MALAYSIAN outbound travel agents are seeing double-digit growth in demand for customised tours for small leisure groups, and do not expect this segment to be affected by the increasing cost of air travel.
Mayflower Acme Tours has seen a 25 per cent year-on-year increase in business from this segment since 2009. Deputy general manager Abdul Rahman Mohamed said: “These travellers choose not to join series tours and are willing to pay more because they can afford to. They know exactly what they want to see and usually opt for destinations where English is widely spoken, such as Australia, the US and Europe.”
GTA by Travelport general manager Al Mulenga said his company had seen a 300 per cent growth in demand from Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei for quoted FIT tours (tailormade, full-board tours for small groups) since these were introduced two years ago.
He said travel was mostly to regional destinations, North Asia, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and the US. The trips typically lasted between three to five nights for shorthaul destinations, and five to seven nights for longhaul destinations.
