Small Is Big For Tauck

Tauck is ramping up its small group offerings for 2023, boosting the number of special land tour departures featuring small group sizes this year by 35% over pre-pandemic levels.

In total, the operator will feature small group departures on some 75 land journeys in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.

Most departures will average 24 passengers, with many of Tauck’s African safaris featuring as few as 18 guests on all departures.

As well, Tauck is supporting the expansion of its small group land journeys with a new 28-page e-brochure that highlights the benefits of small group travel and lists all of the Tauck itineraries where small group departures are available.

Tauck CEO Dan Mahar noted that Tauck’s focus on providing its guests with small group experiences pre-dates the Covid pandemic.

Mahar said: “Even before Covid, we’d been evolving our product lines to reflect our ‘small is big’ mantra. Our guests understand and appreciate that they’re able to immerse themselves in the destination in a more interactive and authentic way, and enjoy a more engaging and enriching experience, when they travel in a smaller, more intimate group setting.”

And he noted that: “The onset of Covid boosted the appeal of small group travel for very different reasons,” added Mahar, “but even before the pandemic, Tauck was already moving firmly in that direction.”

Mahar added that Tauck’s “small is big” ethos extends beyond the small group departures of its land journeys to include how the company operates its ocean cruises, European river cruises, and even its standard-group-size classic land tours.

Tauck’s primary maritime partner on its small ship ocean cruises is the luxury French line Ponant, with Tauck employing Ponant’s new Explorer ships (capacity: 184 guests) on numerous itineraries.

In fact, more than a dozen of Tauck’s small ship ocean cruises employ ships carrying fewer than 200 guests, including four vessels that carry 100 passengers or less. By contrast, the average cruise ship carries approximately 3,000 guests, with the world’s largest vessels accommodating more than 6,000 travellers.

On Europe’s rivers, Tauck’s newest ship, the ms Andorinha, carries just 84 guests – fewer than any other riverboat in the company’s fleet. That’s also fewer passengers than any other similarly sized ship sailing Portugal’s Douro River where the Andorinha operates.

Tauck’s small ship ocean cruises and European river cruises both feature a choice of sightseeing options in many ports, with guests able to choose the option that aligns best with their interests and, in some cases, their preferred activity level. This ensures a more engaging, more customized itinerary for each guest, and it also reduces the size of each group to provide a more intimate and interactive experience. Even in ports where all guests enjoy the same sightseeing, Tauck divides guests into smaller groups. (The company routinely follows the same strategy with its land-based motor coach tours.)

Go to www.tauck.ca for more.