COVID-19如何改变了野生动物园预订
经过多里·萨尔茨曼(Dori Saltzman)/“This is Africa’s moment,” proclaimed Abercrombie & Kent, USA’s Africa product manager, Suzanne Teng, but A&K isn’t the only safari operator feeling this way.
“我们看到的预订数量大大增加,”非洲旅行希尔斯旅行的创始人兼总裁桑迪·萨尔(Sandy Salle)告诉旅行市场报告。beplay客服“现在对非洲野生动物园的需求非常高,因为重新安排了延迟的旅行并计划了新的旅行。”
CMO Nicole Robinson说,AT&BEYERD公司恢复了浮游水平的销售。
但是,预订的激增并不意味着一切都恢复了前的规范。与其他旅游行业一样,新趋势正在出现。beplay客服旅行市场报告与四名Safari运营商联系,以了解他们所看到的。
较短的预订窗口
较短的预订窗户一直是整个旅游行业的一种趋势,并且已经在前杂货店附近。但是,由于大流行以来,旅行条件加剧了这一趋势。
罗宾逊说:“我们看到的预订时间甚至更短,因为这使旅行者在计划和国家级别的入境要求方面具有更确定性。”
萨尔回应了鲁滨逊。“我们在预订中看到了大幅度的交货时间。我们的大多数要求曾经有12个月的旅行。现在,我们从旅行中看到了越来越多的要求(甚至更少)的要求。忙碌,顾问需要知道,供应商正在研究较短的时间表,并且可用性可能会迅速改变。”
Alling Africa的市场经理Becca Fritz还告诉TMR,在大流行之前,平均预订窗口在12到14个月内。自2021年初以来,她说,交货时间已经短短五个月。
“Travelers realize that after losing the ability to travel in the past, they don’t want to miss a chance now and are more eager to check off their bucket list items,” she said.
Her advice to travel advisors? “Due to the shorter booking window and pent-up demand making it more challenging to find space, new inquiries require more time and a sense of urgency than before.”
她还说,由于计划在缩短的时间范围内计划野生动物园的时间很耗时,因此如果尚未这样做,顾问应收取计划费。
美国的Abercrombie&Kent没有看到与其他供应商相同的较短预订窗口。实际上,据Teng称,2023年峰季的大部分时间已经售罄,该公司鼓励今年夏天进行简短的窗户预订。
“2023 is on track to be a banner year… Travel advisors should encourage their clients who are interested to commit and book sooner rather than later. 2022 Southern Africa peak season still has opportunity and availability. Travel advisors should advise guests postponing travel to 2023 and beyond that they will face a shortage of space, more crowded national parks in peak season and higher prices.”
More Experiential, Less Game Drive Only
几位野生动物园运营商说,他们注意到的另一种趋势是,旅行者对不仅仅是游戏驱动器的兴趣越来越大。
弗里茨告诉TMR:“我们多次听到旅行者的声音,‘我不想整天坐在车上。”“旅行者希望经验使他们能够以独特的方式看到和体验非洲。想想直升机野生动物园,热气球,星床,骑马野生动物园,骑自行车的风景景观和城市边防冒险。”
Teng说:“我们还看到有兴趣更加活跃于Safari。”结果,在肯尼亚的一个新营地中,A&K增加了活动,包括骑自行车,跑步,与犀牛一起骑马,导游的布什步行以及“遇见邻居”社区访问。
阿塔尔·罗宾逊(At&Beyone)说,他们看到客人对与可持续旅游有关的活动的更多兴趣。
“有一个全球意识在我们的转变natural resources and traveling to connect with a destination and its people, instead of just ticking the box,” she said. “It was a developing trend before COVID, but during the pandemic, there was a sharp increase in awareness. Stories circulated far and wide about the visible effects of giving nature a change to recover…Interest in travel that puts nature at the center of the itinerary definitely increased.”
为了回应这种新的意识和对相关活动的需求,运营商现在提供诸如犀牛Dehorning,Elephant Collaring等的附加保护选择以及社区访问。
较大的预算/更长的行程
就像在其他旅游行业中一样,所谓的“复仇旅行”也使自己在野生动物园预订中感到自己。人们希望花更多的钱和更多的时间来弥补浪费的时间。
弗里茨说:“与流行前相比,平均预算增长了42%。”“我们注意到预算更加灵活,因为旅行者几年来没有计划过大旅行。他们一直在为完美的旅行储蓄,他们不怕花比过去的多花钱。”
“We’re also finding that people are lingering longer at each destination,” said Salle. “Whereas before they might have spent two to three night at each location, they’re now spending four or even six nights to really fully experience a particular property or area.”
Robinson said they’re seeing similar interest in longer stays. “Some guests are more concerned with safety… such guests might choose to minimize time on flights and transfers. We launched longer stay options to meet this need where you would stay at a lodge for longer instead of moving every few days.”
At A&K this safety concern is translating into a greater interest in private air travel while on safari. “They want more space and privacy,” Teng said.
野生动物园时间是家庭时间
Lastly, some of the safari operators we spoke with also said they’re seeing a boom in multi-generational family booking, something Robinson said had started before the pandemic and only continues to pick up momentum.
“We are seeing a new sense of urgency – many guests feel they have lost two years and older clients are concerned about having fewer healthy years left to travel,” Teng said. “Many are reimagining postponed holidays as a ways to reconnect with family members who live across the country – or around the world. They want to celebrate milestones together. As a result, A&K is seeing a growing number of multi-generational families traveling in groups of eight to 14 and ranging in age from 4 to 90.