Tour operators are putting a romantic spin on a wide range of packages

For travel agents honeymoon/romance sales are more important than ever before. After the crash of 2008, romantic travel proved its worth once again as one of the markets least affected by the downturn. No matter how bad the economy gets, people still get married. They may cut back on expenses or scale down the wedding festivities, but they will still go on their honeymoons.

And romantic travel is not limited to traditional honeymoons taken after weddings. Couples in all stages and styles of romance, from unmarried to long-married, still need their romantic escapes.

The romantic travel tradition has been nurtured by a honeymoon industry that has grown by leaps and bounds in recent decades. The statistics are mind-boggling. According to About.com, 2.4 million weddings are performed in the U.S. every year. Every weekend an average of 44,230 weddings take place. The weddings industry is estimated to be a $50 billion to $75 billion industry. Among couples who have traditional weddings, 99 percent take honeymoons, producing a $12 billion a year industry, 14 percent of the overall wedding industry. More than 91 percent of couples now register for wedding gifts, which represents a growth opportunity for the travel industry, as more tour operators provide creative ways to finance honeymoons through registries. And 16 percent of marriages now are destination weddings.

But just as consumers’ preferences have changed the travel industry at large, romantic travel is not what it used to be. Or more accurately, it is what it used to be and more. Basic requirements for a honeymoon include an opportunity for a couple to find some time alone together in a peaceful, comfortable environment, one that delights the senses and in which many of the customary problems of life are removed. But for many travelers, romantic travel also means having experiences that are challenging, adventurous, engage one’s mental and physical capacities, and push one’s sense of connection with the world.

Many tour operators have seized on the link between adventure and romance, and are taking full advantage of it to sell the exotic and adventurous components of their packages as romantic elements. Trafalgar Tours, a mid-market tour operator and one of the largest in the world, recently changed its logo and its accompanying slogan to emphasize the link between the adventure of travel and romance. For 2010, Trafalgar launched a rebranding campaign, changing the tone of its marketing, throwing out its slogan “The world’s favorite tour company” and replacing it with “Rediscover the romance of travel.”