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November/December 2003
Custom Tours Introduces Winter Wonderland
Vermont Package To Southern Senior Market
by Lani Duke

Custom Tours owner Linda Edelman is adding a third touring season to the packages she offers Vermont visitors. The new Winter Wonderland package targets already satisfied customers who have enjoyed her summer and fall offerings. Characterized under the heading “soft adventure,” the snow-time package aligns with a growing trend in motor coach tours, geared towards seniors and multigenerational groups.

“It's what’s happening in the industry,” Edelman says. “It's attractive to seniors and to second-and third-generation travelers who may come with them.”

Nearly eight out of 10 “active leisure travelers took at least one vacation with extended family, other families or friends” in the last five, a new survey by Yuesawich, Pepperdine, Brown & Russell revealed. Cited in a recent Hotel & Motel Management magazine, the study dubs this trend “togethering.”

Seniors, a large percentage of the groups who sign on with Edelman’s bus tours, have the opportunity to see Vermont in the winter and sample the variety of activities that it offers. Snowshoeing, snowmobiling, dog sledding, sleigh riding and riding a gondola to the top of the mountain are among the possibilities for her guests.

Southern groups have the most successful market for her tours. Some of them may never have experienced snow or had an opportunity to see New England in winter. She feels certain the new offering “will take off - it may take a little time.”

Edelman floated a trial package of Winter Wonderland last year, offering it to two groups from Tennessee. “They loved it,” she reports. “To them, it was unique and different.” Ergo, she is making it a permanent part of Custom Tours’ calendar year.

Seniors are delighted to be able to take an excursion geared to their comfort and ability level, Edelman generalized. She tailors the tours to each group’s likes and dislikes, abilities and interests. No two tours are ever alike, she notes. As a Vermont receptive tour operator, she receives groups into Vermont from all over the country. Locally she works with the Rutland County Retired Teachers group, putting together two trips a year for them. Every December they travel to New York City, and take a trip in the spring. This year, they will go to Cape May.

Baby Boomers offer a great business opportunity for Vermont, says Dave Kaufman, president of Vermont Tourism Network. They have a “greater propensity to do more things actively, and have no intention of slowing down until they have to.” Outdoor activities are a strong attraction for this age demographic. Vermont has a unique draw for them by being able to offer outdoor activities against a backdrop that is rich in historical and cultural aspects, he noted. “Vermont faces its biggest challenge ever for the tourism dollar,” Kaufman comments. “We have no theme parks, no casinos. We are what we are.”

January 2003
Custom Tours Expands Service From Killington
by Marcia Stoller

Motorcoach tours are an integral part of tourism in Vermont. Locally, both Custom Tours, Inc., and Finer Vermont Tours are companies that attract visitors to the area through the services they provide. Linda Edelman, owner of Custom Tours, Inc., has discovered an opportunity in the local tour/coach industry that will enhance both her business and the enjoyment of locals and guests in the Killington/Rutland area. Edelman, a “receptive tour operator,” receives groups into Vermont and the New England area from anywhere in the world.

“Generally, tour or group leaders planning a visit to Vermont will contact me to set up their touring package,” says Edelman. Such a “package” as it is referred to, might include lodging, meals, attractions, touring itineraries, and motorcoach transportation. “I customize 100 percent. I don't offer a service a prepackaged tours,” adds Edelman. Locally, Rutland County Retired Teachers and the Rutland Regional Medical Center have planned day and overnight excursions for their members and staff through Custom Tours, Inc.

Edelman, who originally started Killington Snowshoe Tours, realized there was strong interest for non-athletic activities for guests to the region, besides the major summer and winter activities of golfing, biking, skiing and snowboarding. While searching for a way to provide options using resources available, Edelman realized that “Montreal offered an opportunity to visit a foreign country with ease.” Through her already successful business, Edelman discovered that “people generally don't realize how close Canada, and Montreal in particular is, or how accessible it is for a day trip.” With the Killington Ski Resort frequently hosting weeks geared to Canadian visitors, Edelman decided it was time to reverse that trend. Edelman approached area businesses with the idea of being able to offer guests or employees day trips to Montreal, and received an overwhelmingly positive response. Hotels, inns, and B & B establishments were especially excited to be able to provide a day trip to their guests, many of whom needed a break, for any number of reasons, from physical activity.

