For Niche Markets

Supplement toTravel Agent Professional

Britain:

Well, I’ve now brought them all together with a brand new Aladdin’sCave of a website which will help you to match the right UK travel expe-riences to your client’s time frame, interests and budget. Check it out atwww.customgb.co.uk

As over 60% of travel agents are female, you’ll be pleased to know thatthere’s quite a large section given over to Girls Getaways featuring aprivate access tour of Downton Abbey, Sophisticated Shopping in London,Antique Fairs and London Markets and a short, largely London based tourIn Memory of Princess Diana. For those interested in Embroidery,Needlework and Quilting I’ve got that covered as well.

The Cotswolds also lends itself well to Women Only travel with a TeaRoom Tour and another featuring Strawberries, Lavender and Roses! Acycling tour also offers a different perspective on a beautiful, often steepcorner of England.

Family Travel is well catered for with London based trip that can include aspeed boat ride on the River Thames, a flight on the London Eye, a JamesBond themed tour and a side trip to the Dr Who Experience. (Harry)Pottering around England delivers locations featured in the films plus a visitto the Warner Bros. Studio Tour London — The Making of Harry Potter.

If you look at back issues of Travel Agent Professional, you’ll see I’veput together a number of articles extolling the virtues of using backdoors intoBritain (Birmingham and Manchester), bright ideas for Family Travel, shop-ping trips for Girls Getaways, getting all steamed up with Britain’s HeritageRailways, the Cotswolds and how to make Niche Markets profitable.

Bubble, Fizz and Pleasant Surprises

For Stately Homes andGarden lovers, there aretours for the ChelseaFlower Show (end May)and the Hampton CourtFlower Show (early July)that allow you plenty oftime to smell the roses.Having discovered thatthere are 245 OrchidSociet ies in Nor thAmerica there’s also aLondon programme specif-ically for the EuropeanOrchid Show andConference next April.

There are also some imag-inative suggestions formaking valuable extracommission out of tailormade pre and post cruiseextensions sailing in/outof Southampton, Dover,Ti lbury and Harwich.Many first and third timeclients will want to spendtime in London but moreregular visitors will thankyou for offering them moretime in the countryside.

This year, we’re celebrating the450th anniversary of the birth ofWilliam Shakespeare which offersthe chance to be more creativeabout theatre tours. This includesan interesting tour that follows theroute led by the Bard as he jour-neyed between London andStratford upon Avon. It’s the brain-chi ld of a very experiencedShakespearian actor who alsoleads the tour.

For art galleries and museums look-ing for fund raisers there are valueadded visual arts programmes andfor those who’ve been smitten bythe many costume dramas onMasterpiece Theatre there’s a JaneAusten tour which can be timed tocoincide with the annual JaneAusten Festival in Bath.

If arranging a UK tour for your ownchurch is on your agenda there aretravel less, sing more cathedral citybased tours that roughly follow aroute taken by Chaucer’s Pilgrimsfrom Southwark to Rochester andCanterbury, while another connectsChichester, Winchester andSalisbury. There are 2 versions of aJohn Wesley Methodist Heritagetour and a memorable Pilgrimagetour that visits the holy islands ofIona, Incholm and Lindisfarne.

These UK products are all good to go and they will be of greatinterest to the many different niche markets on your doorstep.YOU are the missing link. Supplied with the right conversationstarting itinerary, you have the skill to get them there and backwith smiles on their faces and earn some valuable commissionwhile doing so.

For further tour information please contact Paull Tickner at pjtickner@customgb.co.uk • �www.customgb.co.uk

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