travel tech insights

Tour operators are an intriguing part of the travel industry. They’re elusively difficult to capture in a single definition because they form a diverse constellation of products and services, all of which reflect different cultures and geographies. 

Within the tour industry the trends of early 2016 are mirroring those of 2015: customers are increasingly looking for customized offerings that promise highly personalized travel experiences.  It’s not surprising: who doesn’t want to return from a trip with a sense of having authentically experienced that part of the world?  What travelers wouldn’t want to feel they really know something where they’ve been, and that where they’ve been is unique – more than just another gondola ride in Venice?  The question is – how are savvy tour companies responding to these trends?

There are times when all of us make the mistake of assuming we know the facts behind an event, trend or circumstance - only to learn at some point how very wrong our unchallenged assumptions and beliefs were.  For instance, take a recent event, light years removed from the travel industry, which undercut a flawed understanding held by many people.

There are times it seems the travel industry should take a cue from its customers; go to some quiet place and just relax for a long time without reading anything about travel (except this blog, of course) or talking to anyone in the business.

During the past decade it has certainly seemed to be the case that disruption has been experienced to a far greater degree on the leisure side of travel rather than business side. Leisure travel has been impacted by OTA and witnessed the role of the travel agent - though still a force now – reduced in decision-making influence to that of friends, family and social media.