Each fall, caravans of buses arrive in NH full of leaf peepers, followed by skiers and others flocking to the Granite State to enjoy natural and cultural attractions … and tax-free shopping. With group tours spending an estimated $100 million in NH last year, the group tourism market is an important segment of the state’s tourism industry—and one that the state is trying to grow.
Industry professionals generally identify a “group” as at least 10 people travelling together on an organized trip. The group umbrella includes several categories, the largest of which is the “SMERF” group—or social, military, education, religious and fraternal tourists. Other segments include meetings, sports, weddings and ethnic interest travelers.
The NH Division of Travel and Tourism Development launched a new website specifically aimed at the group tour market in January (visitnh.gov/group). “Before we built the microsite, tour planners told us they were finding it difficult to find lodging, attractions and other businesses that could handle large groups,” says Travel Division Director Lori Harnois. “The site is geared toward industry professionals as well as consumers who are looking to book group trips like a girlfriends’ getaway or a family reunion.”
The microsite cost $20,000 and required significant work to the data engine to accommodate searches targeted to group business, says Harnois. Early signs indicate that the site has been well received.
“We’ve had 1,000 unique visits [as of late March], primarily by tour professionals at this point,” Harnois says, “But going forward, we hope to raise awareness of it among general travel consumers.”
Potential Cash Cow
NH’s tourism industry as a whole accounts for some $4.4 billion in direct spending, making it one of the largest sectors of the Gross State Product, according to the Institute for NH Studies at Plymouth State University. It generated nearly $3 billion in the summer and fall seasons of 2012 alone.
In 2009, the Institute released a report on group tourism, which remains the best data specific to this segment to date. (Group tourism data is not collected routinely by the state nor reported by businesses.) The Group Tour Survey Report analyzed the responses of more than 130 “group friendly” properties regarding their experiences. Among its findings were:
- Total economic impact from group tours was between $60 million to $70 million in 2008;
- Group tours accounted for 15 percent of revenue of the properties surveyed;
- Nearly 12 percent of groups visiting NH were international.
- A new report by the American Bus Association concluded that motorcoach tourism alone in NH contributed $718 million to the economy in 2012, including multipliers encompassing hospitality, retail and associated businesses as well as related wages. Stripping out the multipliers, the NH Division of Travel and Tourism pegs direct spending by groups visiting NH was actually between $80 million to $100 million in 2012.
The NH Draw
Harnois says it’s no secret why NH is such a popular draw for group tours. “The White Mountains are well known outside of New Hampshire, as is Lake Winnipesaukee and the Seacoast,” she says.
Collette Crisp, who owns New Hampshire Tours, a full-service tour operator in Nashua, says NH’s advantage is also its size. “We like to promote New Hampshire as ‘stay four nights and unpack once,’” she says of the state’s diverse landscape, attractions and cultural offerings as well as its proximity to Boston. “Everything can be done as a day trip.”
Among the most popular attractions for group tours in NH are train rides (such as the Cog Railway and the Scenic Railroads in the Lakes Region and North Country); cruises (like the M/S Mount Washington and Isles of Shoals); shopping (especially at the outlets in Tilton, Merrimack and North Conway); Franconia Notch and other state parks; and historic sites.
Harnois says the fall foliage season remains one of NH’s largest draws, as are summer excursions to the Lakes and Seacoast regions. “We are also starting to see the group business grow in the spring because operators have a good opportunity to negotiate prices then,” she says.
A Growing Industry
Many tourism establishments across the state report healthy growth in their business from group tours, echoing the industry reports.
Jayne O’Connor, president of the White Mountain Attractions Association, and Amy Landers, executive director of the Lakes Region Tourism Association, (two regional marketing organizations) confirm group tour business has grown significantly in recent years.
“I know we are up about 8 percent for this year already in the number of tour groups we work with,” says O’Connor. She also points out that bus occupancy increased in 2012, from about 35 passengers per bus to 55 per bus. “We expect to see full buses again this summer.”
Sue Presby, owner and director of group sales of the Cog Railway at the base of Mount Washington in Bretton Woods, says group tours at the Cog grew from about 6,000 group visitors in 2011 to more than 9,400 in 2012. “We expect to see continued growth” for 2013, she adds.
Peter Ramsey has a unique perspective on the group tour market—he’s president and CEO of the Palace Theatre in Manchester and chair of the NH Travel Council, a statewide promotional organization.
He says attendance at The Palace’s annual production of “A Christmas Carol” increased by more than 10 percent for school groups alone, including more participation from Maine and Massachusetts school groups.
Growth Strategies
The growth in the group market seen by NH’s travel professionals didn’t happen by accident; it’s the result, oftentimes, of years of hard work.
“Bus groups are an extremely important component of our daily business. After all, each bus brings at least 48 to 50 paying guests per visit,” says Paul Gilbin, marketing director for the Hobo Railroad in Lincoln and the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad in Meredith. He says his attractions have reached out to the group market since they opened in 1987 and 1991 respectively.
Representatives from the NH Division of Travel and Tourism and many NH travel businesses took part in the 2013 American Bus Association Marketplace in Charlotte, N.C., this past January, one of the largest travel and tourism conventions in North America, just to meet with group tour operators.
