The Top Principles of Working With a Tour Agent
Working with a tour agent is essential for your tour operations business. They provide a ready source market for destination management companies (DMCs). In this article, we highlight the best principles of working with tour agents and ways of keeping them for your business.
Before we dive into it, let us quickly help you understand who is a tour agent in this context. A tour agent here is referred to as an international outbound tour operator that is selling outbound tours to Africa and specifically to areas of your operations and you would seek to be his/her ground handler for their safaris or tours.
If you are thinking of growing your tour company, complement your online marketing strategy by working and establishing a trade partnership with an International outbound tour and travel agent.
Let us break it down for you how you can maintain a good working relationship with your trade partner for your tour operations business.
1. Service Excellence.
The quality of your services to visitors will attract more agents to work with you. Paying attention to detail is critical while working with agents. Service excellence can be exhibited in guests’ reviews or various travel accolades or awards that are internationally recognized. Also, ensure that all suppliers contracted for service are of high quality and are to the standards required. Do not let poor service providers be part of your distribution chain, they will damage your business relationship with your agent.
2. Turnaround time.
What is your committed turnaround time on new quotes and existing ones, questions, and queries? Agents like fast responses with high levels of accuracy. Make sure your team can get back to agents the quickest way possible with the correct details of their concerns. For example, a Rwanda gorilla trekking itinerary if requested should be sent with the right details including hotels and the right quote. Avoid unnecessary delays in responding to your agents. Learn how to respond to inquiries.
3. Honesty & Product Knowledge
Perhaps one of the most significant ways to keep your tour agent is by being honest. Exhibit the highest levels of transparency in your business dealing, tell only the truth always, and build trust in him or her. Avoid hiding away important information from your agent including relevant pricing of different items that can be known easily.
It is also essential to have product knowledge about the destination and all products you are promoting. Agents find it so appealing to work with someone with the highest product knowledge about the tour product. This guarantees the efficiency and quality of information shared with the final consumer.
4. Licensing & Insurance.
Several tour operators in Africa are not licensed, make sure that your business is operating legally with all government requirements fulfilled. Accreditation by local and international associations is very key for your tour company. Ensuring that your company is fully compliant will help you stand out and attract many agents to work with you.
Insurance for your tour company is very essential, talk to your local insurance firm and find out which insurance coverage or policy is important while dealing with International tour agents. The majority would prefer to ensure you have valid public liability insurance.
5. Flexibility.
Do you consider your tour company to be flexible, tour agents prefer high levels of flexibility in addressing last-minute bookings and cancellations or any last-minute changes based on the client’s requirements. The changes can result from arrival dates, more persons joining the tour or some dropping off name it.
Expand your market by working with tour agents, you can find tour agents at different travel trade shows or tourism exhibitions and engage them in a seller-buyer discussion and establish a business relationship to initiate your partnership. Get to increase your sale and grow massively.
