Escorted touring is the hidden gem of the travel industry

Escorted touring may well be the best-kept secret in the travel industry. It seamlessly removes the hassle of planning while offering meaningful cultural immersion - ideal for those seeking enriching travel.

 

While land stays, cruises, and all-inclusive escapes grab the headlines, touring quietly delivers unforgettable experiences – and serious booking potential for agents.

 

And so, how best to achieve that? The starting point, for me, is trade engagement and taking inspiration from other areas of travel to showcase touring in more in-person events.

 

There’s plenty of debate in the industry about the effectiveness of fam trips and how to maximise return on investment. It’s universally acknowledged that it’s important to engage with the trade, allowing agents to sample the product as customers to grow their knowledge of the specific USPs.

 

On the operator’s side, there’s the hope - some might say expectation - that this new-found knowledge will be put to use to promote the product and, eventually, grow sales.

 

There is – or, perhaps, shouldn’t be – a one-size-fits-all approach, however. People learn and absorb knowledge in different ways. Just as not every itinerary will appeal to every guest, not every fam trip or educational visit will appeal to an agent, for various reasons.

 

When it comes to guests, we overcome this by offering holidays of different types and length, and to global destinations; it’s the much-loved and well-used phrase, ‘choice’. So, why should fam trips be any different? Granted, the solution is different, but it’s rooted in the same concept of tailoring an itinerary to suit the wants and needs of the target audience.

 

In touring, it’s also important to remember that unlike cruise, for example, we cannot host hundreds of agents in one fell swoop on a ship visit or event of a similar nature. Therefore, as opportunities to experience an itinerary are less common, getting it right and offering something worthwhile is crucial.

 

At Travelsphere and Just You, this was the prism through which we viewed our 2025 fam trips. We launched three fams, each designed to accommodate an agents’ level of experience in selling escorted touring: beginner, intermediate and expert.

 

The first of these, beginner, took place in late March, with 10 agents travelling to Malta for a five-day trip. As the name suggests, this was created for agents who had never sold a tour but wanted to learn more. This meant that every activity and every touchpoint was specifically tailored to give them the fundamental basics of how it all works, the structure of a tour and the key selling points.

 

The intermediate and expert fams will, naturally, offer a different experience based upon the existing knowledge of the attendees. 

 

There’s never been a better time for agents, no matter their level of expertise, to make escorted touring a core part of their services.

 

Why? Well, the trends show us that people are eager to explore, eager to learn about new cultures and eager to try something outside of their norm – that’s escorted touring in a nutshell.

 

Now is the time to discover the hidden gem of the travel industry.