travel tech insights

If there’s one segment of the travel industry most impacted by trends or fads in today’s travel landscape, it’s tour operators. Because tours, activities, and other excursions can vary widely depending on location, supplier networks, and customer demand, the tour operator facet of the travel industry is a variant rich enterprise which can result in increasing complexity when it comes to sourcing products and services. Plus, the recent push for individualization, personalization, and unique tour and travel experiences means tour operators must deploy powerful software solutions to meet the needs of a fluctuating customer base that craves authenticity in how and where they travel.

As one can imagine, the drive for more intimate, specifically-tailored tours and activities and the growth of new and emerging markets across the globe - not to mention the continued fragmentation of the travel industry’s customer pool - means tour operators must work harder than ever before satisfy customers and grow their businesses.

For a moment, let’s consider the calculator. This relatively simple machine allows the user to complete complicated math problems by simply pushing a few buttons or following a fairly easy set of steps. The results, even with the most basic of today’s calculators, are computed quickly and are both incredibly detailed and enormously accurate. This allows users to engage in advanced mathematical equations with little time and resource investment - which can’t be said when attempting to solve a complex math equation manually with pen and paper.

Managing your tour operator software solution, like nearly all strategy solutions in the travel industry, is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. Different companies of different sizes with different business and customer engagement goals require a variety of solutions that are aligned with their scale, potential for growth, resource availability, and market share. Simply put, you wouldn’t pick-up your child from school in a moving van, nor would you attempt to haul a large camper or recreational vehicle with a small sedan. In order to complete certain tasks properly, you need to utilize the tools and methodologies that will ensure success and make it easy for you to repeat that success in the future. 

The choices tour operators have in selecting the proper software solutions is no different than deciding what kind of vehicle is best for any given situation. Cost, ease of integration with existing systems - ERP, Global Distribution Systems (GDS), and other optimized solutions - efficiency, agility, and the ability to collaborate with individuals across all points of the value chain are all factors to take into account when selecting a software solution - though, once again, the scale and degree of these factors varies heavily depending on the size of the company and its overall financial and customer-relation goals.

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?

The tour operator travel business grew in 2015 and remains highly competitive, circumstances which are likely to remain during 2016. This means tour companies can’t count on just long hours and hard work to keep them successful and competitive – they’ll have to also work smarter and plan better than ever before to stay ahead of existing and emerging competitors.