tour brokers example

Working with tour wholesalers: 9 tips for tour operators

By Rezdy — 7 Feb 2019

agent bookings   distribution   tour operator   wholesaler

Updated April 2023 – Expanding your distribution network and improving your online distribution strategy can greatly benefit both outbound and inbound tour operators , but it’s key to remember that success in the travel industry is not solely based on the quality of your product. Partnering with travel wholesalers can provide a valuable channel for reaching a wider audience and increasing bookings, but it’s important to strike the right balance between working with wholesalers and maintaining your own tourism profit margins .

These tips will help you develop relationships with the top businesses in the wholesale travel industry.

What is a tour wholesaler?

If you want to target wholesalers as a distribution partner, then you need to know exactly what they do within the travel industry.

The role of the wholesaler is unique, in the sense that they don’t work directly with travelers in the marketplace. Rather, a wholesaler will sell your tour products to retail travel agencies. In addition, they work with inbound tour operators to manage the specific details of itineraries. Essentially, B2B travel wholesalers help create all-inclusive packages for travelers to book. More and more travelers are now searching for comprehensive travel packages that include all of their experiences. By engaging with tour operators and travel wholesalers, it will be a valuable distribution channel for you to focus on.

9 tips for tour operators working with wholesalers

Here are nine tips for successfully working with B2B travel wholesalers.

Learn how tour wholesalers work

Learning how tour wholesalers work is crucial for tour operators who want to effectively partner with them and grow their business. Wholesalers act as intermediaries between tour operators and travel agents, and they often have established relationships with a wide network of agents who can help promote and sell the tours. By understanding how wholesalers operate, tour operators can better navigate the process of negotiating commission with travel agents and setting competitive pricing for their tours. 

Additionally, understanding how much travel agents make can help tour operators tailor their offerings to meet the needs and expectations of their target audience, ultimately leading to increased sales and a more profitable business.

Highlight the unique selling point of your tours

Wholesale tour operators are frequently searching for tours and activities that are both unique and authentic. These are the types of experiences that travelers are craving, and they want to be able to customize the itineraries. Not only that but having unique experiences will also be appealing to retail travel agents to better market the activity. According to Arival’s Path to Purchase September 2021 edition, the demand for unique experiences in 2021 has increased at drastic levels. More travelers are now searching for an experience that stands out and they’re willing to spend more for it.

When working with travel wholesalers, use online marketing techniques to showcase your products. Be sure to emphasize any value-added features that you include with the booking rate. Building unique experiences can be as simple as adding extra elements that your competitors might not do. For example, Offering lunch or dinner options along with a tour maybe that extra bit that will seal the deal.

Streamline your bookings online

Given the nature of their job, wholesalers will almost exclusively work with tour and activity operators who offer online booking. They are not going to have the time available to make phone calls or wait for e-mail responses. To attract the best wholesalers in the wholesale travel industry, you should implement an online booking system that simplifies the booking process. In addition, your online booking system should allow them to automatically earn their commission. This is, understandably, a priority of wholesalers.

For instance, an online booking software like Rezdy allows you to integrate and connect with multiple distribution agents. Once connected, they’ll be able to see live rates and real-time availability that allows them to book instantly. This removes the need to get in touch with you in order to process the booking. Once a booking has been processed, the commission rate you set will be automatically distributed to the agent. 

With a system like Rezdy in place, it’ll help both you and the wholesaler save time spent on processing orders. As a result, it will allow you to allocate your resources to more important areas of your business.

Set consistent rates for your tours

It’s imperative that you set consistent rates for your tours and activities, regardless of who is selling or booking them. For example, you can’t charge OTAs (online travel agents) one rate for your tours while switching up the prices on your website. When working with wholesalers, it is important to note that the commission rate may vary from one wholesaler to another. This may impact your profit margins, but it is beneficial to work with a diverse range of distribution agents.

Approach each tour wholesaler individually

Each wholesaler is different and the services they provide may vary from one wholesaler to another. As a tour operator, you’ll be working with multiple wholesalers located in different countries and regions that provide different services to different types of travel communities.

It’s important that you treat each wholesaler individually and build a personalized partnership. By doing so, it will help maximize your bookings and give you ideas for future marketing strategies. Consider incorporating a cloud based phone system into your operations to enhance your collaboration during the initial stages of your partnership. With this system, you can easily communicate and coordinate no matter where these wholesalers may be located. Features like call forwarding, voicemail, and conference calling enable seamless communication allowing for quick responses and effective coordination.

Meet your tour wholesaler face to face

Building a strong relationship with your tour wholesalers is crucial in ensuring you continue to have a smooth ongoing partnership. Being able to build trust and likeability with them allows for a more personalized venture that benefits both parties.

To communicate with your wholesaler via email gets the job done, however meeting them in person or over video -call will add that personal element. You will see that communication and negotiations will flow much easier once you have met them face-to-face.

Connect with your tour wholesaler on social media

Social media is currently one of the strongest platforms many businesses use to communicate with their customers and followers. In this day and age, many businesses – big or small – have a social media page that they will use to promote their business or provide updates.

You can use social media to your advantage by engaging with your tour wholesalers on multiple platforms. When you’re able to show support and promote your partners on social media by following, sharing, and engaging with them, they will likely return the favor. 

When other businesses promote you on their social media page, this will open you up to a pool of viewers that may not be aware of your business. Consider it as free publicity.

Treat your tour wholesalers like your business

When you apply to partner up with a travel wholesaler, it’s best to do some research about the company and approach them personally. Partnering with a travel wholesaler is more than just signing up to become one of their suppliers, you need to treat them as if they’re your own business. After all, they are providing you with another stream of income.

When working with a travel wholesaler, make sure you inform them of the latest updates, promotions, and opportunities. This will ensure that their staff is up to speed on the latest information that they then can share with their customers.

Keep track of your bookings

It’s important to be able to measure the success of the partnership between your business and the travel wholesaler. After all, you want to know what’s working and what’s not in order to cater to and strategize for the best possible outcomes. 

Keeping track of the bookings that come through from each distribution agent will allow you to have a better understanding of each market. This can then help you create marketing strategies catered towards these markets in order to boost your bookings.

Key takeaways

Working with travel wholesalers can be a valuable strategy for tour operators looking to grow their business and reach a wider audience. By understanding how wholesaler tour operators work, negotiating fair commission rates, and developing strong relationships with their partners, tour operators can successfully navigate the complex landscape of the travel industry and maximize their profitability. 

One effective tool for achieving just that is an online booking software like Rezdy, which streamlines the process of partnering with distribution agents, including wholesalers. Rezdy’s innovative channel manager platform ensures that all partners have access to your live rates and availability, making it easier to manage your distribution network and maximize your profitability.

If you’re interested in trying Rezdy for yourself, you can sign up for a FREE 21-day trial or request a free demo from our friendly team.

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14 Tips For More Successful Broker Open Tours

Recently, one of my EVOLVE coaching clients expressed frustration at the low turnout for broker’s open houses (or what you might call broker caravans in your area).

“Denise,” she said, “I don’t ever seem to have agents show up at my open houses. What am I doing wrong?”

Rather than thinking about what she was doing wrong, I encouraged her instead to think about all the things she could be doing differently. Seems like most agents simply post their broker’s open date and time in the MLS, and call it good.

I believe that any time you spend a little effort on something you increase your opportunity for success. So I created 14 tips that my client – or any agent – can use to increase traffic at open houses they hold for brokers.

• List the event in the MLS as soon as possible . Five to seven days before the open house is ideal. If your MLS supports it, and you follow my advice in #6, 8, 9, 10, and 11 below, include those details.
• Post details about the event on Facebook and Twitter. 
• Create a special invitation and email or snail mail it to all the agents in your office, and any agents you’ve worked with in the past. A snail mail invitation is more powerful, and will be more effective! If you’re doing food or prizes (see below) make sure that’s clearly stated.
• If you have office sales meetings, announce the event at your meeting .
• Do research on the MLS to determine which agents have listed, and/or sold, properties in the area which are similar to the one you have listed. Call and invite each of them to your broker’s open . Follow up with an email invitation.
• Do a progressive open house with agents who have homes listed in the area. If you do this, be sure to have flyers for their homes in your listing, and make sure you give them copies of your flyers too.
• Make sure you have evaluation forms for the event . Include price, condition, how the home compares to other listings, and recommendations for changes to increase salability.
• Develop a theme for your open house – this can be especially effective if you are doing a progressive open house. Your invitation, and your food, should support the theme.
• Create incentives for visiting. Sadly, many agents won’t attend without food or freebies dangled in front of them.
• If you offer a raffle or drawing, make it contingent upon the agent providing feedback on the home.
• If you participate in a progressive open house require agents to visit all the open houses to be eligible for the prize drawing . You can do this easily via punch cards. Or you can get more creative and do something like a “poker run” – agents they draw a card at each of five open houses, then turn in their hand at the final house. The best hand wins!
• Make sure you have great signage the day of the event. Make it easy for agents to find the house with A-boards, directional arrows, and balloons.
• Follow up after the event. Call each and every agent and thank them for coming to the event and for the feedback they provided. If you’ve done a drawing, this is also the time to tell them who the winner of the drawing is. Just make sure you call the winner first, so no one beats you to the punch!
• Reciprocate. Get in the habit of touring. When your colleagues regularly see you on tour at their listings they will be more likely to come to your future open houses.

The more of these tips you can incorporate into your next broker’s open, the more success you’re likely to have. The key is in the planning and the preparation. Don’t be like most agents, who list the open house in the MLS, show up at the house, and expect miracles. If you carefully manage the activities before the open house, it’s far more likely to be successful.

How many of these steps do you currently incorporate in your broker open houses? What other ideas have you used to successfully generate traffic? I’d love to hear what has worked for you!

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The Ultimate Guide to working with Tour Wholesalers and Operators

By: Marium Farooq

March 3, 2023

Table of Contents

Tips and Tricks to establish partnerships with Tour Wholesalers and Intermediaries

As you grow your business and find ways to optimize your revenue, you will be intrigued to work with Tour Wholesalers and Operators. But it can be challenging to understand the pros and cons of working with them to ensure the relationship affects your business positively.

Here is everything you need to know about working with Tour Wholesalers and how to make the most of this amazing opportunity:

What is the difference between a Tour Operator and a Tour Wholesaler?

The terms are often used interchangeably but have different meanings. A Tour Wholesaler creates packages by combining multiple activities, most likely, transportation and other services, and sells them via a sales channel. A Tour Operator is an organization or a firm that combines components from different travel suppliers and sells directly to the public.

Why are tour operators and wholesalers important?

Tour Operators and Wholesalers can help you sell bookings in bulk which can help you grow and increase your profit. A sizeable segment of travellers are searching for all inclusive travel packages with the ease of booking. By building a relationship with tour wholesalers and operators, you can add an additional revenue stream to your business. It can also be a valuable distribution channel to scale your business and ensure that travellers have access to your activities and services.

What are the 3 main types of tour operators?

The three main categories of tour operators are Domestic Tour Operators, Inbound Tour Operators, and Outbound Tour Operators. 

• Domestic Tour Operators create inclusive tour packages specifically for domestic travellers. To simplify things, they are tour operators who provide travel packages within the traveler’s native country. They typically combine multiple tourism components to create packages e.g. a transport service and a set of activities to sell to travellers within the country boundaries. Domestic tour operators form relationships with other travel service and activity providers to create unique experiences for travellers in order to attain a larger share of the Domestic Tourism market.
• Inbound Tour Operators or Incoming Tour Operators handle all activities and arrangements for the tourists in the host country. The packages are created specifically for Groups and Individuals who are non-residents of the country traveling to the host country for leisure or business. An inbound tour operator typically works with local travel agents and businesses to curate a tour package or packages that covers their own country.
• An Outbound Tour Operator or Outgoing Tour Operator handles all travel arrangements and activities for International destinations. To simplify it further, the packages are created to take travellers to other International Destinations from their home country. They are tour operators who market their tours for international destinations, either for business or leisure travel. Typically, an outbound travel operator will work or partner with businesses, destination marketing organizations and online travel agencies in the destination country to design a tour package for their customers. Most Outbound tour operators specialize in particular destinations based on tourism trends, their distribution partners and their expertise in the destination country.

Tips for working with Wholesalers and Tour Operators:

Here are all the secret ingredients you need to form successful travel partnerships with Tour Wholesalers and Operators:

Research to Find the Right Fit

Every Travel Wholesaler and Operator is different. They have their unique distribution systems and they cater to different markets. You want to make sure that there is a connection between their offerings and yours, especially in terms of the market they are targeting and the tourism services they offer. 

Start off by conducting research and compiling a kit consisting of their product fact sheets, pricing information, distribution channels, terms and conditions and any unique information that you might require to set you off on the right foot. This information is instrumental in creating a long-term mutually beneficial partnership with Tour Wholesalers and Operators. 

Sell Unique Activities and Experiences

One of the most important pieces of the puzzle is to make your activities attractive for the Wholesalers and Operators. It is most likely that you will be working with multiple tour operators and wholesalers, and you want to make sure they find your offerings attractive and unique to add to their itineraries. 

