Developing travel itineraries One of the key services a tour operator provides is the development of travel itineraries. A travel itinerary is a detailed outline of the travel schedule for your (potential) customers. It’s a planned route with accommodations,...
The rise of overtourism In an ideal world, tourism is supposed to be a win-win situation where locals and travellers both benefit from tourism. Focusing on creating better places to live in, and better places to visit. However, in the past years we've seen a rising...
The negative impact of single-use plastic pollution is well-known There's plastic in our oceans, wildlife and even in our food. The negative consequences of single-use plastic have been widely discussed and are well-known. The number of people actively reducing their...
The importance of good tour guides for a successful travel experience When customers book a travel experience with your business, they come with expectations. They rely on your expertise, your local knowledge, and your ability to provide them with an amazing...
Safety first The well-being of travellers has already always been top priority for tour operators. However, now that the entire tourism industry has been disrupted by the COVID-19 virus, health and safety are even more important now. Therefore, the awareness of good...
Sustainability-driven business strategy The stigma that sustainability is expensive is still stereotyped in the tourism industry. Too many tour operators and other tourism businesses still believe that sustainability is costly. That it only costs them money or time...
Why email marketing is important to tour operators Email is an effective way to reach people who are interested in your tours. Even though a lot of social media platforms have an impressive number of users, they can’t compete with the number of people that use email...
The Living Irrawaddy Dolphin Project Did you know that fishermen and Irrawaddy dolphins make a great team? As it turns out, dolphins are highly effective wingmen, telling fishermen when to throw their nets, while simultaneously driving fish towards the fishing boats....
What is community-based tourism? Community-based tourism (CBT) is a way of sustainable tourism that allows travellers to closely connect to local communities. Tourism where travellers are invited into local homes. Experiencing the actual local culture, the diversity,...
Internal sustainability Sustainable tourism has many different aspects. From transport, accommodations, and travel experiences, to supporting the local economy and raising awareness among travellers. Most tour operators focus on the operation side first but forget to...
Create a sustainable supply-chain As a good tour operator, you’re working hard to ensure your travel experiences and trips are organised in a sustainable way. For your trips to be sustainable, you want to make sure your entire supply-chain works sustainably too. From...
Write appealing travel content for both humans and search engines Once you have your content marketing strategy in place, you can start to create content. But how do you write content that is appealing to both humans and search engines? We’re big fans of writing for...
Blogging as content strategy As a tour operator, content marketing is a great way to build your brand in a positive way. It’s a marketing strategy in which valuable, relevant, and consistent content is distributed to reach your (potential) customers. There are several...
The future of tourism in 2022 Starting a new year is a good time to look towards the future. What’s happening and what’s changing? What are the most relevant trends and which ones to follow? Predicting what’s going to happen in 2022 is extremely difficult due to the...
Asian Way of Life cycling holidays Travelling by bicycle is by many perceived as ‘weird, wearing or slow’. Countless times while cycling I have been asked: ‘Why do you take a bicycle, if you can afford a car? Why don’t you just board the vehicle that is following your...
Optimise your destination pages for search engines As a tour operator, the most important pages on your website are your destination landing pages. These are the pages that promote a specific destination that your business offers tours to. Most people tend to focus on...
Why your website plays a crucial role Your website plays a crucial role in your business' digital marketing strategy. Not only is it one of the first points of contact potential bookers will have with your brand, it’s also one of the only online assets you have...
Understanding your animal footprint At the Good Tourism Institute we believe that animals belong in the wild, in their own natural habitat. However, animals in captivity remain a popular tourism experience. Still too many tour operators actively promote and offer...
Outstanding wildlife destination Brazil Home to some of the most biodiverse places on Earth, South America has outstanding wildlife destinations to be visited and Brazil is one of them. You will find amazing experiences there, such as whale watching at the Atlantic...
Responsible tourism: Mida Creek nature camp Mida Creek nature camp is a non-profit organisation, that supports the local Giriama Community around the Mida Creek. It's led by Harrison Hare Karise, a Watamu native and member of the community. The camp has the aim to use...
Glasgow Declaration On November 4th, 2021, the ‘Glasgow Declaration for Climate Action in Tourism’ launched at the UN climate change conference COP26. It increased the urgency about the need to accelerate climate action in tourism. The pledge commits to halve...
Why you should be analysing your website and search data As a tour operator you can easily use data to your advantage. Whether you are working on your buyer persona or content marketing, analysing your website and search data is of the utmost importance. Without...
A practical guide for good tourism In its simplest definition, tourism is the activity of travelling and visiting different places. There are many benefits of tourism where it’s creating positive impact for the environment and local communities. However, when it’s not...
