July 15, 2021
“This bicycle tour of the city looks amazing, but the kids can’t spend a whole day on their bikes.”
“Wow! I’d love to book one of these canoe camping packages, but I just don’t see how we could do it with the kids. Maybe in a few years when they’re a bit older.”
Could you be missing out on a huge amount of bookings because your prospects are looking for family tours and you either don’t offer them or you don’t highlight them on your website?
Don’t let potential business slip away! Gearing tours toward families is a smart and lucrative way to capture this part of the market.
In 2021, the appetite for adventure with the family has never been stronger. With the pandemic hopefully retreating in the rearview mirror, a renewed appreciation for the importance of bonds and the need to live life to the fullest is driving many families to seek quality time and adventure in the form of travel and touring. And they want options that are fun, simple, and family-friendly.
Creating family friendly tours is easy to do. Here’s how to get started.
You can go about creating family friendly tours in two main ways:
Whichever way you choose to go (or if you decide to take both approaches), you’re faced with the question:
What are families looking for on a family tour?
Quite simply, they’re looking for tour packages and activities that keep their unique needs top of mind. Of course, you’ll want to offer the same excellent quality and service that you provide to all of your clients, but in order to connect with families, here are a few things to make front and center when organizing and promoting your family-friendly tours.
When parents look for a fun family activity, the first thing on their minds is “is this safe?” So be sure to get ahead of their objections by listing all of the ways you provide a safe and secure outing for everyone in their family.
This will look different depending on the kind of family tour you operate, but it may include:
Travelers tend to prefer smaller group sizes in general. With families, however, small group size goes from a nice-to-have to an absolute essential. It’s easier to keep kids close at hand in smaller groups, which makes for less stress and more fun for everyone.
Consider capping your family tours at sizes that are lower than your normal group tours and offering semi-private tours that are for families only.
While a packed itinerary is exciting for some, for kids it can be overwhelming, stressful, and a recipe for a meltdown. A huge part of traveling successfully with kids is keeping the energy and the mood high, so create an itinerary that makes sense for little ones as well as adults.
Kids need frequent breaks to go to the bathroom, to have a snack, or just to let off steam for a bit. They also tend to need extra time for things like getting in and out of gear and performing the physical requirements of the tour activities (little arms and legs can’t row, climb, paddle, or bike as fast as fully grown ones). A little wiggle room in the schedule goes a long way to ensuring a happy, fun tour.
Families are all too aware that their kids, who have different needs than the adults around them, can be seen as a burden. And no one wants to feel that while they’re on vacation!
When booking a family-friendly tour, parents will want to know that your guides, and your overall brand, is welcoming to kids and they won’t be seen as a drag on the group. Your tour guides are your best and strongest asset in this. If your prospective clients see that your tour guides know how to include and engage kids, then booking your tour package becomes a no-brainer.
Plus, if you have tour guides who are great with kids and create an unforgettable experience for them, you’re much more likely to get positive online reviews that are so essential to the success of your business.
It almost goes without saying that a family tour should be packed with activities and attractions that kids will love. Games? Yes. Petting zoo? Yes. Historical lecture? Not so much.
When you’re putting together a family tour package, don’t forget to target local people who are looking to staycation. Families with children often prefer to take trips that are closer to home, so tours that focus on an area’s “little known gems,” “haunted history,” and “best kept secrets” are great for bringing in local business as well as those from out of town.
Parents have a lot on their minds and the last thing they need is a complicated payment portal or a booking process that takes work to figure out. Make it easy for them to book your family tour package with trusted software that guides customers step-by-step through each booking.
Junglebee’s tour booking software and features offer a simple and secure way for your clients to make their bookings, so they can start looking forward to their tour and you can focus on creating an amazing experience for them.
Get started today by scheduling your 30-minute discovery call with our team of experienced professionals.
