You will hear a trainer describing specialised holidays offered by BC Travel.
First, you have some time to look at questions 11 to 17.
Now listen carefully and answer questions 11 to 17.
In this part of today's training, we'll examine some of BC Travel's more specialised holidays.
Tourism is a highly competitive industry, so we must understand how the market is developing.
Looking first at age, travellers over 65 form an important market that has grown steadily each year.
People aged 31 to 42 take the fewest holidays, and their numbers show no indication of increasing.
The largest group is still those aged 16 to 30, but it has experienced the sharpest decline in recent years.
By contrast, bookings among 55 to 64 year olds have risen noticeably.
Demand from travellers aged 43 to 54 has remained stable rather than producing the growth we anticipated.
Across almost every age group, holidays built around a specialised activity are becoming more popular.
These aren't adventure holidays involving dangerous activities, such as whitewater rafting, purely for excitement.
They usually feature lower risk sports or pursuits such as art and music.
Nor do they necessarily offer better value than conventional holidays.
They frequently cost more.
However, these trips are often based away from major tourist centres.
As a result, clients can learn more about local residents and customs, and many describe that cultural contact as a major benefit.
Participants also develop a skill or talent, but they often say that the strongest attraction is meeting like-minded people and forming friendships that continue after the holiday.
Let me give you some examples.
Our painting holidays operate at four centres in France and Italy and welcome all standards, including beginners.
We already have an excellent group of artists teaching the classes, several of whom have worked with us from the beginning.
Five more teachers join us this year, enabling every centre to run additional classes.
With cooking holidays, many companies concentrate on recipes from one country, normally the country being visited.
Our programmes are different because participants prepare dishes from many nations.
We also use high-quality organic ingredients, as clients now expect, and usually include some vegetarian recipes.
Photography holidays are available in countries ranging from Iceland to Vietnam, giving participants access to remarkable scenery.
Each group contains no more than eight people, so every client receives individual tuition.
Excursions are led by qualified guides.
At the end, the group holds an exhibition, allowing everyone to view the other participants' photographs and receive useful comments from the tutor.
Before you hear the rest of the talk, you have some time to look at questions 18 to 20.
Now listen and answer questions 18 to 20.
Finally, I'll describe our fitness holidays.
In Ireland and Italy, we provide week-long general fitness courses for people of every age and ability.
Each client first meets a trainer, and together they design a personal programme.
Besides becoming fitter, participants report losing much of the stress accumulated in everyday life.
Our Greek programme lasts two weeks and is intended for people who want to control their weight.
It includes the expected features, such as an individual diet plan, but the most popular element is that all exercise sessions take place on the beach.
Clients prefer that setting to a gym.
We also run several holidays in Morocco.
One of the most successful is based on mountain biking.
We supply the bicycles and provide different routes for different ability levels.
One version is designed specifically for families and is particularly popular.
That's all I have time to cover today.
