D. How Tour Company Pros Design Tour Packages with 'free time' segments?
1. Carefully crafted mix of Characteristic variables:
LBT's range between fast paced, max bang-for-the-buck road races to a vast array of more relaxed itineraries. For business reasons as well as tourist demands, many packages include 'free time' segments. I'll focus here on 'free time' tours.
All tour packages are designed to achieve an array of tourist goals in a complex mix of intineray characteristics including a chunk of 'free time' segments.
s.
Tour Characteristics:
a. Site & Activities: Most large bus tour packages are designed to appeal to a variety of specific tourist goals usually centered around a geographical area (Rome Porto area wine conuntry) or a themes (Roman ruins, wine tasting, cooking classes). Tour itineraries include a crafted mix of compelling Tier I, Tier II sites & activities. AND 'free time."
Example: Intrepid Travel's "Portugal Real Food Adventure, featuring Galicia" : "Uncover the flavours of Portugal on this seven-day adventure full of delicious bites, local wines and age-old culinary traditions" etc., etc,.etc.
Start: Porto, Portugal. End: Lisbon, Portugal
b. Pace: Large Bus Tours range from break-neck road races from site to site, packing in as many sites & activities as possible for the time & dollars aloocated. Most tours are more relaxed at comfortable speed seeking as much depth of experience as possible into the time alloted: more relaxed guide conversations & indepth commentary [YTclip. Albania fort tour clip]
c. Dining & hotel quality: range from 4 Star to modest B&Bs to cchilly large bland hotels on outskirt of a town: high vs medium vs large box; welcoming vs chilly.
d. Transport: High end luxurious tour buses and other transport that will accomodate large tour nuinteresting & scenic routes vs fast & direct between cities/sitesmbers.
Anecdote: Mekong Delta tour: YTlk
e. Optional Excursions: highly curated for safety, skilled guide & variety of sites & activities
2. Research & Test the Tour Package’s Design. Once the ideal large Bust Tour package is roughly designed it must be thoroughly researched & tested on the road, so to speak. Transport routes, schedules & accessible site parking, restaurants tested for quality of ambiance & food, hotels reconnoitered for bus & luggage accessibility & amenities, and guide’s professionalism…. so your tour’s execution is smooth and professional.
Anecdote: St. Petersburg ‘cruise’ restaurant: On Shore Excursion’s restaurant served a horrible fish dish. Vast majority of 60 guests left it untouched. Cruise company should have vetted Shore Excursion restaurant better. I would never trust either again.
Also, each newly designed tour must compete with the company’s other tours AND more importantly, with the hundreds of other companies' tour offerings. An extremely complex task.
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