What does it mean?

“Gap travel” refers to a trip taken by a person who has decided to postpone or put on hold work or studies in order to satisfy his or her wanderlust. “Gap travel” first began after WWII, at a time when society looked favourably on young people discovering the globe in order to broaden their outlook and increase the possibility of achieving world peace. However, it was not until the end of the 90s that the idea of travelling before starting university became more widespread.

Three distinct segments

More recently, the gap travel concept has expanded to include other age groups, specifically successful professionals who have decided to change careers. These people often take advantage of this period of transition in order to travel. Increased acceptance of this idea in educational and professional milieus has contributed to the expansion of this kind of travel. A growing number of seniors who are both financially secure and in good health also decide to discover new horizons. People in this category were backpackers in their youth and are hence experienced travellers. There are three distinct categories of gap travellers:

• College or high school graduates about to start university;
• Professionals who decide to take time off from their job;
• People who have taken early retirement but who have not yet begun any post-retirement activities (casual part-time work, volunteering, etc.).

Extent and origin of the market

Over 90% of the gap travel market consists of independent travellers who organize their own trips. The British research firm Mintel estimates that such travellers spend over CAD$10 billion on 1 million to 1.5 million trips per year worldwide. The UK has by far the most gap travellers, accounting for roughly CAD$5 billion in spending.

In terms of their impact on the local economy, their length of stay offsets the relatively low daily spending of this group of travellers. On average, gap travellers spend roughly CAD$10,000 per trip; those in mid-career tend to have deeper pockets, budgeting approximately CAD$16,000 per trip. UK gap travellers represent a mere 1% of international departures from Britain, but an astonishing 10% of total spending.

The primarily English-speaking youth segment hails mostly from the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Approximately 230,000 British students between 18 and 24 go on this kind of trip. The Scandinavian countries, Canada and Ireland could also be potential client bases. A certain percentage of young Americans studying in the UK visits the Old World between semesters. However, unlike other nationalities (notably the British), American youth seem less inclined to travel internationally.

British mid-career gap travellers number 90,000, compared with a total of 200,000 retirees.

Destination possibilities

Australia and New Zealand are ideal destinations for this kind of trip, particularly for Europeans. A number of factors affect a destination’s appeal for gap travellers: security, visa requirements, cost of living and the chances of getting a job. Australia capitalizes on its reputation as a far-away, dream destination, boosting its competitive advantage in this area with aggressive ad campaigns. In 2005, the Australian government allocated CAD$6 million for publicizing the advantages of its Working Holiday Maker visa to attract gap travellers from abroad. It also extended the visa period from one to two years.

Asia’s combination of cultural riches and low cost of living also appeals to this kind of traveller. Must-see destinations in that part of the world include India, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia. Japan is also a favourite destination, but more as a place to work.

South America and the South Pacific, with Brazil and the Fiji Islands heading the list, are increasingly popular choices. Finally, Africa’s international aid organizations attract a great number of workers inspired by humanitarian values.

What about Canada?

Since the rules governing international visitors fall under federal jurisdiction, the Canadian government plays a crucial role in attracting this segment of travellers. Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada has Working Holiday Programs. They offer visas to residents of the 13 eligible countries: Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, South Korea, Finland, France, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom. These visas enable foreigners to travel in Canada and supplement their travel funds through incidental employment, up to a maximum period of 12 months. Unfortunately, residents of the US are not eligible for this kind of visa.

At the regional level, Tremblant is an excellent example of a destination that has successfully exploited this market segment. The organization “Ski le Gap” was created in 1994, specifically targetting British outdoor enthusiasts looking for intensive downhill ski or snowboard instruction. The resort claims it provides a unique gap-year experience as well as the opportunity to gain practical qualifications. This also gives it access to a pool of qualified instructors, a significant asset for companies in this sector.

There are innumerable strategies for attracting this category of travellers, whose habits certainly do not follow any of the usual patterns. New ways of exploiting obvious affinities – such as Tremblant’s Ski le Gap program aimed at British skiers – could be explored. For example, Quebec could stimulate French interest in specific niche markets. After all, our wide-open spaces are still a powerful draw that could easily be associated with a work-travel program, specifically by the outdoor and adventure tourism sectors.

Sources:

- e-tid. Brazil Develops as Gap Year Destination, July 11, 2006.
- Hide, Will and Tom Chesshyre. “The Trip of a Lifetime Starts Here,” The Times [travel.timesonline.co.uk], June 17, 2006.
- Hotel News Resource. Gap Travel – Emerging Niche Market with 1 million to 1.5 million Trips Per Year, February 21, 2006.
- Mintel International Group. “Gap Year Travel International,” Travel & Tourism Analyst, No. 12, July 2005.
- Wignall, Alice. “Time Out,” The Guardian [travel.guardian.co.uk], August 19, 2004.

