For many tour and activity operators, the Spring and Summer months are peak season for bookings. Your business should see increased traveler interest, which means every detail needs to be buttoned up and your products as optimized as possible to capture bookings. Here are the five most crucial tactics to consider.
Many tours, activities, and attractions feature animals in some way, whether in the wild or in captivity. Tripadvisor is committed to helping improve the way wild animals are treated within the tourism industry. We believe that every operator who provides or sells such a guest experience has a responsibility to ensure the needs of the animals involved are properly cared for, and that those animals are treated with respect and dignity.
In today’s travel landscape, a tour guide can be much more than someone simply walking visitors through a historic neighborhood or explaining artifacts in a museum. One subset of guides has emerged in recent years, which we call Experience Hosts. If you’re interested in offering travelers a local experience (indeed, even a traditional walking tour still fits the bill)—but aren’t sure where to start—you’re at the right place.
Understanding who your tour caters to will allow you to tell the best story to that audience. Are you attracting backpackers? Families? Millennials? Want to take locals far off the beaten path to lesser-known sites, or would you rather show incoming travelers the main attractions? Pick your audience (or multiple), then develop your story and make sure you (and your tour guides) know your stuff.
It’s crucial you are compliant to the local laws and regulations of the markets in which you operate. We’ll explain what’s necessary in terms of licensing, obtaining liability insurance, and adhering to certain codes of conduct to ensure not only that you’re covered in the event something goes wrong, but also that your travelers are confident they’re in good (and safe) hands.
Adding your bank and tax information, setting up accounting systems, and ensuring your new travel tour business is ready to accept bookings and payments from real travelers. In this section, we’ll also explain the benefits of using a reservation/booking management software to streamline your operations.
Get your tours and activities online with Viator, the world's leading marketplace for operators. Create a bookable product, which is your actual activity that travelers see when browsing things to do in your area. We’ll give you tips on how to write intriguing product titles and descriptions, use gorgeous photos, and setting your availability so that travelers have all the information they need to send you a booking.
No matter how big or small, tour companies or individual tour operators with a good marketing plan can boost their exposure and secure more bookings. Listing your products on Viator is a great start, and then it’s time to ramp up your promotional efforts. Here are some marketing tips to consider to stay one step ahead of the competition.
After your receive five or more traveler reviews on Viator, your product is likely to get more bookings and sales. Reviews also greatly help set new customers’ expectations. We’ll give you tips to get your coveted first booking(s)—and then turning those customers into positive reviews, which leads to more bookings!
You could increase bookings by as much as 16% with one simple change to your cutoff policy. Lower your product's HIA (hours-in-advance) cutoff time to accept bookings to within 12 hours of when it starts. This keeps your experience bookable for those last-minute, in-destination travelers that are browsing things to do on their mobile devices.
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