Fifteen yearsthis is an age that —by tradition— women celebrate in styleand. Although the most usual thing is to have a party, for years there is a proposal that captures the attention of fifteen-year-olds, and also some fifteen-year-olds. Specialized trips for young people are developing strongly in the country and have more and more followers.
To carry out these trips there are different companies that work with a focus on the youth sectoroffering —particularly to celebrate the 15— a trip to the United States.
Coffee & Business spoke to four travel agencies specializing in teens.
Odile Travel is a travel agency that has been dedicated to tourism for young people for 20 years. The first time they organized the July trip for fifteen-year-olds, 23 young people traveledY in 2019 —the year before the great drop in tourism due to the pandemic—, it was 250. This year, resuming the activity there is a group of 54 young people.
According to the director of the agency, Odile Beer, the trip is a two-week program with 10 nights in Orlando and three in Miami. Plus, in between, there are two nights included with a “secret location” that varies every year. The price varies if it is for a group or for an individual traveler, who must pay US$500 more, the package being a total of US$6,500.
There is also the program three weekswhich adds four nights in New York and one in Boston and is worth $8,000.
Ruta Joven offers a similar trip: “The American Dream”, which young people can choose from US$ 4,000 including Orlando and Miami, and as the price increases, with the option of visiting other destinations such as Cancun and New York. This year, 180 people traveled in the group.
Also, Ruta Joven offers a cheaper trip for fifteen-year-olds to take at this time of year: Bariloche. According to the director of the company, the cost of this program is $2,000.
Planet Travel also works with this sector of travellers, and has a dedicated group of employees. There are 20 people working exclusively on the student side, and each one has three more workers who are in schools and seek to attract young people to the company.
This year 109 young people chose to travel to the United States through Planet Travell, and the ticket was $5,000.
Funtour has several offers both nationally and internationally. “We select destinations that have the attention that our passengers deserve,” said the director of the company, Martín Barbot.
He said, the preferred destinations are Disney, Bariloche, Camboriú, the Caribbean and, within Uruguay, Salto. And in sum, this month there are more than 2,500 passengers that, in the destination they chose, they carry out daytime excursions —which in the case of Disney in particular include amusement parks and water parks—, and nighttime, with candlelight dinners, live shows and nightclubs.
“Each activity is designed exclusively”Barbot said. The trips, depending on the destination, They are worth between $800 and $8,000. Passengers can finance them in installments.
All these trips —in any of the agencies— are accompanied by coordinators and have medical attention.
Although the numbers of young people who are choosing the different companies are proof of their interest in traveling, their attitude in times of pandemic is even more demonstrative. In 2021 —when entering the United States was difficult due to the regulations related to the covid-19 vaccine—, some companies bet on young people as reactivators of tourism and carried out the programs. From Odile Travel they were encouraged to reactivate the traditional package, and at Planet Travel they chose to change the destination: “Last year groups left for Punta Cana,” said the agency’s sales executive, Germán Bergara. But, he added: “It is not the most common, because in the complexes there are not many activities to do.”
15-year-old boys
Quinceañera trips -like the parties-, are made by a cultural tradition established in the country. And the fact that they are exclusively for women also corresponds to this social concept. However, hehe men gained ground in the 15-year celebration, and they travel more and more.
According to operators in the sector, in proportion There are fewer men who are part of the travel groups but there are still. For Vallarino, Bariloche is the destination that attracts more fifteen-year-olds.
The alumni trip
If we talk about traditions, there is a type of trip in particular that began to take relevance a few years ago: that of graduates.
“September became high season, because that’s when most graduates travel”Vallarino said. Ruta Joven offers trips to Brazil, which are the most popular, although nowadays trips to the Caribbean are taking place —and according to Vallarino, it involves a lot of sales.
The trip to Camboriú is worth US$900, and on many occasions it is financed with raffles. “These are options that we give to the boys, more to graduates than to fifteen-year-olds,” Vallarino said.
For his part, Bergara stressed that the trips made in September are more massive than those made months ago because they are made by bus. “They go to Brazil —Florianópolis and Camboriú— and 20 buses leave”he pointed.
He also noted that in this case travelers usually pay the total cost —which ranges from US$1,100 to US$2,500 for some particular options that are made by plane—, selling raffles.
Within Funtour’s total offer, trips to Brazil in September are usually contracted by graduates.
Other options for young people
In addition to these two characteristic trips for the youth sector, Odile Travel offers cultural and educational trips. On the one hand, Europe, with which travelers visit all the capitals for a month. On the other hand, the one in Cambridge, which includes a program to study English and, also, cultural tours.
In both cases, the ticket is around $7,000.
The benefits of the youth sector
The trips of the young people are centralized in particular timess: February —which most agencies have as an economic option—, July and September. But the sale is made over several months during the previous year. For example, 15-year-old packages are currently being sold in 2023. Odile has already registered 180 passengers, and the limit is 250 passengers.
This can be achieved because they are punctual trips, which are already armed. “When they arrive at the agency they already have the chosen tripBergara explained. “They only ask us to quote it”, he added. In this sense, Bergara assured that it is easier to sell for these sectors, because many times it is done by mail or text message.
The operators of the sector agreed that there is more interest from young people to travel, and more and more. “It was established”Vallarino concluded.