Recognizing the importance of DMOs

Working in an industry composed primarily of small and medium-size businesses, DMOs are – first and foremost – “umbrella” organizations, working in a very heterogeneous environment. First-generation DMOs were simply public organizations funded entirely by government, and although this type of structure continues to predominate, many new forms have emerged at the national, regional and even municipal levels. The table below summarizes the results of a global survey of such organizations conducted by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) in 2004.

In Canada, the Canadian Tourism Commission is an example of a public/private partnership, just like the national DMOs in the United Kingdom, France, Denmark and Australia. In countries like Germany, Italy, Greece and Portugal, the national DMOs are entirely publicly funded, while some destinations have taken the opposite tack, seeing government intervention as unnecessary and relying instead on natural market forces. This is the model that prevails in the US, the Netherlands and Japan. (In the case of Japan, the national tourism bureau was simply privatized.)

Moreover, a growing number of tourist destinations are establishing public/private partnerships to set up destination management systems. BonjourQuébec.com, an alliance of Tourisme Québec and Bell Canada, is one such example. The WTO and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) both encourage this approach.

Need to adapt

In the constantly evolving world of tourism, DMOs must keep up with the times and adapt. According to Arthur Oberascher, CEO of the Austrian National Tourism Office, the major problem for DMOs is their traditional focus on supply, catering as they do to the interests of their member businesses. In fact, they must better understand demand so they can adapt to consumer needs. DMOs must take on the role of knowledge brokers, acting as information clearinghouses for consumers and suppliers alike. Ultimately, DMO managers, just like hotel managers, should have access to daily activity reports: inventories, customer and spending profiles, financial analyses, etc. As a matter of course, DMOs should be linked 24/7 in a communication network with destination suppliers. Although we are obviously not there yet, this gives us an idea of the direction we should be taking.

Furthermore, increased consumer use of the internet to research tourism destinations and purchase travel products is one of the major changes to the DMOs’ operational environment. DMOs have to consider this new consumer attitude and adapt to the digital information age. According to the WTO, while the majority of national organizations have e-commerce strategies, at least half of regional and local outfits do not.

Case study: East of England Tourist Board

In their desire to acquire market intelligence, DMOs, like those in Austria and the East of England, have begun to redefine their areas of activity. Assuming the role of intermediary, these organizations are acting as knowledge brokers by using information about consumers to help the businesses who provide travel products and services.

For example, the East of England Tourist Board uses Tiscover, a destination management system, to encourage tourism organizations to offer packages on their website. Called UNITE, the platform enables suppliers to easily create packages using a content management system. The tourist board offers ongoing training and support to users as they familiarize themselves with the technical requirements. In fact, the challenge is more cultural than technical, because most small and medium-size businesses are not very familiar with this form of marketing.

Founded in 1991, Tiscover acts as a destination portal for Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Italy and the United Kingdom.

Tourism New South Wales: using e-business application

Many DMOs wonder how to best communicate and transmit their product information to various international markets at a low cost. This was the challenge facing Tourism New South Wales (TNSW), a regional tourist board in Australia.

The tourist guide for Sydney and the New South Wales region is the single most important tool available to consumers planning a trip. Since it would be prohibitively expensive to send this 150+ page document to potential visitors from the Americas and Europe, TNSW instead turned to the private sector, partnering with OnlineDM and Sampson Carroll to publish an international, interactive version of the tourist guide.

This interactive brochure uses mobileBrochure technology, a platform developed by Mobular Technologies.

The format offers a number of attractive features:The documents created are much smaller than traditional PDF files. This means they can be emailed without clogging the bandwidth of either sender or recipient. For example, the email for an interactive 200-page catalogue would generally be smaller than 20 k.

• The interface is very user-friendly, incorporating pull-down menus, regional content, a search engine, etc.
• The format is embedded in an email and does not require any plug-ins, attachments or reader software.
• Unlike hyperlinks, these documents are not HTML messages that redirect the consumer to a Website.
• User interaction with Mobular documents can be thoroughly monitored; in other words, usage data are saved in real time and may be accessed by the sender through a dedicated password-secured site. With this feature, DMOs can find out how many people have consulted the document, what search terms are used most often, which regions attract the most interest, the most popular pages, and so on.

A number of DMOs – those in Wisconsin, Maine and San Luis Obispo County in California – have made this technology part of their marketing strategy. With vacations increasingly planned at the last minute and traditional travel guides only consulted once travellers are on-site, e-brochures are a logical solution.

Sources:

- Delgado, Joaquin A. and Maggie Bowen. “DestinationFinder: A Travel – Focused Search Engine, Portal and Recommender System for the DMO Marketplace,” talk given at ENTER 2004.
- Gretzel, Ulrike and Daniel R. Fesenmaier. “Information Technology Use and Organisational Approaches: A Comparison of Destination Marketing Organizations in the United States and Canada,” National Laboratory for Tourism and eCommerce, 2002.
- Mintel Group. “Destination Marketing,” Travel & Tourism Analyst, No. 5, April 2005.
- Travel Research International. “Roles and Responsibilities in Tourism Support and Promotion in the Yorkshire and Humber Region,” prepared for Yorkshire Forward, December 2003.