October 21, 2021
If you’re a current tour operator (or you’re thinking of starting a tour company), you likely already know that the travel industry is constantly changing. It’s not enough to offer the same tours and packages year in and year out. In order to survive and thrive, you need to ride the winds of change by constantly keeping an eye out for ways to expand and update your offerings to appeal to new and returning clients.
Not sure how to do that? No problem. We’ve got a few ideas that you can use to get your inspiration flowing. Best of all, they’re simple, fun, and applicable to pretty much everyone. Here are five of the best — and easiest — ways that tour companies can capitalize on popular tourist activities to grow their business and their profits.
Whether your tour company is located in a climate that sees winter, spring, summer, and fall, or if the year is divided into just the rainy season and the dry season, you should be using the ebb and flow of nature to your advantage.
For example, every autumn, New England is flooded with visitors from near and far who come specifically to see the changing fall foliage. The same goes for cherry blossoms in Taipei. And Christmas in New York. Whale shark season in the Maldives. You get the idea.
These natural seasonal attractions are a gold mine for tour companies. Look for ways to build new tours and packages around them. Or, if you’re a highly specialized tour company, you may want to find ways to capitalize on these tourist activities by offering them as an upgrade or add-on to your existing packages.
Start by grabbing a calendar and flip through the months, with two things in mind:
Then, let the ideas flow! For example, if your tour company offers bus tours of Toronto, you may want to offer an option that allows your guests to take advantage of the outdoor skating rink that goes up in front of the City Hall building every winter.
One of the major reasons why people travel is because they want to have unique experiences that they can’t have at home. And even the smallest cities, towns, and islands have their share of specific local traditions that don’t happen anywhere else.
Ever seen a herd of cows walking through downtown streets? It happens every January in Denver, Colorado. Or a parade devoted entirely to swans? It’s an annual springtime tradition in Stratford, Ontario. There’s even a yearly naked bike ride in Portland, Oregon.
Think about what’s special in your area and consider how it can tie into your current tour packages. You’ll be giving your guests something precious: a unique travel story to tell for years to come.
Every type of tourist, from the adventure-seeking outdoors-person to the luxury-loving five-star hotel-stayer, has one thing in common: they have to eat. Take advantage of the universality of food by either building it into your existing tour offerings or by creating a standalone food tour that showcases the best of your local dining scene.
There are so many different types of foods out there that you have virtually endless options for creating a tantalizing tour experience, such as:
We should also mention that this is a great way to form strategic partnerships with businesses in your area that can lead to opportunities for cross-promotion. You drive business to their restaurants and they drive business to your tour company. Win-win.
Most tourists want to experience local life up close and personal. That usually means spending a significant amount of time traveling on foot. Why not capitalize on this popular tourist activity by offering a walking tour of your area?
The most basic approach involves putting together a tour that touches on notable neighborhoods that can be explored within a one- to two-hour timeframe and developing a tour guide script that details the history of the area, notable landmarks, and other points of interest.
But that’s just the beginning. Walking tours are incredibly versatile and can be tweaked to capitalize on what we covered in the first two items on this list: seasonal events and local unique experiences.
For example, when October rolls around and you’re in a locale that observes Halloween, you can offer special “haunted” walking tours that do a deep dive into local lore about ghost hauntings and other supernatural occurrences. Another idea would be to offer a walking tour that includes a visit to the local botanical gardens when the tulips are in bloom.
Once you’ve put in the work to capitalize on tourist activities and create new and exciting tour packages, the final step is to start accepting bookings! Don’t let all your hard work go to waste with a confusing booking system that creates needless frustration and has your prospects closing their browser tab and going with your competitor.
Make it a seamless experience with an online booking system that is simple to use and allows your guests to reserve their spots and make their payments all in place. Junglebee has a simple booking form that is a breeze to use — all you have to do is copy and paste it on your website and we’ll guide your clients through the booking process step by step.
Want to know more? Reach out to us to get the ball rolling.
