In this episode, Mitch Bach and Pete Syme interview fellow Tourpreneur partner Chris Torres, a seasoned marketing expert, who shares insights from his extensive career in the industry.
Chris announces the sale of his business, discusses the evolving landscape of marketing, and emphasises the importance of storytelling and innovation in attracting customers.
The conversation covers the differences between marketing strategies for day tours and multi-day tours, the significance of print marketing, and what tour operators should look for in a marketing agency. Chris also reflects on his future plans and the changes in his professional journey.
Takeaways
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Chris Torres and His Journey
01:24 Chris Torres Announces Business Sale
03:48 The Importance of Marketing in Today's World
07:46 The Evolving Role of Marketing Agencies
11:06 What Tour Operators Should Look for in Agencies
13:30 When to Move On from an Agency
18:04 Day Tours vs. Multi-Day Tours Marketing Strategies
19:53 Standing Out in a Crowded Market
26:02 The Role of Print Marketing
27:34 Looking Ahead: Chris's Future Plans
As we continue our connectivity series, we look at the landscape of B2B sales for tour operators as it evolves thanks to new technology, connectivity, and companies changing how travel is sold.
Evan Frank has been the CEO of a tour company (Context Travel), founder of a short-term rental pioneer (onefinestay), and is no co-founder of Fora Travel, leading the charge at reimagining the role of the travel advisor, updating it with new technology and a brand that suits a new demographic of advisor today.
If you're interested in this potential sales channel for your business, this is a must-listen.
This week we begin a mini-series on connectivity: interviews with people helping tour operators grow their B2B partnerships through tech tools that connect with other industry sectors.
We start the series off looking at short term rentals. This is often a desired B2B relationship for tour operators, but one that's hard to decipher and connect with.
Our guests are Karen Piscitelli, Founder of Explorabout and Annie Holcombe of the channel manager NextPax. Karen is building a platform to allow property managers to tap into inventory of unique bookable experiences, and Annie is an expert in the connectivity landscape for the short term rental market.
We look at:
Show notes and more available at tourpreneur.com
Dan Christian has spent decades in the industry working at some of the world's largest travel brands: The Travel Corporation, G Adventures, Lonely Planet.
Today he's the host of the Travel Trends podcast and CEO of the Acceleration Team, helping travel companies achieve rapid growth.
Dan knows marketing and business transformation like nobody else, and in this episode he spills the secrets of the world's largest companies:
More information...
GetYourGuide has recently surpassed 200 million tickets sold. Co-Founder & COO Tao Tao sits down with Tourpreneur's Mitch Bach, Peter Syme and Chris Torres to talk about the challenges and surprises of 16 years of scaling an online experiences marketplace.
As always, we focus on takeaways for tour operators as Tao Tao shares data and insights. We examine the tensions inherent in balancing the needs of both suppliers and travelers, especially when it comes to curation—and Tao Tao shares news of new steps they're taking to curate their tour offerings and ensure quality.
We covered a lot in a one-hour conversation:
Upcoming Tourpreneur events:
A Christmas Eve gift for you!
We're just days away from 2025, so it's clearly time to start thinking about how you're going to grow and improve your business next year!
Tourpreneur hosts Mitch Bach and Peter Syme have a conversation about what Pete calls the 70-20-10 rule for how to spend your time doing business development in the off season. (You'll have to listen to find out).
We cover topics such as:
And so much more.
Thank you all so much for being supporters and listeners of Tourpreneur in 2024. We have so much in store for you for next year.
TP hosts Mitch Bach, Peter Syme and Chris Torres have just returned from their California Road Show, in partnership with GetYourGuide.
We spent a week hosting business development workshops in San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, and Los Angeles, meeting dozens of operators in all sorts of verticals. Thanks to everyone who showed up, and to GetYourGuide who shared regional data on travel trends and customer behavior insights relevant to the local market. The Tourpreneur team paired that data with live business audits.
The results were surprising.
In this episode, we look at 6 easy fixes to your tour business that we repeatedly saw in the operators we audited, as well as the top 6 sales channels—according to the operators attending—that are working right now. We dig into the why of it all, and Peter does his best Grumpy Grinch impression.
All the resources and events we mentioned are available at tourpreneur.com
This episode is going to inspire and surprise you. Rodrigo Atuesta is the CEO of Impulse Travel. From humble beginnings as a guide and Couch Surfer, Rodrigo and his partners have built a DMC in Colombia that has now served over 30,000 travelers. But the way he's built it has been extraordinary, challenging assumptions about how DMCs should work, and understanding the responsibility and power that a travel company has to transform destinations.
In this far-reaching conversation, Tourpreneur's Mitch Bach talks a variety of topics with Rodrigo:
My favorite quote from the episode:
"A true leader is anyone who is aware of their impact on other people, and acts on this awareness.”
For more information, visit tourpreneur.com.
And don't forget great upcoming TP events!
Visit our global events calendar here.
In this episode of Tourpreneur, we dive into the intricacies of sustainable travel with Xavier Font, a seasoned expert in travel and sustainability. With over two decades of experience and a professorship at the University of Surrey, Xavier brings a wealth of knowledge to our discussion.
We explore the necessity of rethinking travel for environmental reasons and the potential for combining work and travel for greater efficiency and satisfaction. Xavier emphasizes designing meaningful travel experiences that foster personal interactions, rather than purely focusing on technical sustainability measures. We also tackle the growth of sustainable consumer interest, the implications of certifications like B Corp, and the practical steps small to medium-sized operators can take to integrate sustainability.
Join us as we unpack the opportunities and challenges facing the travel industry and discover how tour operators can lead the charge towards a more sustainable future.
Today, we're tackling a crucial topic for those looking to expand their business into new territories: B2B marketing strategies for tour operators.
If you're aiming to attract corporate clients or promote team-building experiences, this episode is a must-listen. Chris Torres provides some quick tips on how to build a strong brand, utilise SEO, leverage targeted ads, and make the most of platforms like LinkedIn and Facebook to grow your business in the corporate marketplace.
Whether you're new to this or looking to refine your approach, these tips will help position you as a trusted expert in the industry and pave the way for higher revenue and profit margins. So, let's get started!
In this quick episode, Tourpreneur partners Peter Syme and Chris Torres dive into the latest buzz around Airbnb's third attempt to amplify their experiences offering.
Despite previous failures, Airbnb is pushing hard again, proclaiming that experiences represent a massive market opportunity. But can they succeed this time? Peter and Chris weigh in on the challenges Airbnb faces, from curating high-quality experiences to ensuring sustainable pricing for operators.
They discuss the potential pitfalls of relying on non-professional hosts and the importance of integrating API connectivity for seamless bookings. Will Airbnb's powerful brand and vast resources finally turn the tide? Tune in as our hosts dissect the prospects of Airbnb becoming a major player in the experiences sector and share insights on what needs to change for this ambitious venture to thrive.
For more, visit tourpreneur.com