Why Offering Flexible Dates With Scheduled Departures Is Great For Increasing Tour Operator Sales

Looking at ways to better meet the market for travel post-pandemic? Adding in scheduled departures throughout the year for your trips might be just the thing you need to attract more clients.

Understanding The Current State Of Travel

When we consider the current state of travel, offering flexible dates for your tours has never been more relevant. As a travel organizer, you know that, currently, there are so many variables to navigate to go ahead with a trip successfully. Part of this is because there is no saying what tomorrow holds for your destination in terms of entry regulations, testing requirements, and active covid cases.

For travelers, this makes it somewhat stressful to firm up on trip dates and make a booking. After all, what happens if the destination suddenly goes into lockdown, airlines stop flying, or they test positive for COVID-19 before traveling?

You can take some of that stress out of booking by offering several scheduled departures in a year.

Clients can choose when they want to travel by selecting the departure dates that suit them best. This allows them to choose the time of year and season to travel in. Plus, it gives them more flexibility if they need to make last-minute trip changes.

Of course, when you offer tours throughout the year, you want to have flexibility in your online booking system. You need to be able to set recurring trips, make seasonal price adjustments, and adjust group sizes. The good news is that if you are a WeTravel customer, we have just launched a new calendar feature to support this.

In the new travel market, offering greater flexibility with departure dates will make it a lot easier to run your business. It also gives clients more cause to choose your tours.

Here are some of the main reasons why adding several trip departures can make a big difference to your tour operator sales.

Three Ways That Offering Flexible Dates With Scheduled Departures Boosts Tour Sales

1. Adds A Layer Of Certainty For Clients

One of the significant advantages of being flexible on scheduled departure dates is the layer of certainty it adds for clients who are booking.

In general, the travel industry is still dealing with Covid restrictions. This means it’s not always easy for clients to commit to dates. Offering flexibility in this respect gives them better peace of mind knowing they can reschedule if necessary.

It also allows them to book in a season or during a time window when they feel comfortable with traveling.

Offering flexibility doesn’t have to come at a price to you either. You can set a fee for amending trip dates and hold onto the sale instead of having to issue refunds, or worse, deal with chargebacks.

2. Builds Up Trust

By offering flexible dates for scheduled departures, travelers will feel more confident about booking with you.

After all, you need to earn their trust before they pay over a deposit. Clients want to know their holiday investment is in safe hands at all times.

When clients know that they can use their deposit on alternative dates if travel bans or restrictions come into effect, this makes their decision to go ahead much easier.

3. Adds A Competitive Edge To Your Business

The travel industry is highly competitive. Now more than ever, tour operators need to be doing all they can to stay ahead of the ever-changing industry and cater to the needs of travelers in 2021.

In this sense, offering flexible dates for scheduled departures can give you a real advantage over your competitors.

Use your flexible dates and policies as a unique selling proposition for your marketing and advertising materials. The assurance this provides will help travelers to feel more confident to select your services over the competition.

Final Thoughts

There is no time like now to boost your tour business’s sales. By offering flexible dates for scheduled departures, you’ll be able to provide more value and convenience to travelers.

In turn, this will help you hold onto clients, increase sales, and ensure you get to keep the sale, even when clients can’t make their original booking.

To find out more about WeTravel’s calendar feature, watch the video we shared above. You can also look through the Help Center article or get in touch with one of the team via chat on our website.