Press Release Headlines

Special Needs Group Helps Agents Ride the Wave of 2010 Travel Trends for More Sales

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Feb. 17, 2010 — The convergence of specific travel industry trends can give a selling edge to agents who understand the fast-growing special needs market.

One in five families has a family member with a disability. These individuals spend an average of $13.6 billion annually on trips and cruises, representing a large, underserviced pool of potential clients. As 2010 cruise season heats up, the trend curves of aging populations and increasingly larger cruise ships are boosting the numbers of persons requiring special needs equipment for cruising.

Aging Populations in U.S. and Europe

By 2015, the percentage of persons 65 or over is expected to jump to nearly 25 percent of the population in Europe and 20 percent in the U.S. This "Silver Segment" has the time and resources to travel, and tend to have special needs relating to hearing loss, diminished vision, limited mobility, breathing problems and other consequences of aging.

Larger Ships

In 2009, several new ships made a huge splash within the industry, foreshadowing the future of cruising, including Disney Cruise Lines' 4,000-passenger Dream and Royal Caribbean Cruises' 5,400-passenger Oasis of the Seas, the largest passenger cruise ship ever floated. For 2010, more behemoth vessels will enter the waters including RCI's Allure of the Seas, sister ship to Oasis, and the largest ship ever for Norwegian Cruise Line – the 4,200-passenger Epic. With increased ship lengths – 1,184 feet from bow to stern for Oasis and Allure – more cruisers are requiring wheelchairs, scooters, walkers and other mobility aides to navigate these ships.

This translates to increased sales and added profits for agents who can accommodate the special needs and slow walker market. Special Needs Group / Special Needs at Sea (http://www.specialneedsgroup.com) makes it easy for you. We work closely with the travel community to help you earn more, providing everything you need to service the accessible travel/special needs niche. Special Needs Group/Special Needs at Sea is a "one-stop shop" for all the special needs equipment your clients might want, from wheelchairs and scooters to oxygen cylinders, patient lifts, hospital beds, baby cribs, equipment for hearing-impaired individuals, service animal relief materials, and more. We pay commissions on each piece of equipment rented, providing you with an additional profit center.

Special Needs Group has delivery and pick-up capability within most of the world's travel destinations like Ft. Lauderdale, Barcelona, Vancouver, and Sydney to mention a few – and can accommodate "one-way" travel.

"Our goal at Special Needs Group is to remove all barriers to travel and to ensure that no one misses an opportunity to see the world or participate in a family vacation because of a physical impairment," says Andrew Garnett, founder and CEO.

For more details about Special Needs Group / Special Needs at Sea or to request a brochure, call Special Needs Group toll-free 1.800.513.4515, email Email or log on to http://www.specialneedsgroup.com.

Media Contact:

Cheree H. Liebowitz
Special Needs Group, Inc.
Ph: 954.585.0575
Email

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