When all the other tour companies seem to be jumping on the same bandwagon, you need something different to stand out. But there are no magic tricks here, it is all about trial and error. Below, we cover some tried and tested concepts in tour marketing from industry experts that you might have overlooked or are yet to try for your tour company.

Listing Tours on Tour Platforms

While you have probably heard of the biggest actors in the field, GetYourGuide and Viator, you might be overlooking less known platforms like TourDesk and Klook. TourDesk is different from Viator and GetYourGuide in primarily partnering with resellers (b2b) rather than marketing directly to consumers (b2c). Thereby giving you the opportunity to tap into extra visibility for your tours through local hotels in your area. You can register as a TourDesk supplier for free here.

TourDesk is commission based where the commission works like marketing cost, you get a wider reach for your tours and pay through the commission. This means that if there is no sale, you don’t pay any commission either, so there is no risk involved for you as a tour operator.

Partner With Hotels and Other Travel Companies 

Collaboration can be powerful. Partner with other travel businesses such as hotels or transportation companies to offer a complete travel experience that attracts tourists.

TourDesk is a simple software solution that links tour operators to hotels and their guests. By signing up as a supplier on TourDesk, you can get increased visibility and reach of your tours through local hotels in your area.

Personalization is Key

We could also call it customization or individualization. Offering a guided tour of La Sagrada Familia in Barcelona or a bus tour of the Golden Circle in Iceland is not going to stick out in a crowded marketplace unless you differentiate yourself somehow.

Your Friend in Reykjavík is one of many tour operators working with TourDesk, offering guided walking tours in Reykjavík. But so do other companies. How can they stick out? One of the things they have done is offering private custom tours and e.g. a walking tour focused on the cats of downtown (there are many cats in Reykjavík) but food tours are most popular.

“Personalization is not just a trend; it is a strategic approach benefiting both travelers and industry players alike.” (DataArt, 22 Nov. 2023)

SEO and GEO

SEO is not dead, relevant content still works well to attract the right audience to your tours. SEO and GEO are two sides of the same coin in that regard. Optimize your website with relevant keywords but avoid keyword stuffing. You can use e.g. Keyword Planner in Google Ads to do keyword research and find out how people are searching for your business. Use video and write in a clear and concise way with sub-headings and write alt-tags for your images. 

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and GEO for Generative Engine Optimization (referring to the generative AI tools). Both are essentially about the same thing: relevant content for end users.

“Travel SEO helps websites become more visible in search engine results pages (SERPs) when implemented effectively. In addition, there are multiple strategies you can introduce to bolster the SEO for your travel website.” (Neil Patel, 22 February, 2023)

Know Your Audience

The first step to any marketing campaign is understanding your target audience. Who are you trying to reach? What are their interests and travel preferences? By creating a buyer persona, you can tailor your marketing messages to resonate with your ideal customer.

Examples of target audiences in travel are millennials, solo travelers, families, business travelers, adventure seekers, luxury travelers, digital nomads and wellness seekers. Interest-based targeting comes into play, e.g. demographics, household, employment and lifestyle-segments. 

“Choosing the right audience segment for your travel brand depends on what you’re trying to accomplish as a business.” (Lotame, 19 June 2023)

Create a Google Business Profile and Similar

In addition to platforms like TourDesk, GetYourGuide and Viator, we recommend creating profiles on Google, Tripadvisor and Yelp. Users go to these sites to research travel, read reviews and plan their holidays. This is another place to get in front of potential customers, show them your ratings and influence their buying decisions as quickly as possible.

One more thing, creating a profile on these platforms is not “set and forget” though, you need to put in more work to be found by your target audience, summed up well here:

“You need to make sure your profile is complete, updated, and optimized.” (Orioly, 14 July 2021)

Gain Trust With Reviews & Word of Mouth

On that note, just having a Google Business Profile (or Tripadvisor or Yelp) is only the first step in the process. A profile without reviews will do little for your business. You need to encourage people to rate your business on these platforms

Positive online reviews are a major factor influencing tourist decision making. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google Maps (Google Business Profile) or TripAdvisor. 

“One of the best ways to showcase a brand’s amazing service is to show previous customers’ experiences. This is where Google Reviews comes into play.” (Tagbox, 3 January 2024)

Blog to Inform, Not to Sell

Write travel content with the primary goal of informing users and providing value. People have gotten more immune to traditional sales messaging. 

Being niche is also key to sticking out in the market, e.g. focusing on a specific country, vegan travel or hiking, rather than trying to be everything to everyone and risk being nothing to noone.

A travel review for a pensioner’s magazine might focus on visits to art galleries and other cultural attractions, rather than zoos and family parks.

“A travel article’s purpose is primarily to provide information to readers. This can come in the form of researched facts or a description of the writer’s own experiences.” (BBC, 23 March 2022)

Join Google Things to Do

Google offers a “Things to do” program for tour operators and other activity-based businesses. This program makes it easy to find and book activities from Google’s search results.

The program provides you free visibility of your business and products across several Google surfaces. 

Google plays a key part in traveler decision making for a lot of people, being the most widely used search engine in the world. The idea behind the Things to Do program is making it easier for users to find bookable travel experiences online. They can make direct bookings without an OTA as well as indirect bookings with an OTA (as either option can be listed on Google Things to Do).

“There is no doubt that Google Things to do is a must-have sales channel for tourism and leisure operators.” (Bookingkit, 8 March 2024)

Cross-Selling and Up-Selling

Customers are most receptive while they are buying so this is a great time to offer complementary tours and activities to provide more value. 

Up-selling is another option, you can gain increased revenue by offering customers upgrades on their tours and potentially sell them a higher tiered offer.

“Upselling and cross-selling strategies not only increase revenue but also provide a number of additional benefits that can improve customer relationships and competitive positioning in the market.” (Smartvel, 25 October 2024)

References for this post and further reading:

1. https://pro.regiondo.com/blog/tour-marketing/

2. https://www.bokun.io/how-to-market-a-tour-company

3. https://nezasa.com/blog/market-a-tour/

4. https://www.peekpro.com/blog/9-effective-marketing-strategies-for-tour-and-activity-operators/