A few weeks ago I wrote about The first Five Commandments of tour itinerary planning. Putting together sample itineraries is a great way to get tour companies to consider you. The problem is that most of the tour ideas they get don’t work. They aren’t set up correctly, don’t have interesting elements, or there is no way to contact someone at a stop. But my hope is that after you read these posts, you will be putting together some stellar tours for your destination and the operators will be calling you asking for more!
So here are the rest of the Ten Commandments of Tour Itinerary Planning:
6. Does it make sense?
Don’t expect a tour to go to a winery or brewery first thing in the morning. This might work for a party crowd, but the majority of customers on a group tour won’t want to imbibe before lunch. Are you scheduling them for outdoor activities? Don’t have them go to a fancy place for lunch when they are sweaty and dirty. Don’t schedule dinner at 5 pm or worse- 9 pm. If you are aiming to bring in student tours, remember that safety is a primary concern.
7. Drive the itinerary. Does the timing work?
Tour operators do not know your area as well as you do. Sure, everyone can check distances and driving times with Google Maps, but you should still drive the suggested itinerary. Maybe there is a bridge that can’t accommodate buses. You might find a great spot to pull off to take scenic pictures. Maybe there is a cute roadside stand that would make a fun unexpected stop ( tours love that!). Or maybe the road your tour goes on is closed for the summer and the detour would add 20 minutes to the tour. Drive the route and then you can feel confident on timing and the stops.
8. Be realistic with visit times at attractions
I can speak on this from experience- the groups never stay as long as you want them to. If you tell an operator the minimum time to visit is 3 hours, you will not get groups. It’s better if you can develop a ‘highlights tour’ that is about an hour, and a second tour option that is a bit longer. Part of our problem is that we are passionate about our product or destination and we want guests to see everything! But our job is to help tour operators make money, and that requires them to ‘keep it moving’.
9. Include contact names/numbers/emails with each stop.
One of the ways we make it easier for tour companies to consider our sample itineraries is by providing contact information at each stop. Now I know that the contacts change on a regular basis, so I suggest keeping this as a separate document that you can send as a follow-up. It is easy to update on a yearly basis, and you don’t have to print it. One caveat, when someone new takes a position, make sure they understand the importance of group tours and how they fit into your sample itinerary. Have them sign up for my blog, I will be glad to help them!
10. Have a group tour area on your website
Everyone does research on the internet, and tour operators are no exception. If you want to increase your share of the group tour market, you need an area on your website for GROUP TOURS. You can populate the page with images, testimonials and more. Tour operators prefer that you do not put pricing on the page, since their customers are also researching. This is also a great place to post sample itineraries, your profile sheet and any packages and menu options. Google some popular attractions in your state and see how they post information about group tours. You can ‘borrow’ great ideas when you surf the internet!
Do you have 2 minutes to answer 8 questions?
I am always looking for ways to serve my readers, and help tourism industry pros such as yourself become more knowledgable and confident.
I developed a short questionnaire that should only take a few minutes to answer. As a bribe/bonus- I will send a $25 Starbucks card to one of you who takes the time to fill this out. Thanks in advance!