Altour Index Finds South America Tops in Exotic Locations

The latest Altour Index, a survey that gauges consumer demand for travel products and destinations, found South America scoring highest in the exotic destination category, followed by Eastern Europe and South Africa.

Altour, a $500 million agency specializing in the luxury and high-end segments, compiles the index using data collected from its agents in bimonthly surveys.

In its latest survey, done in July, 71 percent of retailers said South America was in high demand; Eastern Europe posted its highest ranking yet, at 43 percent; and South Africa followed at 33 percent.

“Clients are looking for Central and South America due to lower airfares and less travel time and dollar strength against local currencies,” said Altour agent Barbara Lieberman of White Plains, N.Y.

In the cruise market, luxury sales proved more resilient than premium and mass-market sales this summer, with 26 percent of agents reporting higher demand than this time last year, vs. 17 percent in the previous survey, completed in May. Mass-market cruise sales, on the other hand, were down considerably since the last survey, with only 6 percent reporting higher demand compared with last year vs. 28 percent in the May survey.

“The luxury lines have lowered their rates sufficiently and are including ground excursions, making them competitive with the mass market,” said Lieberman.

Overall, however, cruises are trending lower than at this time last year across all categories, the survey found.

Advance bookings continue firmly in the 30- to 90-day range, at 65 percent, accompanied by an uptick in the longest lead bookings of more than 180 days (from 6 percent in December 2008 to 15 percent in July). Some Altour agents are seeing longer lead bookings for cruises in particular, which they attributed to special promotional offerings in 2010. Shorter lead bookings, on the other hand, continue a downward trend.

FIT travel has replaced sun/sand/surf and all-inclusive resorts as the strongest land travel category, with 22 percent of agents reporting demand higher than at this time last year.

Sun/sand/surf fell from first place to third, with 4 percent reporting high demand, while all-inclusive resorts held on to second place at 16 percent (down from 26 percent in May). Escorted tours continued to flat-line, with no agents reporting high demand for the third survey in a row.

“European FITs lead the pack with our clients, who continue to fly and are willing to spend,” said Altour founder Alexandre Chemla. “They are, however, demanding deals for every aspect of their stay.”

Chemla founded Altour in 1991 and has since developed other Altour brands, including Altour Incentive Management and Altour Management Technology. The agency, with 23 offices in the U.S. and Europe, earlier this year became a member of American Express U.S. Representative Travel Network.