Custom Tours utilizes Premier touring coaches, comfortably seating up to 50 people. A bathroom and numerous video screens are on the coaches. There is a food and restroom stop en route. Tours leave at 8:00 a.m. and return at 10:00 p.m. A tour director will accompany each bus, and a local French/English speaking guide will be available in Montreal for a tour of city attractions and dining options. Group dinners can be arranged, or guests are free to dine on their own. Edelman is also extending the Montreal day trip to local residents and businesses at a nominal cost. Individuals may make reservations on a space-available basis up to the day before departure. “This is a wonderful way to say ‘thank you’ to a valued employee or group of employees, or as a gift for a special person or occasion,” adds Edelman.

Custom Tours, Inc. is a member of or affiliated with the Killington Chamber of Commerce, Vermont Chamber of Commerce, Vermont Tourism Network, National Tour Association, and the American Bus Association.

October 2002 
Coach-tour business off slightly but still strong this foliage season
By Bart Bachman

Reports are somewhat mixed, but the general consensus seems to be that coach-tour business is off slightly, but not alarmingly, this fall, and that the White Mountain region is faring better than other areas as a tour destination.

Craig Colley, owner of Southern Touch Tours in Atlanta, Ga., says business is down 10 to 15 percent on tours to New England, but he adds, “It’s certainly not dead.”

Janice Crawford, executive director of the Mount Washington Valley Chamber of Commerce, said she has heard from some members that the coach tour business has become “a little dried up” due largely to the shaky stock market.

“People don’t have the disposable income they used to have,” Crawford said. “When 9/11 hit us, there were a lot of cancellations from shock and worry, but now we’re dealing with an economy of people with fixed incomes.”

Crawford said a drop in coach tour business ultimately affects not only lodging properties but other businesses that service those groups, and she added, “It’s important for everybody to realize that we’re dealing with a fluctuating economy and situations on the global market that are influencing people’s buying decisions.”

To weather those changes, Crawford said, business owners need to be aggressive in their marketing. The chamber has created a new Internet packaging program that allows members to create packages under various themes and promote them on the chamber’s web site.

“That’s one more avenue of getting the word out to people about what they have to sell, “ Crawford said. “We’re trying to do whatever we need to do to get people exposure, but everybody has to sit back and think about the way they market. They need to do that in good economic times and bad economic times.”

Susan Logan of New Hampshire Tourism Network & Meeting Sites, based in the valley, said the coach tour business has been down the past couple years.

“I know last year the economy hit us much earlier and much harder than any of the events of 9/11,” Logan said. “Every year we seem to have a few more cancellations. I would say the accumulated amount of cancellations is around 50 percent over the last five years.”

Logan said the White Mountains are still a “very attractive destination,” but the coach tour business is being hurt by the economy and changing demographics.

“Traditional tour clients are literally dying off,” Logan said, “and younger seniors, reluctantly aging baby boomers, are not as quick to sign up for highly structured, regimented tours. The industry is starting to address that with more flexibility in itineraries.”

Logan said there is a trend toward smaller groups with special interests, such a birding or gourmet cooking, and people who take tours are also more interested in “more active” itineraries.

“That doesn’t mean climbing Mount Washington,” she said, “but people want to explore their environment a little more.”

Logan said that with the combination of scenery, attractions and quality lodging, the valley is well positioned to capture the changing coach-tour market. But, she said, “I think the sheer volume of tours that we had 10 or 15 years ago has changed or probably gone. I don’t want to sound negative. I just think we as a society are much more used to getting in cars and doing trips ourselves.

Linda Edelman, of Custom Tours, Inc. out of Killington, Vt., agrees that the coach tour industry nationwide is “somewhat down.”

“People are watching their pennies a little more,” Edelman said. “Everybody’s portfolios are not where they were a year or two ago. When that happens, people are just a little more careful, but I don’t think it’s going to be a long-term situation and I don’t think it’s anything drastic. It’s just a sign of what’s going on in the nation and in the economy. There are still plenty of people visiting here and touring here. The phones are ringing strongly for next year. I’m not concerned.”

Edelman also agrees with Logan that the industry has to adapt to the changing demographics.

“With the trend in the industry, we’re starting to try to offer as many options as possible, rather than the old days when the whole group went to do this or do that. We’re also trying to offer some soft adventure attractions to our touring to accommodate what I think is going to be trend of more families traveling together.”

She added, “Baby boomers are going to be reaching that senior age, even though we’ll never admit it. Therefore, we’ve got to start trying to get away from that stigma of the senior citizen motorcoach tours. There are lots of advantages to taking a tour. It can be enjoyable for people of all ages.”