THE rapid growth of the small group tour market prompted AAT Kings to expand its products into New Zealand, the company’s Chief Executive Officer Ben Hall has told Travel Daily.
AAT Kings’ recently released 2026/27 program (TD 25 Jul) features a range of new small group experiences in New Zealand, as smaller-sized departures continue to perform strongly with Aussies and other travellers around the world.
“Small groups are certainly highly sought out,” Hall explained.
“We see that throughout other [TTC brands], that small group markets that continue to grow.
“It is growing at a faster rate than the traditional sort of groups that we operate.”
Hall said AAT Kings’ product ranges represent around a third of the market, which is expected to increase in the coming years.
The rapid growth of AAT Kings’ small group tours comes as the inbound air market starts to even out, with the company’s traditional 50-50 domestic and international passenger split starting to return to normal.
“What we are finding is a more reasonable price for inbound air,” Hall enthused.
“We are getting much more pickup from North America, and we are seeing Europeans coming down here now, so I think inbound is strong,” he added.
Despite the reemergence of the international traveller, Hall noted booking trends from overseas are changing from historical norms.
“We are certainly seeing some bookings get closer to the departure date, which hasn’t always been the case in those markets,” he observed.
Forward bookings are well ahead though, which Hall believes is not just down to AAT Kings’ product evolution, but also its engagement with the trade.
“I think we’ll double down on the trade with marketing and it certainly sells and potentially we’ll grow our teams to support the trade, noting that in due course, opportunities will come.
“We’ll continue to enhance our tech…so we can try and become more autonomous and more seamless to work with.” MS
