the economic downturn and what they are doing now to improve their business operations, programming, and marketing to ensure long-term sustainability. Their projection of future challenges and opportunities, as well as a compendium of new marketing and programming ideas, is invaluable. The “conversation” will no doubt be continued and deepened at the upcoming Educational Travel Conference in Providence, RI, from February 3-6, 2010.  

The complete report is available to ETC members only. Those who wish to become ETC members can gain access to the ETC Roundtables Report. If you are registering for the 2010 Educational Travel Conference, you will automatically receive a complimentary 1-year community membership, which includes access to this report and other annual ETC reports and speaker papers.  

To access the ETC 2009 Roundtables Report, log into ETC's website and click on the "Resources" tab. The report’s contents include:
•Enrollment Changes Reported by Travel Planners and Tour Operators, Destinations, and Suppliers    
•Factors Impacting Business
•The Most Pressing Issues in 2009 for Travel Planners, Tour Operators, Destinations, and Suppliers                    
•Staffing Changes Among Travel Planners, Tour Operators, Destinations, and Suppliers    
•Proactive Strategies and Responses in a Downturn Economy    
•Forecasting Key Challenges for 2010-11
•New Programming Ideas
•New Marketing Ideas

Press queries may be directed to:

J.Mara DelliPriscoli
Founder, ETC
President, Travel Learning Connections, Inc.
PO Box 159
Ronan, MT 59864-0159
TLC Office Phone: 406-745-4800
Fax: 406-745-3600