Island Concierge

Island Concierge: couples, families and groups as tourist types

This free game is part of our Cambridge iGCSE Travel & Tourism (0471) course for exams in EXAM YEARS 2027-2029.

Classifying tourists by who they travel with

In the Cambridge IGCSE Travel and Tourism (0471) course, tourists can be classified by who they travel with. Each tourist type is a market segment with its own needs. A niche market is a smaller, specialised group within a larger market, such as honeymoon couples or school groups.

• Couples want romance, privacy and quality, such as candle-lit dinners, spas and boutique hotels. They have a high spend per person and flexible dates.
• Families need safety, child-friendly facilities and good value. They need larger rooms and kids' clubs, and they are tied to the school holidays.
• Groups travel for a shared purpose: educational, sports, religious, social, senior or corporate. They need group discounts, an organiser and often coach transport.

In Room 101 of the game, the Arrivals Desk, you read guest notes against the clock and send each guest to the right bay: Couples Cove, Family Forest or Group Hub.

Tailoring products and services to each tourist type

Successful businesses tailor their products and services to one tourist type. In Room 202, Build the Bays, you choose the right facility for each bay and watch it being built on the island:

• Couples Cove: overwater villas with private plunge pools, a couples' spa, and an adults-only rule. Sandals Resorts is couples-only and all-inclusive, with 17 resorts in 8 Caribbean countries, a clear example of niche marketing.
• Family Forest: self-catering lodges so families can save money, an all-weather swimming dome and car-free paths so children can cycle safely. This is the Center Parcs formula, with its Subtropical Swimming Paradise.
• Group Hub: a coach terminal and a big dining hall with set menus. Known numbers make staffing and catering easy to plan.

Designing every detail around one tourist type creates satisfied visitors and repeat bookings.

Seasonality, spending and case studies

In Room 303, A Year in Paradise, a year of bookings rises around the island as a stacked bar chart. The key ideas are:

• Seasonality: families are restricted to school holidays, so demand and prices peak in summer and at Easter. Couples and groups, such as term-time school trips and senior coach tours, help fill the quieter months and keep staff employed all year.
• Spending: couples have a higher spend per person, whereas families have a high total spend but are budget-conscious. A couple spending £2,000 each spends more per person than a family of four spending £4,000 in total.
• Group bookings: hotels value them because they fill capacity quickly, cut marketing costs and often rebook every year.

The game also uses Disneyland Paris, which targets both families and school groups and had about 10.2 million visits to Disneyland Park in 2024, and Lourdes, which receives about 3.6 million visitors a year, including more than 400,000 in organised pilgrim groups.

Exam tips

• When asked to compare tourist types, use comparison words such as "whereas", "in contrast" and "however", so the examiner can see you are comparing, not just listing.
• Back up each point with a named example, such as Sandals for couples or Center Parcs for families.
• Link needs to timing: families travel in the school holidays and pay peak prices, whereas couples can travel off-peak.
• The game ends with a 4-mark question, "Compare the needs of couples and families as tourist types", and a model answer worth 2 marks per valid comparison.