Having authentic and unique experiences will not only increase the demand for your activities and bookings but will also appeal to Travel Operators to promote it better, more so than your competitors. According to recent research , the demand for unique experiences is on the rise and travellers all around the world are willing to pay a premium price for unique experiences. Adding an extra element to your offering to make it stand out might go a long way for your business to generate more revenue by putting you in a position to negotiate higher prices with the tour wholesalers and operators.  

Prepare to Manage Bookings in Advance and in Real-Time

Managing Bookings while working with Tour Wholesalers and Operators can be a huge challenge. First and foremost, an  Online Booking Software is essential to attract Tour Operators to work with you. It will simplify the booking process and will help your partners automatically earn their commissions. It will take away the mundane tasks of constantly emailing and calling to manage bookings and will replace it with a system that updates in real-time and makes everything effortless. 

Working with wholesalers and operators can put you in unique situations which will go beyond simple bookings and commissions. One of these cases is to create bookings in advance and then manage real-time bookings as they happen with time. There are many factors that might come into play, which is why you should invest in an online booking engine that can help you customize your Online Booking System and make it a seamless experience for yourself and other stakeholders.

For instance, a software like Zaui with 20 years of experience can help you connect with the best partners all around the world, allowing them to book instantly with zero human interaction. You will ultimately save time and make more money. 

Build Personalized Partnerships and Track Performance

What works in one country might not work in the other, the same is the case with Wholesalers and Operators since they can be located in different parts of the world and operate in different types of travel communities. Building personalized partnerships will help optimize your bookings and create custom marketing strategies to make better-informed decisions.

It is equally important to keep track of how each partnership is performing for your business. Tracking the performance will determine the next steps for your Marketing Plan and Communication. Additionally, it will provide insight into each market and ultimately boost bookings. 

One of the ways to achieve your goals and maximize your performance is to choose an Online Booking Software that can help you connect with the best distribution agents all around the world and track their performance.

Zaui Online Booking Software offers a Channel Manager platform and Reporting Dashboard that can help you connect with distribution partners and optimize growth. Request a Free Personalized Demo from our support team to help maximize your Bookings and Revenue!

You can also have a look at our website to hear our customer success stories or check our Buyer’s Guide as you search for the best online platform to work with Travel Wholesalers and Operators.

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What is a tour operator and how does it work?

The tour operator is an integral component of tourism , yet many people are unclear about what a tour operator actually is or what they do.

In this article I will explain what a tour operator is and why tour operators are important. I will also talk about what the difference between a tour operator and a travel agent is, as well as the different types of tour operators.

What is a tour operator?

Definitions of tour operator, importance of tour operators, the difference between a tour operator and a travel agent, what does a tour operator do, products and services sold by tour operators, inbound tour operators, outbound tour operators, domestic tour operators, ground tour operators, the association of independent tour operators, the tour operator: to conclude.

Tour operators are inextricably linked to the package holiday model. The tour operator is the person or organisation who creates the package. A travel agency is then used to sell the package holiday.

In the chain of distribution , the tour operator is represented by the term ‘wholesaler’. This is because the tour operator is responsible for purchasing products of services in bulk and then redistributing them as a packaged product to consumers.

To put it simply, a tour operator is the person or organisation who takes the individual elements of a holiday (e.g. transfer, hotel, transport) and packages these together.

The types of package vary. Most commonly, tour operators are associated with mass tourism and the traditional package holiday market. However, tour operators do also play an important role in the production of niche tourism products and services too.

If you’re looking for a formal definition of a tour operator with a reputable source, you may want to reference Polyther, who in 1993, defined the tour operator as;

‘[an organisation or person] who has the responsibility of putting the tour ingredients together, marketing it, making reservations and handling actual operation’.

Similarly, Holloway (1992) states that;

tour operations undertake a distinct function in the tourism industry, they purchase separate e lements of tourism products/services and combine them into a package tour which they sell directly or indirectly to the tourists .

The Organisation for Economic and Cultural Development (OECD) define a tour operator as follows;

‘Tour operators are businesses that combine two or more travel services (e.g., transport, accommodation, meals, entertainment, sightseeing) and sell them through travel agencies or directly to final consumers as a single product (called a package tour) for a global price. The components of a package tour might be pre-established or can result from an “a la carte” procedure, in which the visitor decides the combination of services he/she wishes to acquire.’

Tour operators are an important part of the tourism industry .

Tour operators make the logistics of organising a holiday much easier for the consumer. This makes people more likely to travel, more often.

Tour operators have a lot of power. If they choose to sell holidays in a particular location, for example, then that location will receive many of the associated positive and negative economic impacts of tourism .

Tour operators are often vertically or horizontally integrated with other organisations, such as travel agents and airlines. This allows for easier management and distribution of products.

Tour operators typically build holidays en masse. This means that economies of scale play a key role in driving down prices- the more you produce the cheaper the product becomes! This is obviously beneficial to the consumer and helps travel agents to have a competitive advantage when selling holidays.

Many people are not aware that a travel agent and a tour operator are actually two totally different organisations and they are not aware of the difference between a tour operator and a travel agent.

In fact, it is quite easy to understand this difference!

A tour operator is the organisation which puts the different elements of a holiday together. And the travel agent is the organisation who sells it to the consumer.

Whilst this differentiation is pretty easy to comprehend, it is easy to understand why people get tour operators and travel agents confused. This is largely because many organisations will operate under the same company. For example, TUI has a tour operator and a travel agent (and an airline too). As a result, many people do not realise that in actual fact, there are two separate organisations doing two separate jobs.

Ultimately, a tour operator is responsible for putting the different elements of a holiday together into a commodified package.

To do this, there are a number of different roles and responsibilities that tour operator staff will have. This includes:

• Data analysis- which destinations will sell best, how many holidays should they sell etc
• Assessing suitability of accommodation, transfer and transport options
• Liaising with stakeholders e.g. coach operators, airlines, hoteliers and resort representatives
• Negotiating contracts
• Confirming reservations with airlines/hotels
• Managing and responding to customer feedback
• Undertaking market research
• Production of marketing material
• Providing pricing information
• Handling bookings, invoicing and issuing of tickets
• Working with travel consultants from different travel agencies to put holiday packages together

Tour operators have a number of products and services that they sell, depending on their specific business model, business intentions and target market. A tour operator will typically package together two of more elements to form a packaged product, which is then sold at an inclusive price.

Examples include:

• Package holidays
• Accommodation
• Information on destinations
• Representative service in resorts

Types of tour operator

Tour operators come in all shapes and sizes. Some are large, multinational organisations and other are small, independent business.

Different types of tour operators develop products for different types of tourism . This can include the mass market, niche tourism market, special interest tourism, the luxury market, tailor-made products and dynamic packages .

There are four different types of tour operators, which I will explain below.

• Inbound Tour Operators
• Outbound Tour Operators
• Domestic Tour Operators
• Ground Operators

An inbound tour operator is one who facilitates inbound tourism .

The aim of an inbound tour operator is to bring tourists in to a particular country or countries.

Inbound tour operators will often collaborate with local travel agencies and transport operators to facilitate travel arrangements for their customers.

Inbound tour operator example: A group of German tourists conduct a tour of China, encompassing a visit to Shanghai , Hangzhou and the Yellow Mountains . The tour operator who organises their travel is Chinese-based company China Highlights . This company is based locally in China and they offer local, Chinese tours.

An outbound tour operator is one who facilitates outbound tourism .

The aim of an outbound tour operator is to send tourists out of a particular country or countries.

Outbound tour operators will often collaborate with foreign travel agencies and transport operators to facilitate travel arrangements for their customers.

Outbound tour operator example : A family of four from Liverpool, UK want to book an all-inclusive summer sun holiday in Alicante. They book through TUI , the largest tour operator in Britain, who specialises in outbound travel. They are based in the UK, but they work with foreign partners to facilitate holidays overseas.

A domestic tour operator is one who facilitates domestic tourism .

The aim of a domestic tour operator is to organise travel within a particular country or countries.

Domestic tour operators will often collaborate with domestic travel agencies and transport operators to facilitate travel arrangements for their customers. Domestic tour operators will often also serve the inbound tourism market.

Domestic tour operator example : A group of twenty-something boys from Chicago want to travel to Florida for the spring break holiday. They want to do a tour of the local attractions in the area and have some time to relax on the beach . They organise their travel through the tour company, Trek America . Staff at this company are experts in domestic travel within the USA.

A ground tour operator is an organisation who dopes the ground work as grass roots level.

Many tour operators do not have connections in all places around the world, therefore they build a network of connections to help them run their business.

Essentially, some of the work is passed on to a third party, known as a ground operator. This work may include negotiating local contracts, liaising with local suppliers and providing market data, amongst other things.

This is especially common for small tour operators.

You may also hear ground tour operators referred to as handling operators or handling agents.

Ground tour operator example : A backpacker wants to ‘give something back’ and book a volunteer tourism holiday in Kerala. She wanted to use a known and trusted tour operator to book her trip so she booked it with Intrepid Travel . Intrepid Travel create and sell adventure holidays all over the world, and it is impossible for them to have contacts and every staff in every corner of the globe. Therefore they work with local ground operators, who do the work on the ground. In this instance, the ground organisation is Iris Travel – a tour operator based in Kerela, India.

The Association of Independent Tour Operators , abbreviated as AITO, is a travel industry trade group (like  ABTA  or ATOL) based in Britain. They launched in 1976.

The AITO represents around 120 independent  tour operators  across 200 countries.

These tour operators provide access to a huge range of activities including city breaks, safaris, luxury holidays and much more. The AITO is based in Twickenham, south-west London.

The AITO does a variety of things. Most importantly, you can be reassured that your holiday is well-protected thanks to the Association of Independent Tour Operators.

They assess every member financially as well as by their own business practice code before granting membership; this means that you are guaranteed clear and accurate descriptions of holidays as well as tour standards that are consistently monitored.

Tour operators are an important part of the tourism industry, and with AITO, you have added security when booking your travels through a tour operator. Hopefully after reading this article you are now confident with what a tour operator is, how these organisations work and the different types of tour operators operating the market.

If you liked this article, why not take a look at these too?

• Types of travel agents | Understanding tourism
• What is e-tourism and how is it changing travel?
• 10 jobs in travel and tourism that will be BIG in 2022 and beyond
• What does the World Travel and Tourism Council do?

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What is a Tour Operator? Types, Importance, Pros & Cons

Home » Blog » What is a Tour Operator? Types, Importance, Pros & Cons

Tour operators are the masterminds behind many unforgettable vacations. They organize travel experiences taking the hassle out of planning for travelers ensuring a seamless journey.

But what exactly are tour operators? What do they do, and why are they important?

Stay with us as we discuss all the above queries and more!

Table of contents

What is a tour operator, 1.inbound tour operators, 2.outbound tour operators, 3.domestic tour operators, 4.receptive tour operators, 5.ground tour operators, roles of a tour operator, importance of a tour operator, best tour operators, best tour operator software, tour operator vs travel agency, difference between a tour operator and a travel agency (infographics), frequently asked questions.

A tour operator is a company that specializes in designing and packaging travel itineraries . They act as a one-stop shop for travelers, offering pre-arranged tours that typically include flights, accommodation, transportation, sightseeing activities, and sometimes even meals.

They cater to various interests and budgets, offering adventure trips, cultural experiences, luxury getaways, and more. A tour operator not to be confused with a travel agency thinks up ideas for holidays, researches the ideas, designs the holiday itinerary, and contracts all the services needed.

Types of Tour Operators

Tour operators can be divided into five main categories: inbound, outbound, domestic, receptive, and ground.

Inbound tour operators bring tourists into the country in groups or through individual travel packages. They make all the arrangements in the host country, and the trips they organize are mainly intended for foreigners visiting the country.

When a group of Indian tourists wants to explore France, the company in France that organizes the whole trip is called the inbound operator. So inbound operators are local and offer trips that include their own country.

Unlike inbound, outbound tour operators work in their own country to take travelers to other countries. These are operators that market their travel to international destinations for either business or leisure.

For example, suppose a group of German tourists are planning a trip to India. Then the outbound operator is a German travel company that handles all ticket and hotel reservations.

Domestic tour operators are those who put together complete travel packages and sell them to domestic travelers. In other words, they are operators that offer travel packages and trips in the tourist’s home country.

Domestic travel usually involves residents of a certain country traveling within that country. They can visit national parks, scenic areas, hospitality tours, city tours, hikes, etc.

Receptive Tour Operators (RTO) provide travel products to companies in other markets (as a business-to-business relationship).

In particular, RTOs sell travel products to operators and/or travel agents, whether sold in a package or individually. They are primarily wholesalers and do not sell directly to the public.

Ground Tour Operators operate domestically. However, they differ from domestic operators in that they organize trips for inbound tourists on behalf of the inbound operator (and sometimes also the outbound).

Tour operators are responsible for the operation of a vacation by contracting, booking, and packaging together various travel components . These components can include: hotel, transportation, meals, guides, optional tours, and flight.

