Tour experiences are increasing in popularity all over the world, and are an exciting and informative way for both visitors and locals alike to explore something new.
Tour experiences, whether it be a wine tour, city tour or an adventure activity (such as a zipline tour), give customers memories that they can remember for a lifetime.
But as tours become more popular, so do the number of competitors in the market. In fact, according to IBISWorld, the market size of the tour operators industry was expected to increase by 57.2 percent over the past year (2022).
Tour operators must now navigate a plethora of competitors to reach their target market and grow their business, which means a successful tour marketing strategy is critical.
With that in mind, we’ve listed 8 tour marketing ideas that will help your tour business stand out over its competitors and generate more bookings.
1 - Use photos to enhance your tour marketing strategy
One of the most effective ways to increase bookings for your tour business is to provide free photos to your customers through a photo sharing and marketing solution. By sharing photos with your customers through a branded webpage, they can be easily shared on social media channels with family and friends. These photos will generate new referral bookings, as they will link directly back to your website.
2 - Get visible on social media
As of October 2022, Kepios analysis shows that there are 4.74 billion social media users around the world - equating to 59.3 percent of the total global population. By posting videos and photos to your tour activity social media channels, as well as leveraging your top advocates to share their memories, you can reach and engage with a wide range of users and increase your chance of generating more bookings.
3 - Build a robust website
Before your customers book a tour with your business, they’ll almost always certainly navigate to your website to find the answers to some of their questions. This is why it’s critical that you have a robust website with well-written content that answers your customers’ top questions. Some questions they’ll want answered include, how much is the tour, what is included in the tour, and which locations do you visit.
4 - Encourage customer review
The vast majority (89 percent) of consumers worldwide make the effort to read reviews before buying products, according to Trustpilot. Encouraging past customers to leave reviews of your business can help your tour business to convert prospects who are on the fence and grow your customer base.
5 - Make booking a seamless process
Once your prospects have found the information they need before making their booking, you want to make the next steps of their buyers’ journey as seamless as possible. Implementing an online booking system that automates the entire process, not only saves time for your team but also provides a great experience for your customers.
6 - Partner with local businesses
Partnering with local businesses can help you increase visibility for your tour brand. Partnerships could include discounts for customers who visit both businesses, discounts on drinks or food at restaurants, or even special events where you plan a tour experience that visits local businesses, such as a food or history tour.
7 - Host giveaways
Consumers love giveaways and hosting a competition can be a great way to build an online buzz for your tour business. A social media contest, where you give away an experience, can be a fantastic strategy to stir up a buzz for your brand and drive additional bookings.
8 - Master the art of email marketing
It’s likely you collect email addresses from your guests at the time of booking. If so, and you have the appropriate permissions, then emails should form a critical part of your tour marketing strategy. By sending tour photos to remind past customers of their memories with your brand as part of an email remarketing campaign, your business can generate both repeat bookings and referral bookings.
Are you interested in learning more about how you can enhance your tour marketing strategy, particularly through the power of photo and video marketing? Book a Fotaflo demo today, and learn how we can help you market your brand through photo memories.
