5 Reasons Why Tour Operators Should Offer Online Bookings

Tourism has rapidly changed with the advent of the internet. More and more people are booking everything from their flights to hotels and even attraction reservations solely through online bookings. And that increase in online bookings has crossed over into the tour industry. This is why any tour operator hoping to keep up with the evolving industry should be offering online bookings through customized tour software. If you want to know more about why tour operators should offer online bookings, consider these following 5 reasons.

#1: Online bookings make up a significant percentage of sales

A study completed by the PhocusProject found that online bookings are expected to make up about 1/3 of all tour bookings by the year 2020. That means you could be missing out on a substantial number of sales if you don’t offer online booking through custom tour software.

#2: Online bookings means you’ll never miss a sale

Online bookings offer tour operators the freedom of allowing sales 24/7—no matter what time it is or where someone lives—potential customers can book a tour with ease. Without online sales, however, tour bookings must be done through a phone call or in person. And if a tour operator doesn’t have the money or resources to hire an overnight call representative, this could result in thousands of dollars in lost sales over time.

#3: Online bookings can generate sales up until the last minute

One of the best aspects of online bookings is that customers can purchase tours up until the last minute, which results in a significant increase in overall sales. Travelers may not feel they have time to contact a call center for a last-minute booking, but online sales can be done with a few taps of a smart phone or clicks of a computer mouse. In fact, around 38% of online tour bookings occur 1-2 days in advance or on the same day as the tour!

#4: It frees up operators and representatives for better tasks

When tour companies utilize custom software to handle online bookings, they are allowing their operators and employees to focus on other tasks than the time-consuming requirements of handling manual bookings. For instance, tour software can handle changes to tour group size, allow people to confirm tour times on their own, and even access rules of the tour. Without the online booking option, all of these factors would normally take up the time and energy of a representative.

#5: Online bookings give operators a better overview of their business

The best tour software isn’t just an online shopping system that makes it easier for customers to book tours: it provides operators with an overview of their business, ranging from reminders about payments that are due, to generating accounting reports, to viewing notes about vendors, and everything in between. Operators can even get a better idea of how to improve their business by taking note of the popularity of specific packages with various types of travelers, and so much more.

For more information on how customized tour software can help your business, contact the experts at TourTools.