The Coach Tourism Association Conference 2025 saw TV personality Anthea Turner urge coach operators to stick with the demographic they have, and push ahead with developing the best tour product they can.

The conference, held in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Stratford-upon-Avon, followed the usual format, with extensive familiarisation trips in the area, followed by its popular one-to-one workshop and a short conference session with Anthea Turner the guest speaker.

Proving refreshingly knowledgeable about the travel industry, she relived a career in TV which included not only a stint on Blue Peter but presenting Top of the Pops and touring the world in the TV travel show Wish You Were Here. She is now patron of the Silver Marketing Association, which offers its members advice to help your marketers reach retired people with products, including travel.

“I did 26 locations a year on Wish You Were Here for three and a half years. You can’t wait to go home, eventually. Before I left, people would say ‘Have a nice holiday.’ I’d say I’m working,” she said. “Holidays are about the people that you share them with.”

She said that, to maintain continuity, she had to buy three of everything she wore, as filming could be spread over several days. Asked which place she liked best, she said “The United Kingdom. I’m glad to be British.”

“Why are you looking for a younger demographic when you’ve got this amazing demographic of older, very respectful people who love your product and have the money and the time. Let’s just celebrate them, work with them and give them exactly what they want.” – Anthea Turner

“I think older people who are lonely benefit from an experience of being with other people, growing, developing and turning back the clock. You are able to develop them so they go home feeling a lot better.” Asked how the coach tour industry could attract a younger age range she said: “Why are you looking for a younger demographic when you’ve got this amazing demographic of older, very respectful people who love your product and have the money and the time. Let’s just celebrate them, work with them and give them exactly what they want.

“The younger people will age, then come to your companies. A lot of companies spend their time chasing a demographic which doesn’t yet want to be with them. But we are a different generation. We are not our parents, We are an age group which dresses differently to the way our mothers did. We have a broader outlook, we are computer savvy. We are not going to get old before our time. We look after ourselves.”

She said there’s now a generation which forgets to look up to the elderly and listen to them. She urged operators to work hard with social media, but her final five words of advice were ‘Scrub up and show up.’

Chaired by Conference MC, Peter Plisner – an experienced transport journalist who has worked for the BBC – there was then a Q&A panel session with, in the hotseats, Louise Webster, European Holidays Manager at Acklams; David Blake, MD at Blakes Coaches; Jason Edwards, of Jason Edwards Travel; and Roger Bull, MD of RB Travel.

Peter Plisner first asked whether the panel had any tips for attracting a younger audience: “The product range is key as is a quality fleet. But Anthea has a good point: Keep hold of what you have,” said Louise, who said that constantly varying the product keeps it fresh.

David Blake said that he’d noticed a tendency for the customers travelling in Autumn and Winter on his tour programme and day trips to be younger, and for European travel; to attract a younger crowd, including families.

Jason Edwards said that shorter breaks on a long weekend seemed to attract a younger customer. He said that his show departures attracted women who had often stashed some drinks in their bags but were travelling because it’s a safe environment.

Roger Bull said: “We’ve all tried to embrace a younger generation with our trips, such as theme parks, but we’re also finding that we’re getting younger people travelling on our holidays.” He said that, when asked, he’s been told that they like to travel with older people because they trust their judgement in choosing the holiday.

The panel agreed that Europe is definitely back on the tour agenda. Both Jason and David said the hassle, waiting and cost of using airports now has driven customers their way: “Our itineraries make the travel part of the holiday experience,” he said.

“Tours are now taking off to places we haven’t done before,” said Louise, who added that creating new tours to adventurous locations was definitely attracting an audience.” She said the use of Hull as a departure port had boosted holidays.

Asked whether Brexit was still affecting European touring, David Blake said: “It’s still a challenge but not a constant problem at Dover.” He said more of a problem was continuity at the port, with redevelopment constantly changing departure arrangements. He said there is never an issue at Portsmouth.

Jason said that the EES plans have not come about because the EU cannot get the electronic infrastructure right yet. “We’ve gone through so many arrangements,” said Roger. “Two carriers have apps which we can use to collect passports before we arrive.”

Asked what hotels could do to improve things for coach touring, David said that single room supplements are a bugbear: “They automatically think it’s us charging extra. We take an enormous number of single travellers these days,and there are never enough single rooms,” he said, adding that single room supplements have now double, relative to the room rate.

He also slammed hotels which still hive off coach groups into special areas with poorer menus. Poor menu choice was also an irritation for Louise, and Roger said that ‘people skills’ have been lacking at hotels in recent years.

In answer to an audience question about moving forward and building the market for coach holidays, David Blake said: “We’ve all been quite appalling if we’re honest with selling ourselves. We tried TV adverts, but I don’t know that the industry has ever had an outstanding ambassador for coach holidays. I’d invite Anthea to come on a holiday with us and see what we can be.”

“Your coach is a big, sexy beast really, and I don’t think people know that,” replied Anthea. She said she’s seen how industries have used social media to generate a new image for themselves, such as sleeper trains. You’ve got to show off the big, sexy beast. Driving is no fun any more. It’s a hassle, and you take that hassle away. Promote the vehicle.

“Most people are completely ignorant of the vehicles you have. Race Around the World made it quite exciting to travel by coach.”