Kimberly Clarke, sales department manager at the White Mountain Hotel and Resort in North Conway, says the hotel’s owner Gary Sullivan grew up in the tour business and owned a tour agency himself, so groups have always been an important part of the hotel’s business model and a significant part of its business.
“We’re an 80-room hotel, so we can handle up to three motorcoaches,” says Clarke. “The hotel was practically built with groups in mind.” Its three venues total more than 6,500 square feet of meeting space and breakout rooms, including the Echo Ballroom with mountain views that can accommodate meetings and receptions for up to 120 guests. It provides planning services for meeting organizers and group tour planners. As a result, she says, the hotel has seen an uptick in group business, and lodging space is nearly sold out for fall tour groups for the next two years. The hotel also markets its proximity to area attractions.
Ramsey says the Palace Theatre, too, works “a year or more ahead” with school groups and tour operators to create discount packages. He stresses that marketing NH as a destination is a bit like the adage about rising tides lifting all boats. “I’ve always advocated that tourism in New Hampshire is a group responsibility,” he says. “You can’t just sell the Palace, you also have to sell great hotels and great highways.”
Outreach Differences
Industry professionals say that marketing geared toward groups is different from that for general consumers. “We have a handful of tour planning companies in New Hampshire, but those operators sell outbound travel,” says Harnois. “Our audience is located outside of
New Hampshire.”
The state travel office acts as a liaison between industry professionals outside of NH and those instate, says Harnois, providing information on logistics, accessibility, rate structure and added value. This differs from information about what to see and do in NH that it provides to independent leisure travelers.
O’Connor of White Mountain Attractions says not every property or attraction makes a good group destination. “Most groups have certain lodging requirements—indoor hallways, accessibility for seniors, for example. Is there an onsite restaurant capable of handling 55 people in a shot? Some B&Bs might not be the best choice,” she says.
Packages that NH’s travel professionals create for group tours also vary. For example, the Mount Washington Hotel might arrange for motorcoach transportation to view fall foliage in addition to providing rooms. The Lakes Region association, however, may provide a guide to narrate tours while groups are riding on a bus. Ski resorts often create packages that include lift tickets, ski and equipment rental, and even meals while partnering with area hotels to provide lodging.
Changing Faces, Changing Places
One of the more intriguing trends in NH’s group market is the demographic shift in who is climbing aboard buses. Operators like Crisp of New Hampshire Tours, and Belinda Leonard, co-owner of the family-run New England Coach, a touring business based in Raymond, say the ages of group travelers are skewing younger, as fewer of the World War II generation and more baby boomers, or those in their 50s and 60s, are traveling.
In years past, senior citizens went on tours booked by their senior living communities, but many are now well into their 80s and “starting to age out of the market,” says Leonard.
Crisp also points out that senior centers—an important market for group travel—now book fewer trips since the recession. “They used to run trips every month; now it’s every three months,” she says.
Clarke at the White Mountain Hotel says older seniors who do still travel “often join other charters.”
The recession also illustrates how different generations handle their discretionary income, which NH travel professionals also point to is a reason for the demographic shift. “Older groups are not spenders; they saved everything for a rainy day. Baby boomers seem to spend it as they get it. That generation is also inheriting wealth from their parents who saved,” says Leonard.
Baby boomers also have different demands in what they want to see and do when they arrive at their destination as compared to older generations. They don’t want to just sightsee; they want a variety of activities from which to choose. For example, Landers of the Lakes Region Tourism Association says boomer groups “want the option to take a ride on the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railway, cruise on the M/S Mount Washington, or go shopping—not just visit a single attraction en masse.”
Even viewing fall foliage, a perennial favorite, isn’t just about the autumn colors anymore. “Photography tours are growing like wildfire,” says Crisp. And Gilbin says the Winnipesaukee Scenic Railroad will be offering lectures onboard the train with naturalists from the Squam Lakes Natural Science Center in nearby Holderness.
Baby boomers may represent a large portion of the group market, but Chani Greiner, Attitash and Wildcat Mountains resort sales manager, sees a range of groups coming to the resort, including boomers, depending on the season. “In the summer, we have a lot of summer camps for middle- and high-school groups. In the winter, we also see college ski groups and ski clubs with adults and seniors,” she says.
International Business
Tours by international visitors are another important part of NH’s group tourism industry. Canada is the most important foreign market for the Granite State. According to the Division of Travel and Tourism Development, more than 1 million Canadians—leisure travelers as well as those in groups—visited NH in 2010 (the most recent data available), an increase of nearly 20 percent from 2009. The state also spent $600,000 in FY 2011 on marketing efforts to attract Canadian groups, up 23 percent from fiscal 2010.
Reaching out even further, the Division spends $190,000 each year on marketing to overseas countries, primarily the United Kingdom, Germany, Ireland, France, Italy and now Japan. The recent addition of nonstop flights from Tokyo to Boston has made Japan the hottest new market. In fact, information from the Lakes Region Tourism Association says that direct flights from Tokyo to Boston were near 90 percent capacity last summer and fall.
“New Hampshire is now so much closer,” says O’Connor of White Mountain Attractions. “Japanese tour groups no longer have to travel from New York City or even Chicago to reach the state.”
Just as they do to attract domestic group tour operators, many NH travel professionals also attend events in other countries to introduce NH to foreign operators. Presby says this past January and February alone she’s logged mo
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