When outdoor gear and apparel retailer
Recreational Equipment Inc. launched REI Adventures in 1987, the travel
division catered mostly to hard-core outdoor enthusiasts.
REI still leads an array of rugged
excursions, including a Himalayan trek and a Kilimanjaro climb, but these
days the Kent, Wash.-based company’s travel division also touts a growing
menu of less-risky adventures: a walking tour of Tibet, a family-oriented
trip in the Canadian Rockies that includes « ghost stories around
the campfire » and cruises to Alaska, Antarctica and the Galapagos
Islands.
« People frequently like to have
a bed to come back to as opposed to a tent, » explained Cynthia Dunbar,
manager of REI Adventures, adding that customers are a decade older, on
average, than when the travel unit started.
The evolution of REI Adventures reflects
the changing tastes of its aging customer base and, in a larger sense,
illustrates the influence nature-loving baby boomers are having on retailers
of outdoor sporting goods, particularly in the area of travel.
Older boomers nearing retirement have
the inclination and resources to accumulate experiences rather than just
stuff, while younger boomers are eager to stay active as leisure time
gets chipped away by the demands of the modern workplace.
Outfitters such as REI, Orvis, L.L.
Bean and Cabela’s — each of which has a travel division — expect these
trends to increase demand for fishing, hiking and hunting in the coming
decade, boosting sales of their products and services. As a further incentive,
Orvis, L.L. Bean and other outfitters offer catalogwide discounts to customers
who book trips with them.
« It’s all good, » said Dave
Parker, managing director of travel at Orvis, the Manchester, Vt.-based
supplier of fly-fishing gear and apparel. Sales at Orvis Travel have increased
from less than $200,000 in 1999 to about $2 million a year. The company
served fewer than 1,000 travelers last year but thinks that number will
grow to 10,000 within five years.
Although the revenue stream linked
directly to travel is minimal at Orvis (it amounted to less than 1 percent
of the company’s overall revenue), it plays a significant role from a
marketing perspective, helping to build consumer loyalty to the brand
as well as the sport.
The philosophy is really quite simple,
Parker said: « If you’re selling a guy fish hooks and tell him a good
place to go fishing, chances are he’s going to buy more fish hooks. »
That’s not just a line, said Carl Kuehner
of Norwalk, Conn. The 39-year-old real estate developer has taken fly-fishing
trips with Orvis to such places as the Seychelles and the Palmyra Atoll.
Kuehner, who at 39 is at the younger
end of the baby boomer continuum, said exotic weeklong excursions can
cost as much as $15,000 (airfare included) but that they are worth it,
« even if I have to overpay, » because the quality is always top-notch.
« If I spent $5,000 and hated the
trip, that would have been the worst, » Kuehner said. « The loss
of time would have been devastating. »
The travel services offered by outfitters
are also intended to reinforce their reputations as expert practitioners
of whatever it is they peddle in stores, catalogs and on the Internet:
* Cabela’s of Sidney, Neb., which started
a travel unit in 1985, boasts on its Web site that anglers visiting its
new lodge in Canada’s Northwest Territories « can expect to catch
numerous trout on a daily basis, with the average size being 8-15 pounds. »
* Bicycle manufacturer Trek of Waterloo,
Wis., began offering leisure and performance bike trips last October in
Europe and North America, including a six-day ride through the California
wine country led by three-time Tour de France champion Greg LeMond.
* L.L. Bean of Freeport, Maine, has
long offered fly-fishing and sea-kayaking schools, and about six years
ago, it launched a partnership with Frontiers International, a Wexford,
Pa., travel company that leads fishing and hunting trips and safaris.
Mike Fitzgerald, 64, who started Frontiers
International with his wife in 1969, said 40- and 50-year-olds have always
been the backbone of his business, giving him a unique perspective from
which to compare generations of Americans.
Fitzgerald said boomers are more likely
than their predecessors to book several three-day getaways per year, rather
than waiting for their annual two-week vacation to roll around. He also
said they’re better prepared financially for retirement than their parents.
Although Frontiers and others have
not been immune to the travel slump of the past two years, Fitzgerald
said, « We think the best decade is ahead of us. »
