The travel, tourism and hospitality markets are showing signs of life after a year of COVID shutdowns, and that’s good news for promo firms selling beach towels.

With traditional sales opportunities beginning to crop up again, as well as ongoing need for drop-shipped gifts for employees and clients, suppliers and distributors should look at ways to sell towels, a perennially popular product category because of a variety of price points and large imprint location.

“We’re definitely seeing more business now,” says Ellen Overcast, vacation specialist at Main Street Getaways, a Dream Vacations franchise in Kutztown, PA. “People are booking all-inclusives in Mexico, Jamaica and the Bahamas, and a lot of train travel. They’re starting to book cruises for 2022 and 2023. That’s encouraging. They’re anxious to cruise again.”

As the travel industry slowly and cautiously returns to its normal pace, promo companies are also seeing opportunities to sell towels for upcoming appreciation events, like National Nurses Week in May, says Keith Lofton, vice president of sales at Pro Towels (asi/79750), as well as ongoing employee gifting needs. In the last three weeks, Lofton says they’ve received two 10,000-piece orders, a 1,500-piece order and a few “normal” orders of 50 to 200 pieces.

“Travel and tourism brands are conservative at the moment, but everything else is picking up,” says Lofton. “It was a slow start to this year, but the last four to five weeks have been insane. People want to enjoy their summer this year, and brands are looking for outdoor products. Towels have a huge imprint space, and companies are sending them out with an ‘enjoy your summer’ message.”

The Pro Vision beach towel (SUB-9) with a polyester front and cotton terry back features crisp full-color sublimation from edge to edge and a one-piece minimum; from Pro Towels, protowels.com

Jessica Hiner, vice president of key accounts at The Magnet Group (asi/68507), says towels are the new blanket, which saw enormous demand in Q4. Some are using them as welcome back gifts for employees returning to the office; during orientation meetings, to keep attendees at a safe distance, end-buyers have used them as chair markers. They’re also being used to promote new food and beverage product launches, as well as gift-with-purchase and mail-in items for alcohol companies. “Towels aren’t just appropriate for the spring break-to-October timeframe,” says Hiner. “We’re stretching the usage, and we have towels within every budget.”

The Riviera terry velour beach towel (B3560) is made of 14-pound USA-grown cotton and comes in seven colors. Customers can choose from silkscreen or embroidery; from The Magnet Group, themagnetgroup.com

For those that are headed back to vacation mode, The Riviera Towel Company (asi/82647) is well-positioned to take advantage of a very possible travel rush. Their Turkish towels, made on high-speed looms (including two brand-new ones) at a family-owned factory in Turkey, feature striking custom jacquard woven designs and they’re versatile enough to be used as a scarf, wrap or sarong.

“Business is starting back, but in waves,” says co-founder Albert DiPadova. “Our towels have a Baja chic vibe, so they play well for trips to Mexico. But there’s been a push for ‘swag at home,’ since not everyone’s ready to travel. This is something special to make them feel like they are.”

Customers also appreciate Riviera’s use of sustainably sourced cotton and a 5% giveback component that goes to clean ocean initiatives. In fact, a large national insurance firm recently placed an order and a Big Five tech company just hit them up for 18,500 towel/picnic blankets as new hire gifts. “They wanted every new employee to be cozy and warm with a thoughtful, versatile gift,” says DiPadova. “We’re making corporate headway at this point.”

These Turkish towels are absorbent enough for pool and beach use, but can also be used as a scarf, wrap or sarong; from The Riviera Towel Company, rivieratowel.com

Meanwhile, Pro Towels is partnering with other industry suppliers to create fun employee kits, like bundling its towels with other company’s coolers, sunglasses and drawstring bags. Riviera recently combined its towels with another supplier’s skincare products to encourage people to get outside in the warmer weather.

Fortunately, with the emphasis on personal gifting this year, brands are going with higher-end towel styles than in years past. In fact, inventory for some luxe offerings at Pro Towels has dropped to zero.

“Brands are looking for something more premium,” says Lofton. “They want to make an impression with something nice, that knocks the recipients’ socks off. Savvy brand managers will go for items that people will keep. They should want it to last, and for people to keep them as long as possible.”

With travel sales not yet totally recovered, DiPadova says they’re banking on lifestyle products and corporate gifting moving forward. “Our towels are stylish accessories that go with the overall trend,” he says.

It’s a time of cautious optimism as more people receive the vaccine. Hiner says The Magnet Group is preparing for both the return of traditional tourism/travel and continuing homebound applications.

“We’ve had decent sales these first months of 2021,” she says. “As states and businesses reopen, we’re seeing opportunity with places like amusement parks and cruise ships. Towels are a good general use item that end-buyers tend to upgrade.”

End-buyers of these Turkish towels can also choose single, double or triple layers, and the jacquard woven design includes up to four colors; from The Riviera Towel Company

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