Tour operators are seeing rising demand for shorter itineraries from travelers who want to see the world but have a limited amount of time to do it.
Two operators have developed itineraries of a week or less for customers who don't have much vacation time. And operators who already offered such trips have plans to expand them.
Australia-based Intrepid Travel sees the development of shorter trips as key to courting the U.S. market. The tour operator earlier this fall announced Short Breaks, a collection of trips that will begin operating next year.
The itineraries were designed around weekends and holidays so travelers can maximize vacation time. The trips range from four to six days.
"We're targeting cash-rich, time-poor millennials, which is a customer base we haven't spent a lot of time historically focusing on. But we think there's a real opportunity," said CEO James Thornton.
Intrepid identified the collection as a tent pole for the U.S. market, said Intrepid senior public relations manager Abbey Gibb. The marketing around the tours targets travelers who have plenty of wanderlust, but lack paid time off.
"Just imagine: You leave work on Thursday, touch down in Guatemala, hike an active volcano, explore the streets of Antigua and you're back in the office on Tuesday," the collection's description says.
And the tours aren't only domestic or in Central and South America. The portfolio also includes itineraries in Europe and Asia, such as Classic Cambodia, a six-day itinerary giving travelers a whirlwind tour of the country.
Intrepid Travel's Short Breaks tours are designed for American travelers. Photo Credit: Intrepid Travel
Tauck also sees the appeal of shorter itineraries. The company will launch six-day river cruises next year during shoulder season, targeting travelers with tight schedules.
"River cruising continues to be one of the most popular ways to experience Tauck for the first time, and with these new shorter itineraries, we can now offer that exceptional entry point to guests with limited time," said CEO Jennifer Tombaugh.
Already, river cruises around a week long are among Tauck's most popular offerings, said marketing vice president Julia O'Brien. Based on guest feedback, the operator shortened some itineraries.
Collette has courted the time-restricted market for the last decade after debuting short-stay city tours in 2015. The itineraries, in the Spotlight collection, range from five to nine days, with London, Paris and New York among the most popular offerings, said Ana Rooney, the vice president of tour design and operations.
The tour operator also offers shorter trips through its Explorations small-group collection, including weeklong itineraries in Iceland, Alaska and Finland.
Packing a punch in a time crunch
Tour operators said that despite the brevity of the trip, travelers still want meaningful and enriching experiences, not a speed run through a destination.
Tauck streamlines its itineraries to make them more focused since there's a time crunch, making every moment count, O'Brien said.
Even on a shorter trip, travelers will have exclusive experiences, including on Tauck's Essence of the Seine six-day cruise. The trip includes two Tauck Exclusives: private experiences in Normandy's Chateau du Taillis and Chateau de Bizy.
"These journeys are easy to fit into a tight schedule yet still offer the insight and authenticity travelers expect from Tauck," O'Brien said.
EF Go Ahead Tours said demand for its shorter, weeklong itineraries have been so great that it added more than a dozen seven-day tours last year, including to Greece, Spain and Italy. Some of the operator's most popular itineraries are its A Week In series, which focus on a single country or destination.
"It's about our approach to our design for tours," said vice president of market development Lael Kassis, adding that all trips, regardless of length, leave independent time for travelers. "Even with our short tours, they're not too overpacked. We want to bring people to the right sites. We want to have meaningful inclusions, but we want to give our travelers free time."