• Development of Tour Packages: These professionals develop travel packages for individual clients or groups of travelers. They work with clients to understand their interests and recommend different attractions, accommodations, and transportation options to help clients choose a travel package.
• Negotiating Prices: Companies usually negotiate prices with other vendors, such as hotels and transport companies. For example, they can ask the hotel to lower the room rates for a large tourist group.
• Travel Management: These professionals help organize travel plans for clients to reach their destinations. For example, they can book a bus to help customers travel between cities or a rental car to help customers reach various attractions.
• Providing Customer Support: The company provides customer support to help their customers prepare for their trips. For example, they can answer customers’ questions about the destination, provide information about exchange rates, or notify them of changes to travel plans.
• Travel Budgeting: Travel companies work with clients to help them budget for their trips. They develop different itineraries at different prices and advise clients on accommodation and sightseeing within their desired budget.
• Researching Travel Options: These professionals research different trips to give their clients recommendations on places to visit, stay, and eat. They read articles and search the web for information on travel trends and new destinations to stay current in their field.

Explore this article “World Tourism Ranking by Country 2024”

Pros and Cons of Tour Operator

A tour operator puts together packages by bundling the individual services making up itineraries. That’s why it’s sensible to review your options.

So, what exactly are the advantages and disadvantages of using a tour operator?

• Competitive Prices: They can offer more economical packages than individual options providing better value for money. They often negotiate discounted rates, making travel more affordable.
• Peak Season Options: They can anticipate peak season dates and offer options for these times.
• Convenience: Travel companies can provide seamless connections from one location to the other. They handle everything, allowing travelers to relax and enjoy the experience.
• Expertise: Their knowledge of destinations ensures a well-rounded itinerary with hidden gems and local experiences. They can ensure that travelers don’t miss any hidden corners of a destination.
• Reduced Stress: No need to research or book individual components, leaving travelers free to focus on having fun.
• Resolve Unseen Problems: Travel companies can resolve unforeseen problems, such as flight delays or cancellations.
• Safety and Security: Companies can provide an environment of safety for visitors. They can assign guides for support and guidance, especially in unfamiliar destinations.
• Assurance: If the arrangements made by an operator fall short of what was agreed, you can seek redress by way of a refund.

However, working with an operator can have downsides as well. Some disadvantages may include:

• Less Flexibility: Itineraries are predetermined, offering less freedom for spontaneous exploration. If you discover an activity or a restaurant you’d like to try that isn’t on your pre-planned itinerary, you may not be able to explore it.
• Limited Personalization: Customization options might be limited compared to independent travel.
• Higher Cost : It might not be your cheapest option. Tour packages can sometimes be pricier than piecing things together yourself.
• Larger Groups: Tour groups can range from private trips to groups of 50 or more people. Some tours involve group travel, which might not suit everyone.

Tour operators play a vital role in the tourism industry by planning and coordinating travel plans, travel packages, activities, and itineraries for their clients.

They use their expertise and resources to create high-quality tour packages helping tourists travel stress-free. Other reasons why tour operators are important are:

• Competitive Pricing: They negotiate in advance with hotels and airlines and offer you the best rates.
• Well Organized: Since the company is a travel company, they want to provide you with the best ground services. They personalize and ensure that every part of the tour is well taken care of.
• Boosting Tourism: They promote destinations and generate tourist revenue, benefiting local economies.
• Ensuring Quality: They maintain high standards for travel experiences, making sure travelers have a positive experience.
• Convenience and Accessibility: They make travel accessible to a wider range of people, including those who might not have the time or expertise to plan their own trips.
• Immediate Support System: When traveling to a foreign country things can become uncertain at any time. A competent company handles all these unprecedented events efficiently.
• Supporting Local Businesses: They partner with local businesses, contributing to the growth of sustainable tourism practices.
• Networking Opportunities: A tour company targets many people like you. Staying, traveling, and eating together is a great way to increase your network.

There isn’t a single best tour operator as it depends on your travel style, budget, and destinations. However, here is a list of the 10 best travel companies & tour operators in the USA with 191,668 reviews. [Source: tourradar ]

Travel companies that organize guided tours use travel operations software to manage customer information, travel information, and background functions. This type of tour operator software helps companies keep track of the organizational aspects of travel such as schedules, itineraries, meal plans, and more. In addition, it tracks tourists and participants, as well as personal tasks and activities. Companies can use this type of software to manage costs, expenses, and revenue. Capturing 75% of the Global Tourism market with over 883,934+ downloads globally and surpassing software like Rezdy, Peek Pro, Bokun, and more, the best software is found to be WP Travel . Here’s a list of the 5 best tour operator software:

Check this article on Best Tour Operator Software for a detailed overview of features and prices.

A tour operator is a person or organization responsible for planning travel and vacation packages. G Adventures and Intrepid Travel are some famous examples.

A travel agency is a private broker or agency that sells holiday packages. American Express Travel is an example of a travel agency. While Booking.com is also a travel agency, it is regarded as an Online Travel Agency (OTA) rather than a traditional one.

When the tour operator creates services, the travel agency is the intermediary that sells those services.

Further differences between a tour operator and a travel agency can be discussed below:

Explore this article “Tour Operator vs Travel Agent- What are the Differences?”

Launching your own tour operator business can be an exciting and rewarding venture. Here’s a roadmap to get you started: 1. Research the market and develop a solid business plan. 2. Create a unique brand and effective marketing strategy. 3. Develop tailored tour itineraries by collaborating with local businesses. 4. Prioritize safety protocols and staff training 5. Integrate technology like online booking and tour management software.

To package a tour, tour operators first research trends, design itineraries, then source local activities, and negotiate bulk rates with hotels and transportation. With everything neatly bundled (accommodation, meals, travel), they create a price-conscious package and market it through various channels. Some even offer customization options for the customer.

Tour operators function by streamlining the travel experience. They utilize bulk rates on flights, hotels, and activities. This allows them to create pre-designed packages that bundle everything you need for your trip – flights, accommodation, transportation, and sometimes even meals or entrance fees. This one-stop-shop approach simplifies trip planning, letting you focus on enjoying the destination.

Here’s a step-by-step process to start your very own tour operator business. Research and Planning 1. Legal and Financial Consideration 2. Branding and Marketing 3. Operations and Logistics 4. Technology Integration 5. Hiring and Training Staff 6. Launch and Growth Strategies. To look into these steps in detail, check this article on starting a tour company .

No, booking.com is not a tour operator. It is one of the largest online travel agencies in the world. Booking.com does not create its own travel packages but helps tour operators from around the world market their packages.

Yam Bahadur Chhetri is a content writer and vivid contributor to the WordPress community and a WordPress enthusiast with an experience of 7+ years in the relative field. He also loves to develop WordPress Themes, Plugins, and custom WordPress development for clients.

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Understanding the Difference Between Tour Operators and Travel Agents

By Rebecca Somes

Tour operators and travel agents might seem similar at first glance, but they have distinct roles when it comes to planning a vacation. While they both offer some similar services, it’s helpful to know which one best fits certain needs.

What is a Tour Operator?

A tour operator handles the nitty-gritty of a holiday experience, from booking and packaging to organising accommodation, transport, meals, guides, and optional tours. They’re like the behind-the-scenes magicians who ensure everything runs smoothly once a customer steps off the plane at a destination

On the other hand, travel agents act as matchmakers, connecting customers with the perfect vacation package from various tour operators. They’re like personal travel advisors, helping navigate through different destinations, budgets, and travel preferences to find the ideal fit for a dream getaway. Once customers have made a choice, they liaise with the tour operator to ensure all requests are met, handling the paperwork and payments along the way.

In the past, travel agents were the go-to choice for booking tour packages. However, with the rise of the internet and travel technology over the last couple of decades, many people now opt to book directly with tour operators. The internet has made it easier than ever to access and book tour packages independently, reducing the need for an agent to identify available operators. Nowadays, most tour operators engage directly with clients and sell their packages, cutting out the middleman.

However, some people still prefer to rely on their trusted local or family travel agent, with whom they have built a long-standing relationship over the years.

Types of Travel Agency

In the travel industry, there’s a growing number of independent travel agents who operate without ties to a specific agency. This presents a fantastic opportunity for people looking for remote work in the travel sector.

These independent agents come in various forms. Some create bespoke itineraries tailored to each client’s preferences, while others partner with specific travel companies. Additionally, some act as resellers, offering pre-packaged tours through Host Agencies.

Regardless of their specific model, most travel agents excel at helping to plan a trip. They use their expertise to provide recommendations based on their customer’s interests, budgets, and travel requirements. The advantage of working with a travel agent lies in their insider knowledge and knack for navigating the complexities of holiday planning and booking. When it comes to travel agencies, there’s a varied range of options available to suit every preference. Here are some of the different types of travel agencies:

Online Travel Agencies (OTAs): These are websites that allow users to search and book travel-related services online. OTAs offer a wide range of options, from flights and cruises to tours and activities, all in one convenient platform.

Brick-and-Mortar Travel Agencies: These are traditional travel agencies with physical offices where customers can visit and speak with travel agents face-to-face. They provide personalized service and assistance in planning and booking travel arrangements.

Corporate Travel Agencies: Specializing in business travel, corporate travel agencies cater to the needs of companies and organizations. They manage corporate travel policies, negotiate discounts with suppliers, and help with itinerary planning and expense management.

Specialist Travel Agencies: These agencies focus on specific types of travel, such as adventure travel, luxury travel, or niche markets like eco-tourism or culinary tours. They offer expertise and tailored recommendations for travellers with particular interests or preferences.

Overall, the travel agency landscape is diverse and caters to a wide range of travellers, each with unique needs and preferences.

The Roles of Tour Operators and Travel Agents

In conclusion, while tour operators and travel agents share some similarities, they play distinct roles in the holiday planning process. Tour operators handle the logistics of a vacation, from booking and packaging to on-the-ground arrangements, ensuring a hassle free experience for travellers. On the other hand, travel agents act as intermediaries, connecting customers with the perfect holiday package from various tour operators, and offering personalized advice and assistance throughout the planning process. Despite the rise of online booking platforms and websites , many travellers still rely on trusted travel agents for their expertise and insider knowledge. Additionally, the travel agency landscape continues to evolve, with independent agents offering bespoke services and various types of agencies catering to different travel needs and preferences. Ultimately, whether booking through a tour operator or a travel agent, travellers have access to a diverse range of options to suit their individual preferences and requirements thanks to the advancements in travel technology and products .

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Tour Operators and Travel Agents

Tour Operators are persons or organisation which organised and sells travel like air, railway ticket, transport and accommodation to a tourist. Moreover, a travel agent is a form of business that sells travel related products and services, particularly package tour to the tourists on behalf of travel suppliers such as airline, hotels, tour operator, cruise liners and other travel vendors.

Several travel agencies are specialized in commercial and business travelers while some agencies have setup separate departments dedicated to a separate sector. Several travel agencies serve as general sales agent for larger and foreign travel agencies or companies. A travel agent plays a significant role which converts a countries attractions, accessibility, amenities into saleable goods commodities and promotes, markets, and convince to buyers. Thus, the place of a travel agent is very prominent among the other types of intermediary operations involved in the provisioning and selling of travel products and travel services.

Travel agent:  

Travel agents is defined as   an individual, a firm or company who makes arrangements on behalf of tourists in respect of travel tickets, travel documents-VISA, transportation, accommodation , entertainment, insurance, foreign currency and other travel services from the principal suppliers and sells to the prospective tourists. Thus, the definition clearly identifies that a travel agent/ travel agency is a business may be small or big that sells travel related products and services to end-user customers on behalf of third party travel suppliers/ vendors, such as airlines, hotels and cruise lines. Generally, the clients of travel agencies include tourists and business travellers.

Tour Operator :  

The term tour operator is used to define the large scale operation in the travel intermediary’s process. Thus, ‘tour operators’ can be wholesaler, and or retailer depending upon market size and organizational structure. Thomas Cook, Thomson, American Express, Cox &amp; Kings, Kuoni, Thomas Bennett are good examples of a dual travel organization.  In the Indian tour operation market most tour operators are the outgrowth of successful retail travel agencies in their own travel markets. A Tour operator is defined as an organization/ firm/ company who package the travel to and from a destination along with complete ground services like accommodation , local sightseeing, local cultural fairs / festivals etc. Interestingly, they provide these services themselves as some of the ingredients of tour package they their own or they arrange these ingredients from different destination operators.       

 Generally, the industry practices indicates that a tour operator is a firm /company which specializes in the developing, planning and actual operation of pre-paid, pre-planned holidays and makes these available for tourists either directly or through the  middlemen. In most of the advertisements in the newspapers, magazines and others we have seen regarding five days/four nights along with tour itinerary and price per PAX.   For example, one week in Kerala  5000 Rs. (500 Rs. worth healthcare coupons free or ten days in Goa—heavy off season discounts, beaches, music and other services for Rs. 40000 inclusive meals per PAX etc.  There are numerous offers like this in the newspapers and magazines. Generally, these offers of package tours are available for both individuals as well as groups.  Now the question is that we have ever paid any attention to these offers that who have packages such tours and why? Or how they are packaged   and marketed these products/ services to general public?  Some people arrange these products/ services by their own and some approach the professional organizers to arrangement on their behalf.  When we arrange travel services/ product by own definitely this is a time consuming process. On the other hand there are many people who don’t want to bother themselves about arranging, planning and organizing their own journeys rather they want this to done by someone professional expertise.  It is the tour operator who packages all attractions of a destination into one composite product and retails it through the travel agents or directly to the tourists. He creates the demand, travel, market and image of the destination. Today, many tourists buy these package tours as per their interests, priorities and budget at a price that is pre-determined. The complete holiday package tour includes travels (air/surface), accommodation , sightseeing, insurance, currency, escort/ guide and so on. The person who puts together all these aspects into a package is known as the Tour Operator.

