Tauck Announces New “Culturious”

Immersive, Hands-On Journeys

NORWALK, CT (December 2, 2008) Tauck World Discovery has announced it is launching a new collection of more active, more intimate escorted trips designed specifically to appeal to the boomer generation. The trips will be offered under the brand name Culturious, the company’s first new brand since the 2003 launch of its Tauck Bridges family travel packages. Tauck will operate three Culturious itineraries in 2009 in Italy, Peru and Manitoba, Canada. Additional itineraries are planned for later launch, and will highlight Provence, Croatia, Costa Rica and Southeast Asia among other destinations.

“Our Culturious programs are designed to complement our traditional Tauck World Discovery journeys, and serve a younger, more active, and more aggressively inquisitive traveler,” explained Tauck CEO Dan Mahar. “Culturious trips will typically be more regionally-focused, explore a destination in greater depth, incorporate more dynamic, hands-on experiences, and provide more time for independent exploration.”

As an example, Mahar cited the new Culturious itinerary in Italy, which highlights Tuscany and Cinque Terre. Culturious guests will have the opportunity to meet an art restoration specialist in her private workshop in Florence, cycle along the medieval walls of Lucca, sample local Tuscan delicacies at an outdoor market, hike between the stunning coastal villages of Cinque Terre, and travel through the exclusive Vasari Corridor, an art-lined private passageway above Florence’s streets that was built in the 1500s for the Medicis (and is closed to the public except by special arrangement).

Culturious departures will average approximately 20 guests, said Mahar, allowing groups to enjoy a more interactive experience within each destination and visit smaller, lesser-known sites and locations. The average Culturious trip will also range from seven to nine days, and the company expects the new trips to serve an audience from age 45 to about 65.

“We’re very excited to launch a brand that fills a void in our portfolio,” said Mahar. “Our Tauck World Discovery itineraries are perfect for our traditional customers, and our Tauck Bridges trips allow us to reach young families. With Culturious, we’re able to leverage our expertise and serve travelers between those segments, with a collection of itineraries designed specifically to address their preferred style of travel.”

According to Mahar, Tauck began researching ways to reach the boomer segment without any preconceptions about what form the resulting tours would take. Instead, Tauck did extensive market research across the country to identify the needs of travelers in the baby boomer segment, including consumer focus groups, travel agent focus groups, and extensive online surveys. Initial concepts were refined and retested, and the final approach has been met with great enthusiasm, said Mahar. “I personally visited some of our top agents for a full week in mid-November,” added Mahar, “and the response was unanimously positive. Agents are very excited to sell Culturious to their clients.”

Tauck has enjoyed great success with past additions to its brand portfolio, including the highly successful launch of its Tauck Bridges family trips in 2003, and earlier with its Tauck At Sea-branded ocean cruises. Both have historically been among the fastest-growing segments in Tauck’s product portfolio.

Tauck began researching ways to reach the boomer segment late last year and conducted its first consumer focus groups in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago in February. Itinerary planning began in April and Tauck will begin taking bookings in December, with the first Culturious departures scheduled for August of next year.

The initial Culturious itineraries are:

Tuscany & Cinque Terre (8 days, from $3,790 per person, double, plus air)

• Florence – Carrara – Monterosso al Mare - Vernazza - Lucca

Manitoba (7 days, from $4,550 per person, double, plus air)

• Winnipeg – Churchill – Hecla Island

Peru (12 days, from $5,490 per person, double, plus air)

• Lima – Cuzco – Reserva Amazonica – Urubamba – Machu Picchu

Future Culturious itineraries will include:

Provence (8 days)

• Aix-en-Provence - Gordes - Joucas – St. Remy – Arles - Avignon

Croatia (8 days)

• Dubrovnik – Cavtat – Peljesac – Korcula – Hvar – Brac - Split

Costa Rica (8 days)

• San Jose – Poas – Bajos del Toro – Punta Islita

Vietnam & Cambodia (14 days)

• Hanoi – Hue – Mekong Delta – Phnom Penh – Saigon – Siem Reap

For more information, visit the Culturious web site.

- end -