by
Jacqueline Johnson, Certified Travel Consultant, & Executive Travel Director,
Bride’s Magazine
PATA Travel Mart Exhibitor Jacqueline Johnson, Executive Travel
Director of Bride’s magazine, lists more than a few racy reasons why attracting the
US honeymoon market should make Asia-Pacific destinations drool.
With 2.4 million American couples annually opting for this tradition,
the joining of a man and woman in marriage generates niche markets for every service
provider, from the photographer who snaps the shots to the seamstress who ties the knots.
After the vows are spoken, rings are exchanged, and gifts are given, more than $32 billion
is estimated to have been spent in 1998 on celebrations of love and marriage.
Today’s bride is 25 and her groom is 27 and they are engaged for
an average of 13 months with 85% of them planning a formal wedding. Due to higher
education and career opportunities women are marrying later. The age factor increases by
one year per decade for first marriage brides and grooms.
The marriage/honeymoon market is a year round business with 45% of
marriages occurring in the first six months and 55% occurring in the second six months.
Peak marrying months are May through October, with the highest engagement period being
December through January.
The June bride will always be radiant, but in fact more marriages take
place between Independence Day (July 4th) and
Christmas, than between January and June, with the majority occurring from May through
October, as the following data illustrates:
January: 4%; February: 7%; March: 8%; April: 8%; May: 10% ; June: 10%;
July: 10%; August: 10%; September: 10%; October: 10%; November: 6%; December: 7%. Source:
National Center for Health Statistics.
Spending Power
Once she says yes, the date is set, and the
family filled in, let the Games Begin! = $32 Billion In Spending Power!
Engagement/Wedding Ring: $3.3 Billion
Honeymoon Travel: $4.5 Billion
Apparel, Invitations, Flowers, Reception, Photos: $16.4 Billion
Home Furnishings, Household Equipment, Ins.: $7.8 Billion
Over the past decade, the number of marriages has remained consistent.
However, the worth of the bridal market has grown 15% from $27.8 billion in 1989 to $32
billion today.
Average number of wedding guests: 200.
Once a couple gets engaged, they are engaged in consumption. This
lifestage event will trigger more purchasing than ever before. Consumers buy more in the
six months following a lifestage change than a settled household does in five years. 40%
of people undergoing lifestage changes develop new brand loyalties.
Today’s newlyweds are more likely to be dual earning couples. 83%
of brides and 89% of grooms are working, with an average combined income of $65,000.
That’s twice as affluent as the average U.S. household earning $35,492.
They are the perfect customer: Pays full price; Shops with immediacy;
No seasonal limitations; Part of a constantly regenerating marketplace; Highly brand
receptive; Influences purchases of friends and family; Quality driven; More disposable
income; Makes purchases in many different categories; Extraordinarily acquisitive.
No other customer embarks on such a full-price shopping spree - or does
so with a immediacy that yields unprecedented branding opportunities for a lifetime.
Guaranteed Renewable Market
The honeymoon is considered the vacation of a
lifetime. 99.9% of all newlyweds will take a honeymoon. The average length of a honeymoon
trip is 8 days compared to 60% of leisure travelers who will stay an average of 3-7 day on
a trip.
They pay more, approximately $4,000. That’s three times what the
average U.S. leisure traveler spends on a family trip.
The marriage/honeymoon market is a year-round business with the engaged
couple spending more time and money to make the honeymoon the trip of a lifetime.
She is a consumer who is ready to buy.
They pay full price - 72% of engaged women say they are less concerned
with price and more concerned with getting what they want.
An engaged woman is the most unique and desirable travel customer
because she truly is the perfect customer.
Only the honeymoon market delivers year-round travelers. 61% of all
leisure travelers are peak-period travelers, taking their vacations in the summer months.
Since marriages occur all year long, there are no seasonal limitations.
On-Site Weddings
Destination weddings, where the couple combines
the trip with the ceremony, is a growing trend. The reception may also be included in the
package with hotel accommodations. Some bring a group of close friends or family who
vacation for a few days, then leave them to enjoy a private honeymoon.
Cruises are a strong and consistent part of the $4.5 billion dollar
honeymoon market. Complete relaxation defines this mode of transportation, with
accoutrements including 24-hour room service, spa facilities, and great food.
Resort/Destination Selection
Resort selection is based on the following
criteria: Atmosphere: 85%; Privacy: 80%; Air Conditioning: 72%; Reputation: 65%; Price:
61%; Room Luxury: 60%; Food: 57%; Nightlife: 54%; View: 48%; Sports: 20%.
