Tauck is upping the ante on its small group land trips by boosting their numbers by 35 percent this year.

In all, Tauck will offer 75 departures in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Australia and New Zealand.

The lion’s share of departures will feature an average of 24 guests, with number as low as 18 guests on African safaris.

To promote the increased number of departures, Tauck released a new 28-page e-brochure that lists the available small group departures and what makes them attractive.

“Even before COVID, we’d been evolving our product lines to reflect our ‘small is big’ mantra,” said Tauck CEO Dan Mahar.

“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.

“The onset of COVID boosted the appeal of small group travel for very different reasons, but even before the pandemic, Tauck was already moving firmly in that direction.”

It’s not just land programs that focus on what Tauck refers to as its “small is big” concept. It also applies to river and ocean cruises.

As a case in point, the ms Andorinha, Tauck’s newest vessel, carries 84 guests, which is fewer than any other ships in the company’s riverboat fleet. “That’s also fewer passengers than any other similarly sized ship sailing Portugal’s Douro River where the Andorinha operates,” Tauck said.

The company also reconfigured its 110-meter ships in 2017 and 2018, reducing each vessel’s capacity from 118 to 98 guests.

“Tauck’s four 135-meter ships, meanwhile, have a capacity of just 130 guests each, far less than the 190 passengers (or 46 percent more) routinely carried aboard competitors’ ships of the same size,” the company said.

In terms of ocean-going ships, Tauck partners with Ponant whose new luxury Explorer ships each carry 184 guests.

“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,’ the tour operator said. “By contrast, the average cruise ship carries approximately 3,000 guests, with the world’s largest vessels accommodating more than 6,000 travelers.”

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