FAM tours, or Familiarization tours, are an important sales tool for destinations. A FAM tour involves tour operators coming to your destination and experiencing attractions, hotels, restaurants, and other important sites. ( FAM tours for travel writers and social media influencers are similar, but today I am sticking with tour operators.)
I recently spent a week on the road guiding a group of Chinese tour operators for a client. I will share some China FAM specific thoughts in a future post, but today I will share some ideas that will help all FAM tour participants and hosts.
Create a process for planning a FAM
I recently heard someone say that if you do something more than once, document the process so it is easier the next time. Planning FAM tours is a great place to do this. Another benefit of documenting the process is that others can help or take over if needed.
I suggest creating a checklist that has the same steps every time. Maybe you need two checklists – one for domestic tour operators and a second one with some additional steps when you host international tour representatives. Here is what I would have on a checklist:
- Purpose of FAM
- Who is invited and a brief description of the company and who they serve
- What the guests are asking to see during the FAM
- Restrictions for any guests- mobility, food allergies, language barriers
- Requested responsibility for host destinations – will they cover lodging, meals, admission to attractions?
- Dates of FAM
- Information on how guests will arrive at the starting destination.
Share this document with everyone involved in the FAM and update it as necessary. Good communication is key during a FAM
Creating the itinerary takes time.
I don’t think I have ever built a FAM itinerary that was the same at the end as it was when we first created it. Locations have to accommodate availability, changing schedules and opportunities. So my best hint here is to not get frustrated when things change. Creating a FAM itinerary is a bit like putting a puzzle together – you have to try elements to see if they fit, and move things around
The other element to keep in mind is that sometimes stops must be included that are not really what the tour operators want to see, but is important for the destination to show off. Whether for business, political or financial reasons, there is often a stop like that on a FAM. So don’t panic if you need to include this type of stop. It’s fine!
Does your final version have these elements?
Once the FAM is created, it is important to share it with everyone- the hosts, attendees, and anyone else that might be involved. Here is what it should look like:
- Clearly show day, date and daily timing
- For each stop, have contact name, cell phone #, email and website listed
- List names of FAM attendees and their company name at the beginning or end of the document
- List names and contact information of key contact with cell phone information for night and weekend questions ( After all, a FAM is a 24/7 activity!)
- One good test – can one of your family members read this agenda and follow it? Then it’s clear enough!
Show your location every day
Even though we were traveling in a region of the country I am familiar with, I lost track of where we were in relation to the whole FAM. That’s when I remembered an old tool I used to use- a big state map. And I recommend a state map- not a regional map. Your guests need to see everything in context to a bigger location. I would mark the map with a big sharpee marker that showed our route, and circle the places where we stayed overnight.
Every morning the FAM leader should stand in front of the group with the map and say ” Here is where we were yesterday, here is where we are now, and here is where we are going today.” 65% of the population are visual learners so that means showing the map will make sense for them. 30% of people are auditory learners so talking about your routing will help them understand. ( Curious about the other 5%? Check out this article)
Remember the whole goal of a FAM is for a tour operator to be able to go back to their office and put together a new tour based on what they experienced. Make it as easy for them to understand how to do that and you will have happy tour operators, and tourism businesses!