 Practically, a tour operator is a firm/ company who provides travel information, plans, organises and coordinates travel related services/ products with various ground operators to create a tour package. At the same time tour operator also ensures smooth conduct and operation of the package tour due to this professional work a tour operator is also called a Tour/Travel consultant or Tour Coordinator. The tour Operator may or may not necessarily have any product of his own but act as an intermediary for different travel vendors to tailor a package to meet the varied needs of a traveller. In fact, a tour operator plays a pivotal role in organizing, explorations, research expeditions, planning and operation a tour package. We must appreciate here that tour operations originated ever since people wanted to explore new areas/ destinations, go on pilgrimage / religious or trade expeditions, individually or in groups. 

 Definition of a travel agent and Tour operator 

•  The American Society of Travel Agents ( ASTA ) defines the travel agent as follows: “An agent is a person who undertakes a job for another person, who is the ‘principal’. The principal in such a relationship not only sets the goals of the job, such as selling tickets, but also may control the means and manner in which the job is done”.

•  According to Airlines Reporting Corporation (1987), “a retail travel agent is defined as a business that performs the basic functions : quoting fares and rates, makes reservations, arranges travel tickets, books rooms, arranges travel documents, and acts on the behalf of tourism vendors.”

•  Joel M. Abels, (1985) “A travel agent is an individual who, based on recognized industry standards of expertise and experience, is deemed qualified by travel agent peers and by travel principals to offer and sell travel arrangements and services to the general public”.

• Aryear Gregory (1985), “The tour operator is the architect/manufacturer who assembles the tour ingredients and creates travel, creates a market, creates lead and creates an annuity by having satisfied clients who return year after year”. 

•  James M. Poynter (1993) defines, “tour operator is one who has the responsibility of putting the tour ingredients together, marketing it, making reservations, handling all financial and accounting aspects, and selecting as well as managing tour managers”.

•   Mohinder Chand (2006). “ a tour operator is an organization which conceives idea of tourism product and converts this idea into realities by repeating tourists again and again”.

Difference between Travel Agent and Tour Operator

     Historically, the tour operator has mostly emerged from retail travel agency. However, today a clear distinction must be made between a travel agency and a tour operator.

Essentially a travel agent is a retailer and tour operator is a wholesaler. The travel agent is a retailer because he sells the travel services to the final consumers i.e. the tourists directly.

But unlike the travel agency, the tour operator is a manufacturer of the tourism product . He plans, organises, sells and conducts the tours. He acts as a wholesaler also sometimes because he has to engage travel agents as middleman to sell his package tours in different territories. The Figure 1.1 makes amply clear the flow of travel services from suppliers to the tourists. Moreover, the role of travel agent and tour operator in the tourism market is well defined. In fact, due to strategic alliances and world integration this distinction is meaningless as both are performing similar functions. 

The main difference as: 

•       Travel agents usually sell to end-users   on behalf of travel vendors.   

•       Tour operators plan almost each and everything related with tour package.  

•       Tour operators are specialized in dealing with specially one country/ one destination at a time. But there’s no specialization in the case of a travel agent.

•       Most of the cases some travel agents work directly with tour operators and provide the tour operators with the information of clients.

•       Travel agent gets permit to work from the respective tour operator either private or public while tour operator acquires license from the Ministry of Tourism.

•       Becoming a travel agent doesn’t require so much time/ money as compared to the tour operator.  

•       Tour operator is directly responsible to the regulatory authorities while travel agent is first responsible to the clients and then to the tour operator.

•       The main source of income of travel agent is commission and other reserves while a tour operator earned profit by providing services/ products to the clients and he also earned commission from the different travel vendors like hoteliers, transporters, airlines , cruise companies and destination companies etc.

IMPORTANCE AND FUTURE OF TRAVEL AGENT AND TOUR OPERATOR  

    Over the years, the role and contribution of travel agents and tour operators have been changed. In the beginning travel agent were ‘mom and pop’ organisations but today they are more professional and operating a large scale.  Inbound travel has been dramatically hit by introduction of VISA on Arrival and different promotional measures adopted by the Indian government like Incredible India   In fact; all forecasts are that travel between countries will continue to enjoy substantial growth through the 21st century. Thus, tourism between different countries has shown tremendous growth during 2016-2017 and India is no exception in this context.   Recent figures from the Ministry of  Tourism , Government of India have shown that whereas the overall number of domestic holidays increased by 20% between 2000 and 2016,   the domestic market will grow by 20% in the five years to 2017 and this  is  good news for the  tour operation industry. Outbound travel has, of course, enjoyed continuous growth since the advent of overseas package holidays in the 1990s. Whilst the outbound package market has in recent years increased at approximately 10 million holidays each year, independent holidays taken abroad are still growing strongly, and ensure that the overall outbound market continues to grow each year( Ministry of Tourism , GOI, 2016).  

     The following points are clearly described the role and contribution of travel agent and tour operation business in India:   

·  Travel Inf ormation:    

   Travel information is first and foremost activity of a tour operator. Today, most of the tour operators have developed an internet presence by posting a website, with detailed travel information. Moreover, use of technology has become vital for all travel companies. Most of the travel companies hired specially technology firms to maintain their website and upload latest travel information. Moreover, these companies use travel service distribution companies who operate Global Distribution Systems (GDS), such as  Sabre Holdings , Amadeus , Galileo  and World span to provide up to and minute detailed information on tens of thousands of flight, hotel,  transporters, car rental and others related with tourism services including package tours .

•  Tourist Publicity Material: 

    Tour operators produce huge tourism related material to attract and motive the tourists.     Moreover, travel agents and tour operators brought out a range of publicity material including shell folders on adventure, wildlife, tourist resources of South India Rajasthan and other states including tourist map and trekking maps of Himalayas. It also produced a general India brochure and those on various states and tourist destination in India. Thus, they are exploring India at global level. 

•  Promotion of Tourism:  

       Many tour operators and travel agents in collaboration with central or states governments have launched major campaign on “Tourism Environment / Awareness”. These campaigns are being released in all leading magazines across the country in Hindi, English and other Indian languages. The themes of the campaigns are “We can and we will keep India beautiful”. Besides, the department also launches advertising campaigns to promote lesser known bill resorts called “Holiday Campaign”; to promote Orissa and a campaign to promote Andaman and Nicobar and Lakshadweep Islands.

•  Tourism development   Planning :  

       Since tour operators play a pivotal role in tourism industry. They are actively involved and participate in tourism developmental processes and tourism policy formulation in the respective areas.  Every state in India has recognized that tourism has a vast potential for development in the country. Appreciating this potential Government has accorded the status of an industry to tourism.  Government has also extended various financial and non-financial incentives to tourism industry to motivate the tourism players.  Private sector investment has encouraged in developing tourism and public sector investment should be focused only on development of support infrastructure. Thus, travel agent and tour operators are  focusing on the following states so that tourism may developed  in a planned and systematic manners  such as states of Uttaranchal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Tripura, Manipur, Assam, Karnataka and Union Territories of Andaman arid Nicobar and Lakshadweep etc.

•  Promotion of Wildlife Tourism: 

      To  promote wildlife tourism, facilities are provided in the form of Forest Lodges and transport within the sanctuaries / national parks: Forest Lodges at Enjal (Gujarat), Manas (Assam), Dhangari (UP) and Parambikulam (Kerala) is in progress. The work of Forest Lodges Betla (Bihar) Simlipal (Orissa), Desert National Park, Ranthambhor, Ranakpur (Rajasthan). The tour operators are adding these destinations in their itineraries so that special interest tourism may be promoted. 

•  Tourist arrivals and Foreign exchange earnings: 

     As per Government reports,  the year 2016 has been a highly successful year so far as tourism in India is concerned. For the third successive year, India witnessed a positive growth in foreign tourist arrivals. Today, tour operator have been recognised as a vital component of travel and tourism industry and have become an integral part of this industry at global. They Account for more than 90% of international and 75% of domestic tourist traffic. Further, more than 70% of all travel agency revenues are derived from the business travel. Most travel agencies sell both commercial and leisure travel but there is many travel agencies which only specialize in one sector or the other. It is also appreciated that more than 50% tourists are coming through the travel agency and contributing huge foreign exchange to the country.

•  Development of New Products:   

      Various strategies have been formulated and implemented for tourism to meet the diverse needs of the tourists. Such as cultural  tourism,   wildlife tourism, sports tourism, social tourism, mountains and beach tourism, promotion of fairs and festivals,  and  leisure tourism and development of travel circuits.

•  Employment generation Promotional:   

       Travel agent and tour operators are the major players in the tourism industry. In fact, most of the tourism management students are employed in this vital sector of tourism industry.  More the 25 million people  are  working directly or indirectly in this sector. Event many tourism management students are establishing their own ventures. This is also helps the students to enter into their own business enterprises. 

•  Analysis of potential Tourism markets:   

     Most of the tour operators conduct market analysis and accordingly develop product. In fact, tour operators / travel agencies analysed tourism market potentials’ produce modified products based on the existing products and use technologies and skills. They identify potential of both domestic and foreign customer groups with description relevant characteristics like age, income, preferences and influencing factors on future demand. They also identify the unique selling point along with description of wanted characteristics product by the tourists.

      Thus, by 2020, the government of India expects travel and tourism to contribute Rs8, 500 billion to GDP, almost four times the value in 2010. With successive governments committed to reform, a strong manufacturing sector and a private sector that already has a critical mass that is needed to drive growth, it is unlikely that the strong growth in GDP is likely to be reversed ( Ministry of Tourism , GOI, 2017).  

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The List of 28 Travel Companies, Tour Operators and Travel Agents in Europe

Bus2alps – Switzerland

• Catai - Spain

Choose Balkans – Albania

Destination services – portugal.

• Discovery Nomads – Germany
• eDreams - Spain

Exodus Travels – United Kingdom

• Exoticca - Spain

Fez Travel – Turkey

Gadventures – united kingdom, gj travel – iceland, globus – spain, haggis adventures – scotland , intrepid travel – france, italy on a budget tours – italy.

• Lastminute - Switzerland
• Nuba - Spain

On the Go Tours – Norway

• Pangea - Spain 
• Politours 360º - Spain
• Shamrocker Adventures - Ireland

Soleto Travel – Malta

• Soltour - Spain

The Natural Adventure Company – London, UK

Topdeck – london, uk, trafalgar – united kingdom, travel addicts club – lithuania.

• TravelPlan - Spain

The old continent has more than a couple of jewels famous among avid travelers . However, the travel experience isn’t just about the gorgeous destinations. Travel agents play a crucial role here as they promote destinations while, at the same time, catering to the specific needs of their clients . And, yet, it appears that there is no room for them under the spotlight.

It’s essential to recognize the key players in the travel sector in the European Union. Plus, pointing travelers in the right direction can help them have even more memorable experiences while traveling the Schengen zone. 

Since there is no comprehensive list of travel agents in Europe, we’ve decided to build one from scratch. Here are the 28 noteworthy travel agents in Europe.

Bus2alps is a Switzerland operator with headquarters in Interlaken . Bus2alps specializes in custom-tailoring adventures to attract students, Expats, and the US armed forces.

The operator’s tours are tailored to meet the preferences and needs of people between 18 and 30 years of age .

The Bus2alps can handle up to 500 people across all available tours . 

What’s included in their package:

• Different types of travel including studying abroad, Escape 2 Europe, and US armed forces ;
• Unique trips including long breaks, weekend, and day trips;
• Online booking;
• Every trip features relevant images, a description, and itinerary details.

Destinations:

Link to tour page:.

Bus2alps Europe Tours

What we like:

What we like about Bus2alps is they set a perfect example of how an operator can still be successful even if it focuses on a narrow demographic . Bus2alps caters to the needs of young travelers and does it ever so successfully. 

Average rating online:

4.7/5 based on 357 reviews . 

Catai – Spain

Catai is a renowned Spanish tour operator . It offers tours across Europe specifically chosen to delight even the pickiest of travelers. Their offer includes regular tours, exclusive tours, and self-tours. 

Catai doesn’t impose any limits on travelers when it comes to age. 

The operator organizes trips for groups of various sizes . Every trip listed on the official website offers more details about the group size. 

• Online trip cost estimates;
• Exclusive offers;
• Trip assistant;
• Downloadable catalogs;
• Discount on booking in advance;
• Variety of trip styles.
• Bosnia And Herzegovina
• United Kingdom
• Netherlands
• Czech Republic
• Switzerland

Catai Europe Tours

What we like about Catai is the diversity of its offer. The tour operator offers all kinds of trips ranging from online budget travel and river cruises to romantic getaways and musical trips . 

3.8/5 based on 10 reviews.

Choose Balkans hails from Albania. It’s a relatively small tour operator, but the tours it offers and the professionalism of its staff have placed it on the map of top operators in Europe.

Every tour listed on Choose Balkans official website has age requirements. Most of the groups have no age restrictions and offer discounts for children.

Group size is not universal for all travel styles and trips – some tours feel really private as the group is no larger than 8 people, while other trips may include up to 30 people at a time.

