Do you think the type of vacation one takes reflects one's social status?

Brianjohn Brianjohn
in South Africa: An Elegant Adventure
Do you think the type of vacation one takes reflects one's social status?

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  • mvjudymvjudy
    I think it depends on how much money someone has to spend, and how old they are...Tauck is usually for retired people, say over 55 years of age, who have the money to spend on a really nice trip. My husband is 62, but still likes traveling and staying in cheap hostels and finding cheap places to eat, and not always knowing where h'll be from day to day. He likes the adventure. He's climbing Mt Kilimanjaro right now, and in a few days, I'll be flying to Cape Town and he'll join me for the Tauck So. Africa Elegant Adventure Tour starting Nov. 28th. He doesn't mind the Tauck type of trip, since I like it, and he does that for me...He's often gone some place ahead of me or after I return home to Calif. to do the kind of traveling he likes, so we both get what we prefer!

  • OzJohnnoOzJohnno
    In our case I don't think so. We're middle class Australians who had to save for around four years to be able to afford our Tauck river cruise last September. On that cruise we met an American couple who were in a similar situation to us but to be fair we also met quite a number of American couples to whom it appeared that money didn't enter into the equation when it came to making their holiday plans. Many were on their 2nd holiday of the year and many took a cruise every year. Human nature seems to dictate that there will always be some that would never take a holiday that reflected badly on their social status but in reality it doesn't matter to people like me. There have been some on this board that believe that how you dress reflects your standing in the social sphere but after our cruise I can quickly refute that notion.

    We selected the Tauck cruise because to us it represented the best value at the time and we were very glad we did. Tauck caters for everyone regardless of the size of their status.
  • mvjudymvjudy
    Yes, I think Tauck has a really good way of catering to everyone on board and not showing any favoritism. We have been thrifty all the 35 years we've been married, and we're fortuante that that we've been able to retire fairly young and can now travel. This will be our first time on Tauck out of the USA. Another thing I like about Tauck are all the interesting people we've met. I don't think I've met anyone who was snobby...It's been nice meeting you--we went to Australia for the total eclipse of the sun in 2002- it wasn't Tauck, but a nice astronomy tour company. My husband is into astronomy.
  • DickhardyDickhardy
    I don't really understand what your issue is. Yes, Tauck is probably the second most expensive company (A&K the most,and we have traveled with them) but in our 15 or so trips with Tauck, we have run into people of every economic stratus. But do people think you are upper class because you travel with them? I don't think so. All tour companies have price points and all try to generate "value received" for those points. Most people (due to lack of advertising) don't know Tauck exists and will not think less (or more)of you when you travel with them
  • OlySueOlySue
    What a fascinating question! I think the original question was about types of vacation vs. types of tour companies so my comments are more in that vein.

    I think that type of vacation is more a function of age and interests rather than social status. Each individual needs to decide what they are wanting out of a vaction - relaxation, site seeing, adventure, learning, etc.

    I think a lot of people just don't like structured tours, they want more flexibility & independence. It certainly is a trade-off to take a tour. If you want to change your plans on the spur of the moment or to be able to sleep in until noon every day, then a structured tour is simply not for you.

    I think once someone decides they are interested in a structured tour, then the tour company they choose could be a reflection of income but, as other commenters have pointed out, doesn't have to be. There are a lot of special interest tour groups - eco tours, adventure tours, history tours, cooking tours, military tours, etc.

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