The importance of good business communication Good communication skills are important to allow people to understand information correctly and fast. Poor communication skills lead to frequent misunderstandings, frustration and delays in your business. While effective...
Improving employee satisfaction as a tour operator A key element of successful and responsible tour operators is a high employee satisfaction rate. Research shows that having satisfied and committed employees are 20% more productive than employees who are dissatisfied...
Food to connect people worldwide ResiRest is a social enterprise working as a social impact connector between local families and travellers. They link local home cooks and their families to international travellers for a unique, cultural, local food experience. As a...
Increase sales by generating leads One of the main aspects of content marketing is turning your website visitors into leads. Basically, if you do not have a proper plan for this in order, your content marketing won’t result in any financial gain for your business....
7 ways to increase loyalty and turn customers into fans Customer loyalty is a driving force behind successful tour operators. They have that little extra that holds the power to connect customers to their business, to make them fans and to make them come back for...
Greek olive oil Corfu is mainly known for its beaches. However, the Northern part of the Island is very green and there is a lot of history and culture to find. Greece is very well known for its olive oil so visiting a local olive oil mill is a great travel...
Ensuring porter welfare on the Kilimanjaro My name is Karen Valenti and I am the Program Manager at the Kilimanjaro Porters Assistance Project (KPAP) since 2004. KPAP’s focus is porter welfare and we interact directly with porters. We obtain information via surveys...
Who are your followers? So, you have Instagram followers but they’re not converting to clients? There are several reasons why this could be happening. In this article, I share 5 tips to help you figure out where the breakdown might be. And how to lead your followers...
What is online marketing? Online marketing is a broad term about all marketing activities people execute online. Although, it is far from easy to become successful online as a tour operator. With the right knowledge and persistence, it will help your business thrive....
Achieving sustainability by improving animal welfare Responsible whale and dolphin watching tours can be incredibly rewarding. They provide the perfect opportunity for delivering messages. About conservation, protection, and sustainability to travellers. They thereby...
Plastic pollution in tourism Plastic pollution is making an unwelcome impact on beaches and nature all over the world. Many islands have vulnerable economies that largely depend on tourism and fisheries. Mismanaged plastic negatively impacts biodiversity, livelihoods,...
Sustainable safaris for a better tomorrow When we think about sustainability, we tend to think of how we can protect and conserve the environment. While this isn’t completely off track, I like to think of sustainable safaris as a form of tourism that not only...
GLP Films GLP Films (GLP) is an award-winning content creation agency. Our filmmakers, writers and photographers are all leading experts in sustainable travel and positive storytelling. GLP writer Catherine Mack shares her thoughts on the importance of storytelling in...
Supporting the local economy An important aspect of good tourism is the realisation of creating better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit. In order to realise this, one of the key elements is preventing leakage. Making sure that money...
Online networking For tour operators, online networking is simply the use of internet-based media platforms to stay connected with industry peers. In times of the COVID-19 pandemic, online networking has gained popularity. Most likely, this wil remain popular long...
Buyer personas in your target group The tourism industry is very competitive. Doing marketing as tour operator successfully, can be a challenge. There are hundreds of ways to promote a travel business and it’s easy to be overwhelmed by all available strategies. Which...
Creating impact through sharing knowledge My name is Anna Grodzki, and I am managing Matoke Tours Uganda. A reputable tour operator based in Kampala since 2002. A lawyer by profession, I moved to Uganda in 2011 to volunteer with UNESCO. This is where I discovered my...
Fam trips as sales opportunity In the tourism industry, a Fam trip is one of the biggest sales opportunities. As a tour operator, you have the potential to put your destination and your business on the map. The main aim of a Fam trip is to network, build relationships...
High motivation to travel For almost a year now very few travellers have booked or went on a holiday. It’s unsure when tourism will be back in business. The lack of perspective for the future makes the situation challenging. Travellers are cautious and need to regain...
Usage of social media in tourism We all know that, in general, people are fairly active on social media. But how do people use social media regarding travel? In this article we'll start of with a few statistics, after which we describe how travellers use social media...
Travel Matters My name is Karen Simmonds and I’m the founder of Travel Matters and the Make Travel Matter campaign. I set up my business 21 years ago and the campaign over 11 years ago. Along with my team, we learn, as well as share, best practices within the travel...
Delivering outstanding value Even though the tourism industry is on hold for now, it will be back on its feet someday. And when that happens, every tour operator should be ready for business. There are thousands of tour operators worldwide and the competition is high....