• Book Now enables travelers to save dozen of time and book online;
• Different travel styles including adventure, culture, private, solo, and tailored tours;
• Official blog with actionable travel advice especially useful for people traveling with their own transportation;
• Detailed itineraries and other relevant information about trips.
• North Macedonia
• Bosnia Herzegovina

Choose Balkans Europe Tours

What we like

What we love about Choose Balkans are their tours. They have created really engaging experiences for travelers to emerge in local culture, help them taste unique local cuisine, and see mesmerizing nature found only in the Balkans. 

5/5 based on 181 reviews .

Destination Services is a small operator in Portugal focused on destinations in Portugal.

The operator works with a wide range of demographics – the age range is from 10 to 99 years old .

Destination Services has a small team, and it focuses on touring small groups, often not exceeding 4 people.

• Professional driver;
• Experienced guide to keep travelers informed and answer their questions;
• Ongoing discounts.
• Sao Miguel Island
• Cape Verde Santiago Island
• Serra da Arrabida

Destination Services Tours

We love how detailed and well-planned are Destination Services tours. They run a small operation that helps them consistently deliver high-quality travel experiences .

4.5/5 based on 12 reviews .

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With headquarters in Berlin, Germany, Discovery Nomads continues to please travelers with its authentic and unusual adventures. 

The group sizes and age range will depend on the selected adventure . The company also doesn’t allow people younger than 18 years to book trips.

• Every custom-tailored trip is described down to every detail;
• Travelers can book trips directly from the listings;
• Ongoing deals to help travelers save extra cash;
• Tailor-made trips are available to people who want to create their own experiences .

Discovery Nomads Europe Tours

A great thing about Discovery Nomads is that it is not an ordinary tour operator. While their tours include all the famous sights in Europe, they are completely customized all-in-one adventures. Some of these tours are the Ultimate Europe Adventure and the Rome to Nice and Barcelona Tour. 

4.9/5 based on 15 reviews .

eDreams – Spain

eDreams is another Spanish tour operator. It specializes in offering a wide range of services and destinations. You will be able to use the eDreams website to look for and book flights, hotels, car rentals, activities, beach holidays, and holiday rentals.

eDreams doesn’t impose any restrictions when it comes to the age of the travelers.

eDreams offers trips to both small and large groups of up to 30 travelers . Their flight+hotel offer is limited to 4 people, and most of their activities are limited to small groups. 

• Excellent search engine;
• Car rental;
• Flight + hotel;
• Great weekend deals;
• Real-time refund status;
• Booking management.

eDreams Europe Tours

What we like about eDream is the company’s eDreams app available on both Android and iPhone. Travelers can install the app to discover the best discounts and save big while traveling.

3.5/5 based on 94,075 reviews .

Exodus Travels is a reputable name in the adventure travel companies niche. It was founded back in 1974, and it went through all the rough patches and bumps the travel industry had to throw at it. 

Exodus Travels has a system to help travelers choose the perfect trip for their families. For children, all adventures are divided into adventures for ages 5–8, 9–12, and 13–16.

There is no general rule for group size. Every tour and adventure has outlined the min-max group size. For instance, in Walking in the Azores with Madalena Patacho, the minimum group size is 4 people while the maximum is 16 people. 

• Contact chatbot to get answers to your questions in no time;
• Every destination is really well covered, and content is available on the website;
• Tourists can find their travel agents in a few clicks;
• Travelers get insurance, including baggage theft, accidents, and medication insurance.
• Bosnia & Herzegovina
• The Netherlands
• North Cyprus

Exodus Travels Europe Tours

What we like about Exodus Travels is how they use the chatbot to empower their potential clients to find the information they want in no time. We also love that they provide insurance for those who choose to travel with them.

4.4/5 based on 13,088 reviews.

Exoticca – Spain

Exoticca is a Spanish tour operator specializing in offering attractive and exotic travel experiences . The operator has very high-quality standards to be able to guarantee exceptional experiences to travelers who book through it.

There are no age restrictions with Exoticca.

Exoticca enables travelers to experience the majority of its trips solo or in small groups of up to 30 people .

• Ongoing discounts and great offers;
• Free cancelation;
• Covid-19 protection;
• Insurance included;
• ABTA and ATOL protection.
• Baltic States
• Northern Ireland

Exoticca Europe Tours

What we like about Exoticca is that they work with over 50 product crafters who have extensive experience in the travel sector. It enables them to deliver unique, interesting, and engaging trips to travelers. 

4.5/5 based on 8,222 reviews .

Fez Travel is a Turkish operator with headquarters in Istanbul . With over 20 years of experience in the tourism sector, Fez Travel continues to mesmerize travelers with its trips to Turkey and the Greek islands.  

Fez Travel organizes tours for travelers as young as 8 years old. 

The operator works with small and large groups that can go up to 100 people. 

• Group and private tours;
• Book online;
• Review all destinations, including images, detailed PDF documentation, and itineraries;
• Talk to a Fez Travel expert via WhatsApp or Viber.
• Turkey and Turkish Islands
• Greece and Greek Islands
• The Balkans
• The Mediterranean coast

Fez Travel Europe Tours Greece , Balkans , and Mediterranean

What we like about Fez Travel is how they managed to offer different tours in terms of how long they last. It helps attract more travelers when your offers include 1-day getaways and tours that last anywhere from 2 to 10 days and longer.

4.4/5 based on 279 reviews .

GAdventures was founded in 1990 by Anita Voth and Bruce Poon Tip. This UK-based operator is focused on small group travel. 

GAdventures doesn’t focus on a single demographic – they have a variety of travel styles catering to the needs of families, teenagers, and people in their thirties.

The operator focuses on group sizes no larger than 15 travelers. Generally speaking, there are often 10 travelers on average on a trip. 

• Over 10 unique travel styles, ranging from classic tours to national geographic family journeys;
• Streamlined online booking;
• Ongoing promotions;
• Detailed listings including itineraries, guides, and transportation;
• Travelers can call a travel agent to get assistance before booking a trip.

GAdventures Europe Tours

The main thing that we like about GAdventures is their attention to detail. It comes from them being focused on smaller group sizes. It allows them to create these really lovely travel tours and delight their clients.

4.6/5 based on 6,444 reviews .

If you are looking for a tour operator specializing in unique and exciting destinations, GJ Travel can probably quench your thirst for adventures. 

ALl GJ Travel tours are available in regular and small groups. The standard groups are kept at a maximum of 35 people , while small groups include 16 people at most.

GJ Travel keeps a minimum age requirement of 8 years for most tours. There are no maximum age limits for the company’s tours.

• GJ Travel’s entire listings are searchable;
• Variety of Iceland and Greenland tours;
• Support for secure payments;
• Travelers can find everything they need regarding tours on the GJ Travel website;
• Super easy to confirm travel bookings;
• It’s possible to cancel the trips online with a few simple clicks.

GJ Travel Iceland Tours & GJ Travel Greenland Tours

We love GJ Travel’s focus on promoting attractive and breath-taking destinations in specific geographical regions . They are doing a great job promoting the natural beauties of Iceland and Greenland.

4.4/5 based on 139 reviews .

Globus is also among the most popular tour operators. The company hails from Spain, but it has offices worldwide . Globus does offer some quite unique adventures in Spain that only a local operator would know how to deliver properly. However, it does include trips to destinations throughout Europe too.

While the operator doesn’t strictly define the age range for its tours, it does clarify that you need to be at least 18 years of age to make a reservation.

Group size depends on the travel style and specific tour. Generally speaking, the smallest groups account for at least 8 people.

• “Ask an Expert” feature is designed to help travelers easily find answers to their questions;
• Ongoing travel deals to help travelers on a budget;
• A variety of booking channels so that travelers can choose what suits them best;
• Saved trips page so that travelers can build their bucket lists.
• Eastern Europe
• Greece and Turkey
• Holland and Belgium
• Scandinavia

Globus Europe Tours

What we love about Globus is its “Ask the Expert” features. It’s a great way to keep travelers engaged while helping them learn more about the destinations and itineraries .

4.4/5 based on 470 reviews .

Haggis Adventures specializes in backpacker tours to help travelers explore the wildest corners of the Scottish Highlands.

The HAGGiS Adventures team is equipped to handle groups as big as 41 people , and the minimum age to book a trip is 18 years old. There are no limits when it comes to going on tours.

• Different tour types, including 2-10 day, 5-day, and 1-day tours;
• Book online in a few simple clicks;
• Chat with Haggis Adventures specialist online;
• Flexible deposits allow travelers to book in advance even if they currently can’t afford a trip.

Haggis Adventures Europe Tours

What we love about HAGGiS Adventures is its search feature. Travelers need only choose the month they are available for an adventure, and the website will return all tours that are available that month. Plus, you can sort them by price or duration.

4.7/5 based on 1,879 reviews .

Intrepid was founded in 1989. It didn’t take long for the company to become a giant in the tourism sector. Intrepid Travel quickly outgrew the boundaries of Australia , where it was founded, and expanded into all corners of the world, including Europe.

Intrepid Travel’s trips don’t have a maximum age limit. The company does require travelers older than 70 years to complete a Self-Assessment Form. 

Intrepid Travel Europe organizes travel arrangements for small groups, which often include 10 travelers on average . 

• Great customer service and support;
• Build travel wishlists in a few simple clicks;
• Elaborate listings featuring image galleries and important notes;
• Ongoing travel deals ;
• Open to receiving feedback from travelers.
• Vatican City

Intrepid Travel Europe Tours

The best thing about Intrepid Travel Europe is their attention to delivering a great travel experience even though they’ve become a Travel B Corporation. 

4.6/5 based on 7,667 reviews .

Italy on a Budget Tours is a renowned operator located in Florence, Italy. It has a very attractive offer tailored to people who don’t want to spend a fortune on their travels.

Italy on a Budget Tours caters to the needs of a large demographic group. The age range of travelers using its services is 18 to 49 years old.

The operator specializes in small groups that don’t exceed 8 people.

• Online booking is available for all tours;
• Every tour and event has a dedicated page with relevant information;
• Ongoing deals including early-bird discounts and gift vouchers;
• Different types of travel, ranging from classic land journeys to wine tasting tour s.
• Amalfi Coast

Italy on a Budget Tours

We love how Italy on Budget Tours doesn’t make any trade-offs in terms of service quality even though it offers trips with a price tag significantly lower than the market average.

4.6/5 based on 219 reviews .

Lastminute – Switzerland

Lastminute is a tour operator hailing from Switzerland. As the name suggests it specializes in delivering affordable deals to travelers. You can use it to find cheap hotels, restaurants, flights, city breaks, and getaways.

There are no age restrictions on Lastminute tours as long as kids travel with parents or legal guardians. 

Generally speaking, Lastminute offers travel experiences to small groups of up to 5 people . However, since there are literally dozens of trips and tours, you should always check the maximum number of people allowed.

• Hotels & stays;
• Flash sales;
• Trip comparison tool;

Lastminute Europe Tours

What we like about Lastminute is how they categorize travel experiences in relatable categories based on travel styles such as sunseeker, cultural explorer, couples, and family. It makes finding the best travel for you quite easy. 

1.8/5 based on 44,277 reviews .

Nuba – Spain

Nuba is a Spanish travel operator that specializes in catering to the needs of travelers in a niche travel market. Nuba delivers exclusive, personal, and luxury travel experiences . 

Nuba doesn’t disclose any age limitations for its travel offers.

Nuba offers trips to groups of different sizes ranging from groups of two to larger groups. 

• Luxurious trips;
• Unique destinations and experiences;
• Create completely unique trips;
• Access to NUBA consultants.

Nuba Europe Tours

What we like about Nuba is how brave the company is in deciding to focus on offering luxury travel experiences exclusively. We also love how they neatly organize travels in different groups by different travel profiles. Whether you want to book a wedding, family, business, or trip only for two, you will be able to find it with Nuba.

4.5/5 based on 38 reviews .

On the Go Tours is a Norwegian operator promoting the natural beauties of Norway. It specializes in delivering very distinctive tours such as riding the scenic Flåm railway and taking boat adventures in the fjords. However, it also offers tours featuring several Europe destinations. 

On the Go Tours caters to travelers of all ages. The minimum age to travel with On the Go Tours is 18 . The family tours are reserved for children aged 5 . Some of our oldest travelers were well above the 70-year-old mark.

On the Go Tours ensures that there are never more than 24 travelers in one group. There is only one tour to Iceland with a group size of 36 people. 

• The complete offer is online, supported by detailed documents and images;
• Travelers can look for tours in several ways and filter them by availability;
• The site features upcoming trips on the homepage to help travelers easily spot them;
• Travelers can check itineraries for all tours;
• Booking is available online.

On the Go Tours Europe Destinations

The best thing about On the Go Tours is that they leverage online technologies to help travelers book their trips in minutes. It really helps reduce wait times and enhance the booking experience.

4.8/5 based on 1,759 reviews .

Pangea – Spain 

Pangea is another tour operator from Spain . It offers a wide range of destinations and enables travelers to search for trips by different travel styles such as season, who you are traveling with, and trip styles .

There are no age limitations when it comes to traveling with Pangea.

Pangea caters to groups of all sizes ranging from travel alone to travel in groups.

