EVOLUTION OF THE TOUR OPERATOR

Challenges and innovations from 2003 to 2023 and beyond

BY PETER SYME

Twenty years ago, I purchased a failing rafting operator in Scotland. The landscape of multiday and day tour operations was vastly different back then.

The early 2000s were marked by various challenges and pain points for tour operators. From traditional offline booking methods that did not scale to issues with real-time coordination and a lack of digital presence, finding new customers was an old-fashioned marketing and sales job. The industry has undergone a substantial transformation since then. Today, with the advent of technology and changing customer expectations, new best practices have emerged to address these pain points. Looking ahead, these practices are evolving faster than many operators can keep up with.

In 2003, the reservation process for tours was often cumbersome and timeconsuming. Customers had to book their tours through travel agencies that were still mainly paper-based or directly with the operator via phone or fax. Yes, the fax was a big thing back then. This method was prone to errors and often was just the start of a communication train.

Real-time communication is still a pipedream for many tour operators. We may have real-time booking on our websites, but how many tour operators can say they have real-time booking of all the transport, accommodation, restaurant and activity partners we use? This can obviously lead to confusion and dissatisfaction when inevitable changes occur.

Digital Presence

The customer of today is mobile addicted, and expectations are high. It is not the travel industry that leads on this, it is all the other sectors of society that serve people, from retail to takeaway food. It is online, it is simple, and it delivers in real-time.

The tour operator industry in 2003 lacked a strong digital presence. Most operators didn’t have websites and those who did often offered limited information. Online marketing was in its infancy, making it harder for operators to reach a wider audience and compete in the global travel marketplace, which was going through rapid growth.

I remember being astonished that all the booking confirmations were being sent out by post to the rafting operator I purchased.

Fast forward to today, and the tour operator industry has transformed significantly. The advent of technology and the digital revolution have brought forth new best practices that address many of the pain points from 20 years ago.

First, online booking systems, which started to surface around 2005, have streamlined the reservation process. I adopted SaaS reservation technology in 2007 and never looked back. The organizational change to the business allowed us to expand to several different countries rapidly. It allowed me to see what was happening daily within the business, our operations, marketing and finance in realtime no matter where I was in the world. These reservation systems allow customers to book tours at their convenience, offering realtime availability and automated confirmation. This has significantly reduced booking errors and