Europe is hot market for Tauck

Conventional wisdom has it that US travel to Europe is down. But that’s not how Jennifer Tombaugh, brand manager for Tauck Bridges, sees it. “That’s what we heard, too, but we’ve seen Europe really take off this year. Our Castles and Kings tour, from London to Paris, is our third largest selling,” she told TravelMole. One reason she cited was that Tauck froze prices for 2004. The company’s most popular tours are to national parks in the US. Tauck’s “Castles and Kings” tour starts at $2571. Children under 11 get a $200 discount. Tauck Bridges, sister company to Tauck World Discovery, announced recently it had become America’s top selling escorted family travel tour operator. Launched in 2003, Tauck Bridges now has a dozen itineraries in the US, Canada, Europe, Costa Rica and the Galapagos. Ms Tombaugh thinks Europe has also strengthened because of pent-up demand post 9-11 when many Americans did not stray too far from home. She said Costa Rica has also been a particularly strong market. “I think it’s because it’s a good family market that has done a fantastic job of selling itself as a safe place to be,” she said. Tauck Bridges has a strong travel agent following, she said, with more than half of its business booked by agents. Report by David Wilkening