• Access to expert destination advisors;
• Trip search by destination;
• Plenty of unique travel styles;
• Travel deals;
• 10 euros of every trip goes to UNHCR ACNUR;
• Access to expert advisors;
• Tailor your own trips.

Pangea Europe Tours

What we like about Pangea is its effort to match every traveler with a perfect trip. The company has expert destination advisors standing by to help travelers choose and prepare for the trips of their dreams. 

4.3/5 based on 237 reviews .

Politours 360º – Spain

Politours 360º is a Spanish travel wholesaler and tour operator . The company has been in the travel sector for more than 35 years. It specializes in tours across the world including Europe but it’s also famous for its river cruises.

With no limit to age range, Politours caters to the desires of a wide group of travelers.

Group sizes vary from one trip to the other and it’s best to check the group size for the trip that interests you in particular.

• Attractive adventures;
• River cruises;
• Travel insurance;
• Offers and discounts;
• River cruises – Netherlands, Bucharest, Vienna
• Grand river cruise on the Danube River

Politours 360º Europe Tours

What we like about Politours 360º is how detailed their offers are on the official website. You can find everything you need about the destination that interests you, including the breathtaking pictures. 

Not yet rated.

Shamrocker Adventures – Ireland

Shamrocker Adventures is an Irish tour operator with more than 20 years of experience in the tourism sector. Its primary goal is to enable people on a budget to experience the beauties of the Emerald Isle. 

As a budget-focused company, Shamrocker Adventures targets travelers between the ages of 18 and 35. However, there is no maximum age limit.

• The operator enables travelers to book tailor-made tours;
• Promo codes are available so that travelers can even save more money;
• A complete description of all tours, including images of accommodation;
• Ability to book trips in under a minute;
• The team is available to answer any question prior to booking;
• Accepts ISIC, ISE, or ITIC cards for additional discounts.

Shamrocker Adventures Tours

The thing that really stands out about Shamrocker Adventures is how it provides great service and tours while still making everything affordable to travelers on a budget. 

4.4/5 based on 169 reviews .

Soleto Travel is located in San Gwann, Malta, and specializes in tailor-made travel experiences.

Soleto Travel tours cater to the demographics in the 18 to 90 age range.

The operator specializes in small group travel with groups of up to 8 people. 

• Different tours and packages including individual, groups, and honeymoon tours;
• Special offers;
• Variety of travel types, including shore excursions and theme tours;
• Additional assistance to travelers who need help with visas.
• Malta 

Soleto Travel Europe Tours

We love that Soleto Travel provides additional assistance to travelers during the decision phase and later on. Given the size of the operation, we were pleasantly surprised by how many unique tours they offer.

4.4/5 based on 116 reviews .

Soltour – Spain

Soltour is a tour operator operated by Grupo Piñero. With more than 40 years in the travel sector, Grupo Piñero helped develop Soltour into one of the best Spanish operators.

Soltour doesn’t have a policy that sets any age limits. However, all underaged travelers have to be accompanied by a legal guardian or a parent. 

Soltour caters to the needs of couples and families. When it comes to the group size the limit is set to 8 to accommodate families with up to 6 children.

• Special products;
• Great search engine;
• Offers and promotions;
• Soltour virtual catalogs;
• Senior specials;
• Honeymoon trips.
• Porto Santo

What we like about Soltour are their personalized travel packages including honeymoon trips and senior specials . These packages are tailored to deliver exceptional travel experiences to tourists and seniors with a lot of destinations on their bucket lists.

Not available.

The Natural Adventure Company was founded in 2009 by Peter Duncan and Alex Pazderski. Its niches are self-guided walking, Camino, and cycling holidays. 

While the tour operator doesn’t have any age range limits, it does have difficulty grades to help travelers assess whether they are physically fit enough for the adventure holiday they want. Generally speaking, the company’s offer caters to the needs of both the younger and older population.

Most of the trips and adventures available at the Natural Adventure Company have a minimum group size of 2 people . The rates also depend on the group size, and they can be quite affordable when the group reaches the optimal size for the given tour.

• Adventure specialist available via online live chat;
• Explore all listed destinations in a few simple clicks;
• Detailed descriptions of trip and adventure difficulty levels;
• The entire booking process can be completed online.
• N Macedonia

All Europe Tours by the Natural Adventure Company

What we love about the Natural Adventure Company is how detailed their listings and itineraries are. Travelers and adventurers can clearly see what awaits them, down to included and excluded items and services. 

4.5/5 stars based on 80 reviews .

Ever since it was founded in 1973, Topdeck has maintained a tight operation. They deliver outstanding travel experiences, ensuring that the company’s crew gets the travelers to their destinations. This Belgian operator offers a variety of trips to 18 to 30 somethings in Europe , ranging from sailing trips to completely personalized bucket list ones.

Every trip style Topdeck offers comes with group size limits:

• Get social – group size of 51 
• Play & Pause – group size of 28 
• Delve Deep – group size of 20 
• Sail & Swim – group size of 36 
• Choose from a variety of trip styles, including Get Social, Play & Pause, Delve Deep, and Sail & Swim;
• On the road chef for a complete travel experience;
• Experienced trip leaders ;
• Dedicated mobile app with trip group chat, itinerary viewer, maps, and more.

Destination:

Topdeck Europe Destinations

What we love about Topdeck is how personalized their trip styles feel. They offer niche travel experiences promoting destinations and the social aspect of the travel. 

4.6/5 based on 5,511 reviews .

Trafalgar caters to preferences of wide demographics meaning that the average age is unique for every different tour type. For instance, panorama tours most often attract people in their early 40s. 

Trafalgar enables travelers to choose whether they want to travel in groups of 29 or 50 people .

• Complete online listings so that travelers can find everything they need in one spot;
• Search filters to help travelers find what they want;
• Public reviews to assess the value every arrangement offers;
• Available tripcodes to enable people to save extra;
• Travelers can choose the transportation.
• Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Liechtenstein

Trafalgar Europe Tours

We love Trafalgar’s range of Europe destinations in its listings and how the company consistently offers a high-quality experience across all destinations.

4.5/5 based on 1,469 reviews .

Travel Addicts Club is a renowned tour operator hailing from Lithuania. The operator specializes in providing small group trips, but it’s also famous for its custom trips.

Travel Addicts Club has an age range disclosed for every trip listed in its offer.

Group size depends on the travel style and specific tour. For instance, you can go on 1-man private tours but also have fun on group tours, including up to 16 people.

• Different types of tours including private, group, self-drive, and day tours;
• Create your own perfect tours;
• Chat with travel experts live on the website;
• Read details about every trip, including itinerary, inclusions, prices, options, etc.
• Baltic states

Travel Addicts Club

What we really like about Travel Addicts Club is how they remain focused on a specific geographic region. It enables them to delight travelers with extensive knowledge of UNESCO heritage sites, local cuisine, culture, and history . 

4.5/5 based on 25 reviews .

TravelPlan – Spain

TravelPlan is a Spanish tour operator hailing from Palma de Mallorca . The operator has over 30 years of experience in the sector. It has a wide range of tours including dream-like destinations with stays in some of the world’s most prestigious hotels. 

When it comes to the age range of tourists it serves, TravelPlan doesn’t have any restrictions. 

TravelPlan includes offers that cater to all group sizes. 

• Exclusive promotions;
• Free Travelplan e-magazine;
• Personalized follow-up files;
• Multilingual Call Center;
• Travel insurance.

What we like about TravelPlan is how diverse their offer in Europe is. We really value TravelPlan’s e-magazine which travelers can access for free to learn all about the destinations on its offer. 

1.8/5 based on 38 reviews .

Hopefully, you’ll find our list of the top 28 travel agents in Europe useful. Keep in mind that things change. We will keep this list updated with the latest information, so feel free to come back to check whether something has changed.

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Marc Truyols has a degree in Tourism from the University of the Balearic Islands. Marc has extensive experience in the leisure, travel and tourism industry. His skills in negotiation, hotel management, customer service, sales and hotel management make him a strong business development professional in the travel industry.

Mize is the leading hotel booking optimization solution in the world. With over 170 partners using our fintech products, Mize creates new extra profit for the hotel booking industry using its fully automated proprietary technology and has generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue across its suite of products for its partners. Mize was founded in 2016 with its headquarters in Tel Aviv and offices worldwide.

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Tour Operator vs Travel Agent: What’s the Difference?

We take pride in providing authentic travel recommendations based on our own experiences such as unique images and perspectives. We may earn a commission when you purchase a product or book a reservation. Learn more ›

Written by Kyle Kroeger

Are you planning for your next trip? Today is the best time to think about exploring and visiting places worldwide.

Sure, you might have the drive and a rough idea of what you’d like to see and do, but planning that all can be a hassle, and after the pandemic, the hassle is the last thing you want to deal with.

One question you might consider is: Should you talk with a tour operator or a travel agent to help plan your trip? Here’s a clearer picture of what you’ll get from both in our tour operator vs travel agent comparison.

What is a Tour Operator?

A tour operator is responsible for creating a variety of tour packages for target clients. Their job is to maintain the packages, foster connections worldwide, and ensure that all the sites included in the package are operational.

They also make sure that guests are welcomed to the destinations with a number of special local tours included in the packages that they offer.

How do tour operators work?

Their job is managing tour packages, including the preparations for every destination.

What tasks do operators commonly handle?

Alongside offering travel and tours, a good operator also ensures that they go above and beyond by offering various activities that appeal to their target travelers.

Will they be able to help you plan a trip that is exclusive to just your group? Yup, they can definitely accommodate special requests. That’s the beauty of hiring a tour operator. They can personalize the whole trip to fit your liking.

Is working with a tour operator worth it?

The answer will depend on how much travel you want to do. If you’ve chosen to work with a tour operator, be prepared for a wide range of options that they could offer. On the flip side, you have to prepare for the limitations in their practice.

Tour operators usually work around what they think their clients would want to do or where clients would want to go, and their suggestions will be based on their opinions and experiences.

Their perspective of various travel destinations could limit their ideas of what can be done in that particular location if just based on their info and experiences. It could also limit what the traveler can choose to do while they are there.

Will you be able to save on costs when you talk with a travel operator? Working closely with them surely comes with a number of benefits, and that includes savings.

Looking at the bigger picture, a travel operator can offer you a whole itinerary minus the extra costs of working with a travel agent.

What do Travel Agents do?

What does it mean to hire a travel agent? Working with a travel agent means preparing a pre-made package travel itinerary to fit your needs. Travel agents work with various types of travel operators, which means they have access to different tour packages.

They can offer all these packages; from there, you can choose which suits your travel plans. Travel agents can also help you with the accommodations you wish to make. When traveling with family or friends, the agent can help you decide on the accommodations and other excursions you wish to make.

Travel agents have some leeway in accommodating your special requests, but they come with a price as they add to the package. Can they get you discounted rates for plane fares?

Luckily, yes. You have to work closely with them as they negotiate the rates with the travel operators on your behalf.

Tour Operator vs Travel Agent: How are they different?

Some people might be wondering whether they should acquire the services of a tour operator or if getting help from a travel agent is better. You want to ensure you hire the right one for the job.

Tour operator vs. travel agent: What’s the catch? Who do you trust with your travel goals? Who is better than providing you with what you need?

How much do travel agents make? That figure varies, but their earnings typically come from the commissions from selling packages.

Whether you hire a tour operator or a travel agent , be prepared to be given their unique perspective on destinations and how to get there.

They have their touch when it comes to travel details and planning. To the untrained eye, it may seem like a thin line that separates one from the other, but they are different horses for different courses.

Tour operators are the people you trust when you want a personalized plan for your itinerary. They put together a travel tour based on tourist spots you want to visit and the comfort of your stay in every location. Their goal is to create a personalized experience that you will never forget.

Here is a comparison of what a travel agent does and what a tour operator does:

What does a travel agent do? How do travel agents work?

Travel agents are the ones that sell a pre-made travel itinerary to target consumers. For example, if you plan to travel with the entire family, including young children, the travel agent will offer you tour packages that suit your type of family .

Their goal is to convince you that a particular travel plan is what you need.

Are travel agents worth it?

It is important to note that travel agents directly sell a travel package to a chosen clientele.

While they don’t typically limit the choices to just one, they will ensure that the clients can narrow their search for the most appropriate packages with the agent’s help. Working closely with tourist attractions , hotels, and airlines allows travel agents to represent various travel operators and host a variety of pre-made packages.

Their goal is to offer various types of travel tours, offering a different experience every time. The limitations of their job are what suits their clients.

At this point, the only question left to ask is this: What is the cost difference? Can a travel agent save you money on flights? Hiring a tour operator means paying for the entire tour’s base cost without additional fees. You get to pay for what you want and nothing else.

On the other hand, working with a travel agent means gaining access to many comprehensive packages, including travel, activities, excursions, food, and accommodation.

There might be extra stuff you wouldn’t have thought of doing before. Your package might include everything you want from a vacation, which would cost more if you booked everything individually with a tour operator.

How Are Tour Operators and Travel Agents Similar?

What makes travel operators and travel agents similar to each other? What tasks do tour operators commonly handle? The line differentiating one from the other may be considered a gray area.

When you look closely into what they do and see how tour operators work, it might be easy to think that they practically do the same thing, only with a different approach.

