São Paulo – To the tour operators, they are special customers. Aside from not skimping, they will remember the service fondly for years and years. And refer the package to their family and friends if everything goes well. Attentive to that trend, travel companies are making an effort to provide ever better services to couples on honeymoon. In the field, the main bet is on the so-called wedding gift lists in which the presents are instalments of the trip chosen by the groom and bride. The option is enjoying success among those more interested in hitting the road than stuffing their closets with new cooking pots.
At CVC, the country’s premier tour operator, the destinations most sought by the newly wed are: Costa do Sauípe (Bahia); Fernando de Noronha and Natal (Pernambuco and Rio Grande do Norte, respectively); Gramado (Rio Grande do Sul); Jericoacoara and Fortaleza (Ceará); Maceió (Alagoas), Natal and Porto de Galinhas (Pernambuco). Overseas, the hottest spots are Buenos Aires (Argentina); Cancún (Mexico); Paris (France), Punta Cana (Dominican Republic), Santiago (Chile) and St. Maarten (an island whose territory is shared by the Netherlands and France).
“We try and give special attention to these cases at hotels included in our packages, and we instruct our service providers to do the same,” explains the e-commerce manager at CVC, Rogério Mendes. “We always let them know in advance that a given couple is on honeymoon, so that the guide can refer a cosier restaurant for dinner, for instance.”
Since 2005, when the service started being offered, 20,000 wedding lists have been organized at CVC. The quotas, usually made available for 30, 50 and 100 Brazilian reals (US$ ), can be purchased by the guests on the company site or at the chain’s agencies. The newly wed can travel right after the wedding or later on, whenever they wish. “We have no pre-set deadline for the funds raised to be used,” claims Mendes.
In the case of Marsans, one of the differentials of the list is that the couple receives the difference between the package and the amount raised. Thus, if the package selected is worth 10,000 reals (US$ ) and the guests buy quotas totalling 12,000 reals (US$ ), the travellers receive 2,000 reals (US$ ) to spend during the trip. “We return the surplus amount in a debit card to be used during the honeymoon,” explains the Products director at Marsans, Paulo Pimentel.
According to the executive, those who choose the service end up developing a “sentimental” relationship with the company. “If you are treated well at a unique, special moment of your life like your honeymoon is, you tend to establish a relationship of trust with the brand,” says Pimentel. “And you will remember the operator later on, when you want to buy a new package,” he claims.
Massages and flowers
When it comes to feelings, by the way, Designer Tours works hard to spoil the newly wed. “We always offer something extra, such as a free massage for the two at the hotel, champagne and flowers in the room,” explains the company’s director, Deusa Rodrigues. Those who travel to Tahiti, the leading honeymoon destination at Designer, also receive a mother-of-pearl shell. “So they can put it in their new house and reminisce on the trip,” says Deusa.
The hard work has paid off: now, 30% of the operator’s revenues are generated by honeymoon package sales. “The demand for our lists grows 5% a year,” explains Deusa. “Getting married is fashionable right now and no one is stingy when it comes to their honeymoon,” she says, proof that marriage and travel is a relationship with a happy ending for tour operators that are willing to invest in the segment.
Service:
CVC
http://www.cvc.com.br/site/index.jsf
Designer Tours
http://www.designertours.com.br/
Marsans
http://www.marsans.com.br/site/index.php
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