It is also important to note that while 17% of Americans own a valid
passport, today’s honeymooners are seasoned travelers with a passport ownership of
30%.
by Richard Townsend, Corporate Training
Five habits for effective managers:
Habit one: Traditional company procedures
should act as a guide for the wise and the rules of fools! Being flexible and adaptable in
business situations, rather than always following ‘the system’ in the current
complex and fluid climate means we may well benefit if we are prepared to modify our
attitudes and take a different course of action to the norm (easily said but hard to do).
Habit two: Delegate don’t abdicate... When giving tasks to
subordinate staff we must maintain responsibility for the result (the thing many want the
least), whilst giving away our authority (the thing many of us want the most). In other
words, effective managers do not forget about the task, they follow up to see the desired
result is achieved.
Habit three: When giving instructions confirm understanding by
soliciting feedback... The worst three words ever spoken at work are, ‘do you
understand’, 99% of the time to save face the person being instructed will answer
yes. We should ask the person being instructed to repeat the instructions in their own
words to ensure our message has been understood.
Habit four: The 80/20 principle, 80% of your business will come
from 20% of your customers... Be wise with your time and focus 80% of your attention on
the top 20% of your customers.
Habit five: The 20/80 principle, 20% of our staff will produce
80% of our results... We should therefore avoid the natural tendency to spend the bulk of
our time ‘fixing’ our poor producers. We as managers are better off if we
support the top producers, who, because of their competence, are often left to their own
devices (and can then feel unnoticed and unappreciated).
Worth a thought?
After several months of build up, the Weekender
Hotel’s Havana Club held its Grand Opening Dinner Party on Tuesday night May 18th. An
invitation only event, this special evening was attended by 50 Weekender VIP Club members
and their guests.
The idea behind this grand opening was to launch and showcase the
Havana Club’s new entertainment schedule which commences this week. Guests were given
an option of three 4-course western meals, with mains including succulent Australian beef
and New Zealand lamb chops, or a Thai food banquet. The three western meals are the heart
of the Havana Club’s new business luncheons which are now on offer Mondays to Fridays
from 12:30 p.m.
Greme Morre and his Sam enjoy the
festivities.
Attendees were entertained by two live acts which now feature at the
Havana Club. Pre-dinner drinks were complimented by what many believe is the best live
musical act currently playing in Pattaya, Project 3. With members from the U.S.A. and
Jamaica, Project 3 delights audiences with soul, rock and reggae and do more than simply
play music, they are complete crowd pleasers with lots of audience interaction. Project 3
are the new act rocking the Havana Club’s Thursday ‘Ladies Night’ when
ladies drink free between 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. every week.
After a welcome speech by the Havana Club’s marketing consultant
Ken Bailey, the first course was served and the entertainment was carried on by Mick
Barker, who is an absolute maestro on solo electric guitar. With Mick’s background
music completing the ambience, guests dined on entrees like Norwegian salmon and shrimp
salad in sour creme sauce. Mick’s performance also showcased the entertainment on
offer during the Havana Club’s new Wednesday evening Free Wine Tasting & Steak
theme where B.J. Wine Cellar will be providing free wines to taste and anyone buying a
bottle will receive a free steak and salad.
Tom and Stan party hardy!
At regular intervals Ken retook possession of the microphone to give
away some lucky door prizes to VIP members. Kindly donating a Discover Scuba, Scuba Tek
Dive Center manager Peter Blok could barely be dragged away from his red wine to present
the 3,200 Baht value prize to lucky winner Iain Corness. B.J. Wine Cellar donated two
bottles of wine as prizes, the first being picked up by Raymond Bertsch of A.R.C. air
conditioning. Pattaya Mail supremo Peter Malhotra won the second bottle but kindly called
a redraw which saw the French red go to Bruno Ropsy of the Pattaya Info newspaper. Good to
see the friendly rivalry.
As dessert was being served Project 3 took to the stage again with an
upbeat performance which had the ladies swooning and the guys bopping. The Havana
Club’s Grand Opening Dinner Party was rated a great success, as was the launch of
their new entertainment program. Mondays to Fridays they have the fabulous business
luncheons, Wednesday nights the free wine tasting and steaks, Thursdays is Ladies Night
and Fridays they now present ‘Have A Good Weekender’ which is after work drinks,
first drink is on the house between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays now have a bit
more flavour with the Weekender’s poolside B.B.Q.s. The best imported meats will be
served with great salads, ice-cold beer, including Australia’s most popular drop,
V.B., and even televised Aussie Rules Football matches.
Lester and Da know how to party!
Among the big crowd that thoroughly enjoyed the evening was the Pattaya Mail’s own
Peter Malhotra, the boys from Siemens Westinghouse, led by Graeme Moore, the incomparable
Pekka Laine, Pattaya personality Elfi Seitz, British Steel’s Stephen Ashford, Saval
Thailand’s Managing Director David Davy and Rotary Club of Jomtien-Pattaya’s
President-elect Erica Keller.