And yet, it is in the very nature of what they do that brings travel operators and travel agents together . When building packages, many travel agents will work alongside tour operators.

Looking into the different perspectives they offer, both the tour operator and the travel agent focus on selling the experience. Whenever tour operators put together a list of travel destinations they think clients would want to visit , they always have the idea of the “ultimate experience” in their minds.

They always consider what the clients want to do or where they want to go. The same is true whenever travel agents offer tour packages to clients. They always bank on the “ultimate experience” and make that their selling point. They want to ensure that every time they offer a travel package to a particular set of clients, it’s the right package for the right client.

What’s better about hiring a tour operator?

Will you choose to travel with a travel operator? Choosing to hire a tour operator will allow you truly personalize your own vacation. All that is left for you to do is to choose which of their options suits your taste.

There are a number of advantages that come with hiring a tour operator. First, you gain access to a number of tour packages that they will have been building and fostering that are less typical than the sort of cookie-cutter packages you’d get from a travel agent.

Since tour operators spend so much time putting together these travel packages, you can be sure they’ve put real heart and soul into their offerings.

Second, hiring a tour operator means buying yourself the personalized experience of a lifetime. They aim to create bespoke packages to give you an experience you will never forget.

Lastly, hiring a travel operator means gaining access to the base rates they can offer for tours, activities, accommodation, food, etc. You can even ask for discounted rates if you wish. After all, the savings from hiring a travel operator will mean additional pocket money for you.

What’s better about hiring a travel agent?

Every travel agent works with a wider variety of travel and tour operators, which means they can offer you a wider range of travel packages. Each travel package they offer will be comprehensive, with many amenities and activities included.

The advantages of working with a travel agent are numerous. For one, it means gaining access to various travel options.

Whether you are looking for an adventure to the great outdoors or want to explore the beaches of a tropical island, your desired destination is what a travel agent offers. The best part is that they can offer more than one travel package .

Second, if you choose to hire a travel agent, the effort you must put into planning and booking plummets.

They take care of most of the heavy lifting, including figuring out essentially where you stay and what you do based on your rough specifications.

Lastly, hiring a travel agent will be worth it because of all the savings you can potentially get from it. If you look at a comprehensive travel package and then try to build it yourself, you’ll find that the travel agent has access to inter-industry deals that you, I, and even some tour operators have access to.

Who should hire a travel operator?

You should consider a travel operator if you are looking for a personalized experience and want a hand in building it.

Who should hire a travel agent?

Anyone looking for an adventure or break who doesn’t want the hassle of figuring it out or paying more than one bill/fee for their vacation. They’re the one-stop shop.

Related Resources

• Pros and Cons of Being a Travel Agent: Is It Stressful?
• Best Travel Agent Jobs to Start a Tourism Career
• How to Become a Home-Based Travel Agent

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What Is a Broker Open House & How to Host a Successful One

Jealie is a staff writer and expert on real estate education, lead generation, marketing, and investing. She has always seen writing as an opportunity to apply her knowledge and express her ideas. Over the years and through her internship at a real estate developer in the Philippines, Camella, she developed and discovered essential skills for producing high-quality online content. See full bio

• Broker Open House Defined
• Broker Open House vs a Regular Open House
• Why a Broker’s Open House Is Important
• Steps to Host a Memorable Broker Open House
• Bringing It All Together

Looking to generate excitement around your property? Throw a broker open house! But what is a broker open house? It’s a clever tactic to ramp up interest, increase visibility, and sell a home quicker! But if you don’t know the ins and outs of a broker open house—I’m here to give you all the details about how it’s different from a regular open house, why it’s essential, and how to host one yourself.

It’s a strategic opportunity for real estate agents to invite peers to tour their listings without clients. This exclusive sneak peek allows pros to access your listing and create a buzz before opening it to the public. A broker open house, also known as a broker preview, is when a real estate agent or broker invites other real estate professionals to tour their listings without their clients. The purpose is to showcase the home to other professionals who may have interested buyers before opening the house to the general public. 

Remember that a broker open house looks the same as any other open house from the outside. It includes an open house checklist , flyers, signs, and refreshments but is only open to real estate professionals, not the general public. The listing agent’s goal and approach are also different. A regular open house directly generates buyer leads, while a broker open house indirectly generates leads through other agents.

Did you know? It is called a broker open house because “broker” is a nickname used for all real estate agents, even agents who are not officially licensed as brokers.

In a typical open house, prospective buyers and lookers tour the home, but it is uncommon for buyers to purchase it at an open house. It does happen sometimes, but statistically, only 50% of buyers opt for an open house as their information source for the home search , and only 4% found their home via an open house sign. Below, see what is a broker open house and how it differs from a regular one:

After learning what a broker open house is, it is time to know its pros and cons. Since hosting a broker’s open house is crucial for real estate professionals, here are a few key reasons why it is important:

• It allows other agents to spend time and ask the listing agent any questions about the property.
• It helps agents feel more connected to the property, allowing them to describe the home to their buyer clients better.
• Agents become ambassadors for the hosting broker and listing, creating buzz and a personal connection to the property.
• It saves time by allowing multiple agents to see the property simultaneously, expanding its potential reach to qualified buyers.

Pros & Cons of a Broker’s Open House

Hosting a broker open house can be a fantastic use of your time if you can attract enough guests. Weekdays would be a better choice here since showings and open houses are typically held on the weekends for clients. That’s why making your open house appealing and unforgettable is essential. Let’s look at the advantages and disadvantages of hosting a broker open house.

To make something memorable out of your open house , you must tap into the agent’s emotions and help them feel what it would be like to live in the home, even though they’re not the buyer. You want their enthusiasm high when they tell others about your listing.

Step 1: Create a Guest List

Remember to gather all the brokers and real estate agents in your area! Also, consider inviting other real estate professionals you know, such as lenders, insurance and title agents, and real estate attorneys. Plan for the event to last about two hours. Some guests will pop in, take a quick look at the property, and leave, while others may stick around for a bit and mingle.

Step 2: Prepare the Home

Your listing is likely already clean and staged from when you had your real estate photographer come in for the photo shoot, and your sellers have probably been diligent in keeping it ready to show on short notice. Still, enlist the seller, walk through the property, and decide what needs attention. Ensure there is no clutter or odor that detracts from its visual appeal.

Pro Tip: If your open house is around the holidays, decorating it with holiday decor makes it more homey. However, discuss it with the seller first. You don’t want to assume they celebrate certain holidays or force them to decorate if they’re packing up to leave.

Step 3: Set a Marketing Budget

You need a budget for advertising, including broker open house ideas, to market your listings. Marketing ideas can be free, like email and social media posts, but you might need to spend some money on invitations and ads. How much you pay depends on the property type and how often you have open houses. If you’re selling luxury real estate, you’ll spend more than if you’re selling a smaller property. For broker’s open houses, where there are fewer people, you can spend less, maybe a few hundred dollars, but check the costs in your area.

Check out our free, downloadable real estate marketing plan template to get started with your marketing plan budget.

Step 4: Send Invitations 

Remember to send out those snazzy invitations and follow up with an email. Politely ask your guests to RSVP so you know how many people are coming. Also, schedule the open house soon after listing the home to capitalize on the buzz, which could lead to a quick sale. It’s best to aim for within a week or two of listing. Trust me, it’ll make your event extra special and ensure you’ve got everything you need. And here’s a pro tip: save time and money by buying invitations in bulk, so you’re always ready to impress when you list a new property.

Here is a simple example of an invitation, but you can add images of the home or any other elements you like. Be sure to add your company logo and contact information. Save money using Canva’s free design tools with hundreds of templates. All the elements on their invitations are fully customizable, so you can change colors, fonts, and images and add your brand.

Pro Tip: Use invitations that align with the type of property you’re showcasing. For example, an invitation using unbleached paper with a country theme would be great for a farmhouse. A luxury listing invitation could be black or white with gold lettering. You can also have it customized with an image of the home on the cover. 

Step 5: Advertise the Broker Open House

Marketing a broker’s open house somewhat differs from marketing a traditional open house. Place a directional open house sign out front on the event day, but get custom-designed signs that say “welcome brokers” instead of “open house.” Otherwise, you may have neighbors and passersby dropping in. Invitations, follow-ups, and emails to your list in your CRM (customer relationship manager) are also part of your overall lead generation and marketing strategy.

Here are other ways to market a broker open house:

• Social media : Tell people about the open house on social media, but make it clear it’s for real estate agents, not buyers. Also, let other real estate groups know about the event and ask them to share it with their members and guests. If there’s an online realtor group, share the information there too.
• Phone: The old methods are often overlooked in this digital era. These include picking up the telephone and making calls to your peers. It’s not the fastest way, but there may be some guests you prefer to call while sending out invitations to others in bulk. 
• Email: Send targeted emails to your contact sphere by creating and personalizing the invite. Most email marketing software allows you to use a code that inserts people’s names directly into the appropriate fields. Don’t forget to invite the people in your brokerage. 

Step 6: Keep a Contact Database

Don’t forget to keep a real estate database handy with contact information for local agents and real estate professionals. Real estate CRM software makes it easy to store and access their info and send email follow-ups with just a few clicks. Plus, many CRMs allow you to create stunning listing websites to showcase properties and promote your broker open houses with a simple link.

An IDX website, robust CRM, and marketing automation are just a few of the tools Market Leader’s marketing and lead conversion software provides. Upload your contacts and create and send targeted emails to your professional sphere of influence to invite them to your open houses. The platform also provides a mobile app to access emails and CRM contact information to receive and track RSVPs immediately.

Step 7: Provide Food & Beverages

Make your open house more fun by serving drinks and snacks and maybe even having a theme for the event, like asking guests to wear a special hat or fancy clothes. Just keep it simple; remember, the main goal is to show off the house.

Use your imagination and come up with food combinations your guests will love. The options are endless. Here are some broker’s open house ideas for food you could try:

• Tea and crumpets or scones
• Crudite platter with dips
• Salsa and chips or quesadillas
• Canned soft drinks or seltzers
• Fruit plate
• Wine and cheese
• Champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberries
• Luncheon meat and rolls platter
• Small desserts, cookies, or other baked goods
• Soups and salads

Provide everything yourself—like plates, utensils, etc.—instead of using the homeowners’. You can use recyclable paper products, or, if you want something more fancy, look for plasticware for weddings. Purchase gold or silver plastic cutlery and white plastic gold-rimmed dishes to dial up the fanciness.

Pro Tip: Everything you bring to host a broker open house must also leave with you. Bring bins and trash bags, thoroughly clean the place, and take your trash home. Check every room to ensure no one left cups or other items before you go.

Step 8: Use Technology to Your Advantage

Using technology at your event can make it better. Play background music to make people relax and stay longer. This vibe will create a more leisurely atmosphere and make people want to stay longer. Also, show your broker’s open house live on social media for those who can’t come and for potential buyers to see. Another way to use technology is with digital sign-in sheets . These sheets help you collect information and keep track of guests, so you can follow up later.

For all your real estate open house needs, Spacio offers a digital sign-in sheet and open house app . It enables you to track attendance and gather information for follow-up. It is accessible on any device with the Apple or Google Play applications. You can also add customizable questions to the open house registration form.

Pro Tip: If you have a virtual tour or digital storybook of your listing, you can stream it from your device and play it on the large-screen television or your laptop. If you’re limited to your laptop screen, place it near an entryway, so your guests can stop and look before touring the home. You can also put your virtual tour on branded thumb drives and give them as gifts.

Step 9: Bring Printed Materials & Swag

Make sure to bring your colorful listing data sheets, real estate brochures , and other information about the property you want to include. Create listing packets, and don’t forget to include your business cards so agents can follow up to schedule showings. Use branded materials and folders for your packets. Strategically place the packets where guests can pick them up when they arrive.

Provide bags with a mix of branded items like pens, t-shirts, mugs, and fun items like scented candles, bath bombs, candy, or earbuds. If you’ve hosted a themed broker open house, consider adding small related items such as tea bags or a kit to make dipped fruit. VistaPrint offers branded listing packets and folders, promotional products like drinkware, candy, candles, and technology, as well as branded swag bags such as canvas totes, backpacks, drawstring bags, and heavy-duty paper bags, starting at $1.04 per unit.

Step 10: Show the Property

As much as we love to have fun and create lasting memories during an open house, it’s important to remember that the main goal is to have our guests explore the home and share their experiences with their network and potential clients. Some broker guests might breeze through the property, so it’s crucial to ensure everyone knows about the unique amenities and features that make this home special.

Turn the tour into an exhilarating scavenger hunt for the guests who are in for the whole event! Create a checklist of unique features inside and outside the house for everyone to hunt down. Guests can tick off the features they find and jot down the corresponding room. To spice things up, you could even offer cool prizes for those who manage to find them all!

Step 11: Send Thank-You Notes & Follow-Up

After hosting an open house, brokers should promptly send guests personalized thank-you notes on customized stationery, including handwritten notes and their business cards. Follow up within two or three days, and consider sending a brief follow-up email a week later to remind guests of your availability and inquire about potential buyers or their interest in the property.

As a busy real estate agent, sometimes it’s best to outsource what you can. At Fiverr, use their search tool to find an event planner or manager to set up and market your broker open house. Then you’ll have one less thing to do. Thousands of professionals list their services on the site, with prices starting at $5. Save some time on planning your event today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the best time for a broker open house.

