Trip Planner 2016-17 Trip Planner For Group Leaders | Page 82
Insider Insights
ASK A TRAVEL PRO
Why does a group leader need
a tour operator to do that?
Warren: Well, most group leaders don’t
have the time or the resources to plan a tour
of more than a few days. A tour operator
with experience and creativity can put it all
together—usually at a better price—and free
up the group leader to promote the tour.
And if the group doesn’t reach a sufficient
size, a tour operator can match them up
with another group leader and negate the
financial risk. You also want to consider
protecting your organization against errors
and accidents before, during and after a trip.
NTA tour operators carry liability insurance.
Talk about the trends in tours
you’re seeing.
by Bob Rouse
For group leaders who find themselves
juggling travel planning in addition to
other work responsibilities, it makes
sense to turn to an experienced tour
operator. Jim Warren of Canada-based
Anderson Vacations specializes in U.S
groups, and he offers insightful tips on
the benefits of working with a
tour operator.
Warren: For example, itineraries in the
Canadian Rockies usually include traditional
places like Banff, Jasper and Lake Louise,
and standard sightseeing tours. By adding
in nontraditional activities, such as river
rafting, a helicopter tour, an ice-walk on
the glacier or an animal-tracking tour, you
have something that no other tour offers.
This could include different methods of
transportation, too, such as a special train
or an open-top bus. Tour operators also
arrange inclusive experiences, where the
guests get to do the cooking and stir the
chocolate, or maybe squish the grapes with
their bare feet.
What about events?
Warren: When I’m approached by a group
leader with a general idea of a tour, we’ll
work on the specifics: destination, size of
the group, when they want to leave and how
long they want to travel. I’ll also get an idea
of the age group, how active they want to be
and whether they want fully packed days or
lots of leisure time. With those guidelines in
mind, I can price it out for the group leader,
and as soon as we agree on the details, I’ll
secure reservations for accommodations,
transportation, meals and events.
Warren: Absolutely. Along with including
unique experiences, a trip can be planned
around a unique event. For example, this
year there is great interest in the Holy Door
in Québec City’s Cathedral-Basilica of NotreDame, the only one of its kind outside of
Europe. It probably takes only 45 minutes to
explore, but tour operators have developed
weeklong tours of Québec that feature rural
and big-city churches mixed in with the
traditional sightseeing opportunities that
Québec has to offer.
trip planner
For more information, email Warren at
[email protected] or visit
andersonvacations.ca.
How do you build “new and unique”
into a tour?
What’s the process of putting
a tour together?
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Warren: All of our tours are customized,
and that allows more flexibility in planning
and price. I can offer more variety in
accommodations, for example, so a group
can match the quality of their hotels to
different locations throughout the tour. And
if the group is flexible with dates, we can
get hotel rooms that might otherwise be
unavailable to groups. And one final note: A
good tour operator is constantly evaluating
his relationship with specific group leaders
and thinking ahead about travel trends, new
destinations, value seasons and creative
marketing.
TOURISM JASPER
Jim Warren of Anderson
Vacations explains the
advantages of getting
help from a tour operator
Warren: The biggest trend we are
experiencing is for smaller group sizes,
so we are gearing up a lot of our tours to
focus on groups that range from 10 to 22
passengers. This can mean switching from
large 56-passenger coaches to smaller
mini-coaches. We’re also seeing growth in
specialized rail tours and faith-based tours.
And for traditional seniors groups as well
as baby boomers, there’s big growth in the
demand for tours that offer new and unique
experiences.
Is there anything else group leaders
should keep in mind for working
with tour operators?
A group gets an up-close (and icy)
experience inside Maligne Canyon in
Jasper National Park, Alberta.