Creating work, value & prosperity for local families in Argentina We are Heart of Argentina Travel, a family owned travel agency from Córdoba in Argentina. Our customers are mainly Europeans (Jan, one of the owners is Dutch) and North Americans. We organise...
Sustainability to ensure competitivity Success is no longer dictated by profit alone. The professional world widely recognises the need to also address social and environmental concerns. Mainly through business practices that account for a targeted sustainability...
Leadership culture as key element There are many elements that need to seamlessly come together, in order to transform the experience you offer into one your guests will remember forever. To stand a chance at creating loyal customers, below aspects all need to be on...
The need to lower emissions The tourism industry is responsible for around 5-8% of global emissions. We all know it’s important to reduce our emissions in tourism to prevent the earth from warming up. Climate change is a real threat to the tourism industry. If we are...
Why every tour operator should consider content marketing Content marketing is a marketing strategy in which valuable, relevant and consistent content is distributed to reach your target group. All with the aim of encouraging your target group to take profitable...
Keen towards sustainability Join Top Tours is an Egyptian tour operator with its head office located in Cairo. Our agency has over 35 years of experience and we are members of IATA and ASTA. We deal with outgoing and incoming operations. We offer different kind of...
Sharing a passion for Africa New World Safaris is a destination management company based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was founded in 2010 to deliver unique, authentic and immersive African safaris to travellers from across the world. They share with them an...
A revert to single-use plastics As the world starts to slowly open back up to tourism, all of the focus is on health, safety and hygiene. We completely agree that this is of utmost importance. However, we don't believe that it needs to come at the cost of the...
Achieve sustainability with a return on investment Travel can be hugely beneficial to the planet. There are numerous studies highlighting the positive impact it can have on mental wellbeing and nature. It breaks down prejudices and is an efficient redistributor of...
The background story of Kara-Tunga My name is Theo Vos, founding director of Kara-Tunga, Karamoja Tours and the Karamoja Tourism Academy. I am half Dutch and half Karamojong, was raised in the Netherlands and went back Uganda to discover my roots a few years ago. I...
The importance of nature As tour operators, we already know the importance of nature and what it uniquely brings to many destinations across the world. It: Is integral to our prosperity and wellbeing Supports human development and equality Feeds our resilience to...
Why impact matters to your guests When a potential guest interacts with your brand, they want to be impacted in a meaningful way. They want to experience something, feel something, discover something. Experiential travel is currently a huge, emerging trend and you can...
Tips for finding new business partners and customers once tourism recovers ‘Tourism isn’t tourism until it’s sold’, my responsible tourism professor Harold Goodwin always says and the COVID19 pandemic has certainly given us a taste of that. Easier said than done,...
Sharing your sustainable business story More and more tour operators, (slowly) integrate sustainability in their business strategy and operations. Sharing your business sustainability story is important. Not only because it supports your sustainable tourism practices,...
How to become a (more) successful tour operator? One thing that's certain in business, is that you should always be open to improve. You might think you don’t need to become a more successful tour operator. However, we believe there’s always room for improvement....
Visible impact of tourism The international tourism industry has been on hold for the past few months due to COVID 19. Closed borders, negative travel advice and no income for a large group of people. It shows us how many of the world population are actually dependent...
Improve your business strategically with the sustainable business model canvas From a broad perspective, a successful tour operator is a business whose purpose and actions are equally grounded in financial, environmental and social concerns. A business that takes into...
Manage, measure and reduce CO2 emissions Over the last years we have all experienced weather becoming more extreme all over the world. Businesses from all sectors, including tourism, are working hard to protect their operations and supply-chains from the consequences...
Managing and measuring emission Worldwide, we are seeing more and more severe disruptions for local communities and the environment due to global warming. It has a major influence on the tourism industry as it advances heavier storms, flooding, extreme heats, serious...
The carbon footprint of tourism Of all emissions worldwide, 5 to 8% is caused by the tourism industry. When people drive cars, take flights or stay in accommodations, their activity produces greenhouse gases. Also expressed as carbon dioxide (CO2). The carbon...
CO2 emissions by human activities Almost all greenhouse gases are caused by human activities. Usually, the total amount of greenhouse gases is expressed as carbon dioxide (in short CO2). CO2 is emitted when driving cars, taking flights, using gas at home and producing...
Creating a futureproof tourism industry Tour operators have the possibility and responsibility to contribute to creating a futureproof tourism industry. It’s safe to say the tourism industry has great impact on economies and that it leaves a large footprint on the...
Sell experiences instead of activities Technical innovations, higher educated and demanding customers are pressing the tourism industry to change. Tour operators are required to shift away from their focus on services and facilities, and instead start to focus on...
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