The best time for a broker’s open house is during the work week, ideally in the afternoon. The workday is often winding down, so agents are more likely to attend. It’s also important to consider the seller’s schedule and what type of broker open house you plan to host. The seller may just be leaving work and kids coming home from school in the afternoon, so you must consider this. If you host a brunch open house, this will occur midmorning or at a luncheon in the middle of the afternoon, so be flexible in your approach.

What is a broker preview?

A broker preview is another name for a broker open house. The broker preview, or open house, is when a real estate agent or broker invites other real estate agents to tour their listing. The event is not open to the public, and its purpose is so other agents can see if the home meets buyer-client criteria. It helps sell the home faster when more real estate agents have toured the property.

Should the homeowner leave during a broker open house?

Homeowners are not required to leave during an open house. However, it is highly recommended that they do. When brokers attend an open house, they plan to thoroughly go through the home. Brokers participate because they want to assess if the property will meet their clients’ needs. If a seller is lurking nearby, it can make attendees feel uneasy and could potentially harm the sale.

Bringing It All Together 

Are you ready to make a lasting impression? Hosting a broker open house is your chance to shine! Personalize your invitations, generate excitement, and add a touch of fun like icebreakers . Your fellow real estate pros are your audience, so tailor your approach accordingly. Time it right after listing the property, invite colleagues from your brokerage, and stay connected after the event. If you’ve got any questions or broker open house ideas, don’t hold back—share them below!

Jealie is a staff writer and expert on real estate education, lead generation, marketing, and investing. She has always seen writing as an opportunity to apply her knowledge and express her ideas. Over the years and through her internship at a real estate developer in the Philippines, Camella, she developed and discovered essential skills for producing high-quality online content.

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What a Tour Broker Is and How to Become One

A person who operates a tour company is a broker. A broker is a middleman. Brokers buy or arrange items or services and sells these items or services to the end buyer. Some examples of brokers are:

Independent insurance agents. These agents do not provide insurance; they arrange insurance for you from an insurance company. Insurance agents usually get a commission from an insurance company.

Stock brokers. Like insurance agents, stock brokers help you buy and sell stock. They don’t own the stock. These brokers also receive a commission based on the amount sold.

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Real estate broker. Again, these brokers do not own the properties they sell and they get a commission based on the value of what they sell.

There are also tour brokers. Tour brokers serve a variety of customers. This article is about what a tour brokerage is and the basics of this business.

Here is a good description if what a tour is: A trip with visits to various places of interest for business, pleasure, or instruction.

Here travel is defined: To go from one place to another, as on a trip; journey.

A tour, then, is not only travel but it is travel with the purpose being pleasure or interest. You may think of a tour as extended travel with the object being to see and experience an area. Travel, on the other hand, is usually only about moving from one place to another.

A tour broker works with people on a continuous basis. If you are going to get involved in this type of business you should like working with people – you have to be a people person.

Tour brokers are not travel agents. Travel agents arrange for the travel needs of their customers. Usually a travel agent will only work with individuals or small groups (families, for example). Travel agents also always buy something that is already in place (air travel, car rentals, hotels, etc.), they do not originate anything.

Tour brokers originate – they arrange tours, they arrange the transportation, they arrange the lodging, they arrange the meals, and they arrange other services for their clients. A tour broker plans on what kind of tour he/she wants to operate.

Next, the tour broker makes arrangements for the various components of the tour – transportation, food, lodging, attractions, etc.

There are many types of tour companies. Some offer guided tours of a local area – tours of a city or an attraction, for example. Some offer tours in a natural setting – guided tours through the Grand Canyon fall into this category. Some offer tours to various national and state parks. Some offer tours through a large area, a multi-state tour is a good example.

IF YOU LIKE TO TRAVEL – FOR FREE – THIS IS A GREAT BUSINESS TO BE IN

You may have to do inspections of the hotels and attractions that you will be making a part of your tour. If you have been taught correctly you will know how to get “comp” (short for complimentary or Free) rooms and meals. If you will go along with the tour, you should expect to get comps again. How to set it up so that you get comps is something your mentor should teach .

NOTE THAT THE INFORMATION PROVIDED HERE ONLY APPLIES TO THE US. OTHER COUNTRIES MAY HAVE DIFFERENT RULES

As I mentioned before, this is a people business. Liking to work with people and liking to solve problems is a prime requirement.

Like a church is a church because someone calls it a church, a tour broker is a tour broker because someone says that they are a tour broker. There is no requirement for a license. If you do operate a business there may be a need for you to get a federal tax number and your county or city may require you to get a business license. As far as needing a license to become a tour broker – there is no license required. From the mid 1930’s until the 1980s transportation was strictly controlled by the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). Under the Deregulation Act of 1982, competition was allowed and the need for federal authority became a thing of the past.

Depending on where you are you may need some sort of business license. Call your local county office and ask for the office in charge of business licenses. This should be easy as all they really want is for you to file some paperwork and pay them a small fee.

If you are going to be making money (and why else get in the business?) you are going to have to get a federal tax number. This number is called a Tax Identification Number (TIN) and is used in business much as your Social Security number is used for benefits.

I have looked at various sites on the Internet purporting to be concerned with how to become a tour operator. Most do not seem to understand what a tour operator is or does. Those which got close to the concept either offers to teach or provided links to sites which may prepare someone how to be a tour guide. A tour guide is not a tour operator – at best, a tour guide works for a tour operator.

A tour operator runs his/her own business

It’s as simple as that – you own and run the business. If you plan to make a profit you follow this rule – buy low, sell high. People tend to make things too difficult. You buy at one price and sell at another price, easy, huh?

The real “trick” to making money in the tour business is to understand that concept of breaking even (BE). The break even point is where you don’t lose money and where you don’t make money. To help you understand this idea you have to understand that there are two types of costs in most businesses – fixed and variable. A fixed cost is one that will occur whether you have 10 clients or 46. Office rent is a fixed cost. You have to pay the rent whether or not you operate any tours. A variable cost is a cost that is dependent on something else. An example of a variable cost would be the cost an attraction (theme park). If you have 20 clients the total cost of the attraction is dependent (variable) on the number of clients you have.

The lack of good information on this business led me to believe that those in this business do not want competition or they don’t have time to write about how they run their business. A well thought out tour, advertised correctly, can bring in thousands in revenue. For example, suppose that you operate a seven- day bus tour. The tour sells for $985.00 (per person, double occupancy) and you have 36 people go on your tour. The gross revenue on this tour will be over $35,000.00 and you should be able to retain at least $10,000.00 of that amount.

IS THIS THE SORT OF BUSINESS FOR YOU?

It is possible to may some serious money in this business – you could also lose money. Here are some basic requirements that you should have before starting such a business.

You should like working with people You should not panic when things go from good to bad to even worse You should be able to organize things easily You should have at least a working knowledge of certain computer programs – word processing, spreadsheet, e-mail You should have a copy machine and a fax machine You should have at least one telephone You should have at least one fairly up-to-date computer

What sort of tours and what do I do next?

The world is your oyster

This is really the fun part – you can go anywhere! Successful brokers operate three-day tours from Denver into the nearby Rocky Mountains and seven-day tours to Branson, Missouri. Brokers on the east coast offer tours into New England and parts of Eastern Canada as well as longer tours into the American southwest.

Brokers in Seattle do a good business operating tours into the Copper Canyon of Mexico. Some brokers offer tours to musical events, art showings, and short trips to New York City for Christmas shopping.

Where to go is up to you as long as you keep it reasonable. Going to Iraq now may not be the best choice but there is a company in the UK offering and operating tours into Iraq – make sure that your clients sign many disclosures stating that you are not at fault in case of your death. Given the current state of the economy it may be wise to limit your offerings to North America but tours to Costa Rica seem to sell very well.

To find out more about this exciting business click here .

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5 Tips for Staging Successful Broker Tours

In a hot real estate market , just listing a home can lead to buyers and their agents rushing to learn more about the property. But for cooler markets, any boost you can get to successfully sell a home as quickly as possible might be a strategy worth pursuing.

Broker opens—open houses aimed at real estate agents instead of buyers—are an effective tool to generate excitement for listings and encourage attendees to bring back their clients to look at the property. Besides being a selling strategy, this type of event offers a chance for real estate professionals to socialize and network.

More practically, broker opens are great for receiving feedback about the property you are showing. Other agents may offer advice or be brutally honest about what they see, and these opinions can help shape your selling strategy and pinpoint areas of concern you and the seller can address before showing the home to prospects.

Successful broker opens ultimately result in more prospective buyers seeing your listing and a potentially faster sale. Here are five tips for staging a great event.

1. Right day, right time

Evenings and weekends are prime time for real estate agents to meet with clients, show homes to buyers, hold open houses, and anything else that directly interacts with customers and prospective customers. That leaves some downtime during weekday mornings and afternoons, thus offering the perfect opportunity to fit broker opens into your schedule. Moreover, weekdays are the best times to attract the most fellow agents to your event. Be sure to allot at least three hours for the open so that interested brokers have flexibility to fit it into their schedules. This will also give you enough time to interact with attendees, tout the listing, and network. Also, be sure to schedule an open soon after you list in order to create buzz for the property early in your sales cycle.

The way to a real estate agent’s heart isn’t necessarily through their stomach, but the path definitely gets close! Offering a good lunch improves the odds invitees will show up—and keep showing up for subsequent broker opens. Whereas you can get away with some cookies or light appetizers at a client open house , broker events are more suited for complete meals. Here are a few tips for hosting lunch:

Serve food that agents will need to sit down to eat. Getting a box of individually wrapped burritos or subs may seem convenient, but if lunch is too grab-and-go, attendees will do just that and not get a good look at the property.

Stage the meal so attendees eat only in certain areas, such as the kitchen or dining room. Don’t encourage a mess that you’ll have to clean up later or that will irritate the seller.

Serve good coffee. Splurging for drinks from a coffee shop is worth the money; you don’t want brokers to associate your listing with something cheap.

Mention your lunch when advertising the broker open. Many agents won’t show up to an event unless they know there is a meal attached. This doesn’t mean they won’t be serious about your listing—just that you need to provide extra incentive to get them in the door.

Prize drawings provide another incentive for agents to attend your broker open. One key for making this strategy successful is offering raffle gifts that are enticing enough for agents to stick around for the drawing, but not so expensive that you break the bank. Gift cards are great in this regard—for example, $25 for Starbucks or $50 on Amazon gives winners something of value they can use right away. That said, design the raffle so that attendees must leave feedback to be eligible for the prize. You gain valuable information about your listing this way, and agents won’t mind providing that information because you are offering something in return.

4. Don’t scrimp

The higher the value of your listing, the more impressive your broker open needs to be. An unimpressive lunch spread or a raffle for a $5 gift card in a million-dollar home tour won’t give agents confidence in you or the property. Alternatively, if attendees think your event is high-class, they are more likely to believe the home is worth showing to their clients. Extra touches such as valet parking (particularly in neighborhoods where parking is at a premium), bottles of wine or electronics as raffle prizes, and gifts for every attendee create impressions that agents won’t soon forget.

5. After the event

After the broker open is over (whew!), be sure to personally call every attendee to thank them, ask for feedback, ask if they have any clients who may be interested in your listing, and see if they have any questions. Even if they aren’t interested in your property, the relationship you are building can pay off dividends later when you have another listing or if the agent has a property that might appeal to your buyers.

Brokers opens are, or course, primarily about selling your property, but they are also about networking and professional courtesy. Use the events to build rapport and strengthen your business for the long term.

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Pittsburgh-area real estate brokers weigh in on Fed rate cut’s effect on local housing market

PITTSBURGH — It’s the first rate cut in four years: a half-percentage point drop by the Federal Reserve, and real estate brokers in the Pittsburgh area believe this is going to stimulate the local housing market and be a positive thing for both buyers and sellers.

First-time home buyer Lauren Fagan set up an appointment to tour a home in the Sewickley area first thing Thursday morning, less than 24 hours after the Fed’s announcement.

“We saw this one pop up last night and shot over here,” Fagan said. “You get more house for the same price.”

>> Federal Reserve cuts key rate by sizable half-point, signaling end to its inflation fight

“I would absolutely anticipate bidding wars, which is why I would recommend to buyers jumping in right now. Get going,” said Kathe Barge, associate real estate broker for Piatt Sotheby’s International Realty. “My emails and text messages were flooded with people.”

Barge said her office has noticed a shortage of inventory recently, partially due to homeowners with low interest rates not wanting to move. But she says now is the time to look at the listings.

“With the drop in interest rates, it’s going to allow more people in existing homes to think about a move and not a tremendous increase in the cost of their home. What that will do is free up more inventory,” Barge said.

Barge believes that will have a trickle-down effect, leaving first-time homebuyers like Fagan with more of a selection. Looking ahead, however, she thinks that buyers who have been sitting on the sidelines, waiting for rate drops, are going to come into our market in droves. She predicts a very competitive Spring market and advises those looking to list to get their homes ready for market.

“If you’re a seller with a well-conditioned home, this will be another opportunity for you to capitalize on a great market and maybe make a little extra on your home,” Barge said. “There should definitely be a stronger interest in the buying pool with rates dropping.”

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