FYI from MCI™

Protecting your business from seasonal slowdowns, slips and slumps

How to beat the winter doldrums? FYI from MCI spoke to tour companies that are dedicated to keeping coaches rolling, even in the cold, slow winter months.

Make it an event

Susan Arko, owner of Free-Spirit Tours in Gilbert, Arizona, has been organizing a Winter Break for boomers and seniors for the past four years. Staged in Laughlin, Nevada, generally in January, Winter Break attracts over 4,000 visitors with events that have included a classic car show, pageants, sock hops, cooking classes, wine tastings, fitness activities and more. Sponsored this year by four local casino hotels and the Laughlin Visitors Bureau, the event is marketed to leisure travelers, regional and national tour groups, and international groups. The event even has its own web site at www.winterbreak.us. Laughlin is only a two-hour drive from Gilbert, so Arko has every advantage in organizing Winter Break and assuring its success. Motorcoach transportation providers include Arrow and Gray Line Tours.

Follow the sun

John Stachnik, CTP, CTC, president and co-owner of Mayflower Tours, Downers Grove, Illinois, learned early on that to succeed in the tour business up north, trips need to head south, southeast or southwest during the winter season. For the past 20 years, Mayflower has been very successful at marketing a seasonal winter vacation package to warm-weather destinations within the U.S. "Early on, when we founded the company, we wanted to offer a wintertime value tour," says Stachnik. "We had several criteria when developing the concept. First, it had to a be warm-weather destination; it did not have to be a motorcoach tour, but as it has turned out, that what it has been."

Each year, Mayflower attracts between 2,000 to 4,700 travelers on its winter tour package. This year, "Value-tour 2006" is heading to the Antebellum South and the Cowboy Culture of the Fort Worth. It's a nine-day tour offered in February, March, April and May. Mayflower's regional division heavily promotes the tour through direct mail, bank travel groups, senior groups, park districts, hospitals, and through motorcoach tour and charter companies. "Motorcoach companies have been great partners in assisting us with promoting tours," said Stachnik, who is currently at work planning programs and tours for 2007 but will not reveal next year's destination. "We like to keep the suspense up and then roll out the news in May."

Stachnik believes value pricing is still the number-one factor in getting people to go on trips. That, and an innovative approach. "There aren't any new places, but there are different ways to see places. You don't offer the grand tour of Italy with stops in Venice and Florence, because most people have done it. Instead, cooking schools and adventure travel with hiking or out-of-the way sights have more appeal."

Stay close to home

Some tour companies are making local attractions national. The Chicago Tribune's Travel section, for example, recently wrote about the Illinois and Iowa towns bordering the Mississippi River that annually host bald eagle watches from January through March. Each winter, thousands of bald eagles fly from Canada in search of food in open water near Mississippi River locks and dams. Hundreds of people travel to see them, and many motorcoach companies assist with longer day tours, such as those offered by Bluff City Tours near Alton, Illinois.

Seasonal peak periods

In the Midwest, motorcoach trips to malls, indoor water parks and the ski slopes continue to keep motorcoaches moving. And a new trend with colleges and universities are campus motorcoach tours for high school students, reports Jeff Gayduk, president of Premier Tourism Marketing. "These types of activities, the kind of winter value tours offered by Mayflower, and promoting local events all lend themselves to off-season opportunities," says Gayduk.

So what should you do to fill coaches this (or next) winter? Take a good look at your market, and think creatively. Whether you look in your own backyard or farther afield, you're sure to find new destinations and touring approaches that will give your passengers — and your bottom line — a much-needed winter break.

The FYI from MCI editorial staff values your feedback. Please e-mail any suggestions, comments, or ideas for future articles to fyi@mcicoach.com.