How can you grow your travel business?
Ellen Glasgow once said, "All change is not growth, as all movement is not forward."
And in this era of ever-changing technologies and trends, it's challenging to keep up and flourish in the tourism industry. Changing and keeping up with the market is necessary, however, some businesses do not experience growth even after changing practices with time.
At the end of the day, isn't every tour operator looking to grow and succeed? We all want to climb the ladder & establish a strong presence. To do so, you must keep on integrating new technology and gaining knowledge; knowledge with a goal in mind is power.
Now because of technology customers can see a destination and sometimes get a 360 view of a hotel from the comfort of their home. The introduction of travel technology software has changed the face of tourism. Inbound tour operator software, B2B travel booking software, online tour operator software, travel ERP systems, etc are a few of the software used by travel agencies.
Technology has aided the growth of the tourism business in the past decade. With time it has made travelling convenient for customers but difficult for tour operators to manage their affairs seamlessly, not lose leads, and cater to every inquiry in time. Since the need is growing, the marketing size is increasing, resulting in more competition and less growth.
Creating a strong online presence, having a user-friendly website, clear communication, and providing unique customizations are some of the general focus areas.
Top 5 ways to grow your travel business!
The tourism industry is evolving with time and it's getting difficult for tour operators to stand out, so let's talk about a few ways that can help you grow your tourism business.
1. Decrease your turnaround time
Momentum in every business is driven by communication. If your turnaround time is slow, unclear, or incomplete, there are high chances that you will lose potential clients.
Your turnaround time should be fast in this fast-paced environment because who doesn't like fast replies, right? Especially when you are inquiring about a trip or clearing queries about a destination.
Let us take this one step further and look at this with an example - If you have received a reply immediately after putting an inquiry vs after three days, you as a customer are likely to go with the tour operator whose turnaround time was faster because they had a good experience.
Once your communication is quick and concise - addressing all the needs of your customer, your business will eventually gain momentum. Less turnaround time is a necessary element of any business, especially travel.
2. Provide market-wise travel solutions
We live in a time where travelling is a need. Everyone likes to travel and take vacations, be it any age group. When people are looking for tours/holidays they like the thought of having customised solutions - something unique to their trip and tailored to their interests.
If you are looking for an essential element to elevate your business - it's providing market-wise travel solutions.
Since every market has various needs, it's critical to create solutions that take market-specific pain issues into consideration.
Whether it is a customized group tour or a solo trip, making itineraries tailored to the destination or providing extensive information about the climate, things to do, best activities around, the best time to visit, cuisine, etc, helps in boosting the customer's experience resulting in satisfaction.
The aim is to cater to their localized needs keeping in mind all the additional factors. It all ultimately comes down to meeting your customers' requirements and desires in order to provide a positive and seamless experience.
3. Build a personal connection
There are n number of tourism businesses in the market. To set yourself apart you should focus on making connections, providing customer support, and bonding with your customers on a personalized level.
Tour operators can do this by sending them personalized emails or SMS on their special days, paying attention to their needs, customizing offerings according to the customer and the market, or by contacting them when you have a new trip right around the corner. CRM software can be used for this process.
This process will create goodwill for your business in the industry. It also establishes a loyal customer base and a strong recommendation system! After every journey, you can ask for feedback and send personalized thank you notes to showcase your gratitude.
4. Make attractive itineraries
Creating attractive itineraries is a vital thing that many tour operators don't pay keen attention to at the start of their business.
It's one of the most common mistakes that tour operators make. You should avoid this mistake at every stage of your business and focus on itineraries. Just like communication is the key to driving momentum, Visually appealing things are the stepping stone towards consideration.
From selecting a font to aligning content in the layout, every step is pivotal. Pictures play a vital role in building an attractive itinerary because customers always want to see the hotels, activities, destination pictures, and cuisine of the place they are planning to visit.
It helps them visualize their day-to-day adventures and attracts them to book and explore.
If you can teleport customers mentally to the destination and make them feel like they are actually there and experiencing it just by looking at the itinerary, they start considering the destination. If it catches the eye, it catches the mind.
5. Get a Travel Management Software
Travel Technology is changing the face of the tourism industry. Tourism is an industry that keeps changing with time and trends & you can't be stagnant and stuck using an older technology. Having new-age travel technology solutions is crucial because if you sleep on technology, it will leave you behind.
Focus on how to take advantage of technology and maximize it for the needs of your business. Travel technology software will help elevate your tourism business in the digital economy. It's developed keeping in mind the pain points of the tourism industry and is suited to industry-wide requirements.
Travel technology solutions are an opportunity to streamline all the necessary processes and enhance your business, both internally and externally.
While there is a lot of software available but if you are looking for a travel technology solution that caters to your business needs check out http://www.etosglobal.com/
Why should you choose ETOS as your travel technology partner?
A travel technology software solution is the need of the hour in this digital economy. We at ETOS believe in innovation and enjoy creating solutions for our clients. We are providing technology solutions in the market for almost a decade now, with clients in over 30+ countries.
The ETOS range of products has an integrated travel CRM system designed to cater to tour operators and can be accessed from anywhere in the world. It's a top tour operator software.
Partnering with ETOS travel technology will reduce your turnaround time, provide market-wise solutions, help you make attractive itineraries with its inbuilt quote builder and itinerary builder, and much more.