The 10 Commandments of tour itinerary planning, part 1

Bus groups
Image Courtesy of Starr Tours

 

 

Group tours have been an important part of the tourism industry for decades. As you have probably read, and maybe have seen first hand, groups are changing. Gone are the days with groups of seniors marching from one attraction to another, eating en masse and spending multiple days with everyone having the same experience. But that doesn’t mean the group tour market has gone away. Groups are smaller, customers are looking for unique foods and customized experiences to talk about and share on social media. And they are still big economic drivers of the tourism economy.

I decided to write a series of blog posts that would help suppliers ( those of you that work at attractions and Destination  Marketing organizations) put together sample itineraries that tour operators would be able to use. Here are some elements to consider before you open a new word doc and spread a map out in front of you.

1. All stops must be able to welcome and accommodate a large bus and 55 people.

Let’s start with the most important factor. Can every stop and every lodging option hold a group of 55 people? Even though groups might be getting smaller, there are plenty of tour companies that fill a large bus for tours. Here are the elements that determine if you or your partners are group tour ready.

  • Can a large bus pull in and out of the facility? Is there parking on-premise or nearby?
  • Can the group all tour at the same time? It is fine if the group has to be split up, as long as they all can participate in something at the same time.
  • Most importantly, do you provide public restrooms? Every time a group gets off a bus, they will look for a bathroom. And because most group tours are more than 50% women, please have more restrooms available for women.

 

2. Every tour should have elements that someone can only experience if on a  bus tour.

 

One of the unique elements and selling points of traveling with a tour company is that you get to have experiences that the average visitor cannot. Can your attraction offer a behind the scenes tour? How about a special evening event after regular hours? A costumed interpreter that will escort the group? The chance to try a food or beverage that hasn’t been made available to the general public? Not every stop on a tour needs to offer this element. Just enough that a tour operator can use them as a sales tool when writing ad copy, or meeting with potential clients.

Example: When you travel with us, each night we will have a wine and cheese reception at our hotel. And we will get an exclusive behind the scenes tour at ABC museum – where we will get to see items that are rarely on display! Do you like sweets? Well, our tour will get to see first hand how ice cream is made the old fashioned way at Sues’ ice cream factory. We will even get to create our own ice cream flavors!

 

3. All attractions should give at least a 25% discount off the retail rate.

I wrote a post on the importance of giving discounts and tiered pricing. You can read it here.

4. The routing must make sense. Extra miles= extra cost+ time= less profit.

Tour operators incur a lot of costs running a trip. Fuel price is one of those elements that can change drastically after they have set the price of the tour and started advertising. Therefore that is one element that they try to control by being very strategic with routing. So as you develop a tour, keep that in mind. Don’t have an itinerary that goes east and then comes back west, before ending the day back east.

A hub and spoke tour is one where the group stays at the same hotel for several nights, but ventures out in a different direction each day. Those can be popular because people don’t love packing up every morning to move. Can you find a group friendly hotel that has interesting attractions in several different directions? And remember not to worry about county or state lines when planning. The tour operator and the passengers don’t care – and neither should you!

 

5. The tour must be replicable and consistent -every day that you are open.

Can your attraction provide a consistent experience every time? This is a customer service and procedures question. Tour operators have to know that all their guests will have a great – and similar experience every time. In order to make that happen, spend some time developing procedures for taking reservations, billing and checking groups in. Create an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) binder. I wrote a post on SOPs that will be helpful.

What does the group do when it is at your attraction? It’s ok to offer several levels of experience and prices, just make sure that your staff provides a consistently great experience.

And a note about your attraction’s operating hours. If you are only open part-time, it makes it very difficult for a tour to include you. They have to work around your schedule, not what works best for them. So you are not a good fit for most companies.

I will share the final commandments of tour planning in next week’s post. Do you know someone who can benefit from learning more about group tours? I would really appreciate if you would share this with at least one other person. Thanks!

 

Final thoughts from Sally: Are you interested in getting more Chinese tour groups?

 

The fastest growing group tour market is Chinese visitors. One of the best ways to build your business with Chinese tour operators is by going to their offices and spending time getting to know the staff and decision makers. It can be intimidating if you are just trying to figure this market out.

We are starting the next China Sales Mission Program which will help you get prepared for succeeding in this market. You will get access to videos that will help you learn WeChat and understand how to conduct business. I will work 1:1 with you to make sure your offerings are what visitors want to see and do. And once you are China market savvy, you can join me on 2 days of sales calls. We will spend a day in Flushing, and a day in Chinatown.

Send me an email and let me know if you would like me to send you more information. The program is starting next week and can be done at your own pace and will end with sales calls in mid-July – dates to be set once we get our group! I only take 7 people for each program. Hit reply and I will send you more information! We start next week!

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