Tourpreneur Tour Business Podcast

Congratulations on making it to the final day of the 30 day challenge. End the challenge with a trip down memory lane. Look back at all you’ve accomplished in the last 30 days, months, years. Do this in whichever way you like. Journal. Go for a hike. Watch the waves. Paddleboard yoga. Think of it as a mindful treat-yourself day. Self reflection tips for tour operators Self-reflection tips Quiet your mind Ask yourself, “Where was I one year ago? Five? Ten?” Read old journals or booking reports Make a list of your proudest moments Remember the personal, not just professional Celebrate the quick wins, too Frame & place somewhere obvious Look at it every day as a reminder

One of Shane's favorite phrases is #AlwaysBeLearning. We wear so many different hats as a tour operator. along with running the business, you might also dabble in accounting, digital marketing, maintenance, HR, customer service, and guiding. But there’s always room to improve or diversify your skillset. Shane and Ryan discuss the importance of learning new skills when it comes to growing our business and how it can help you avoid fake experts and save you money!

Make a difference in your destination by choosing a cause for your business to get behind. Donate to a non-profit organization or rally up your team for a volunteer project. Pick something that makes sense for your brand and aligns with your values. Already supporting a cause? Make it known on your About page or social media today. Don’t think of it as bragging. It shows that your company cares, helps spread the word of a charity that deserves attention, sparks real conversations about improving the lives of others and our planet, and encourages your team and guests to get involved.

Arival is not just an in-person conference for the tour operator industry, they also publish research papers, survey results, tour operator spotlights, articles, and interviews with activity and tour operator interviews. Much of this is free of charge so please do check them out if you aren't already.

Facebook Groups are great for connecting with like-minded individuals and expanding your tour operator network. Shane and Kyla discuss the treasure trove of information available to us in tour operator Facebook groups plus also why you should join Facebook groups where your customers may be interacting and posting. Shane shares some of his favorite Facebook Groups for tour operators.

Have you ever wanted to be a secret shopper? Today is your chance! Book another tour in your destination or somewhere nearby — preferably not with your direct competitor — and see how they run things from a guest perspective! Why not gather intel and have fun at the same time? Just be sure to take a mental note of everything they do. What info do you get before the tour? How do they upsell? Is check-in a breeze? Do they use paper waivers? What’s your tour guide like? How do they make the experience better? Do they ask for tips? Reviews? See if there’s anything that you do better, or can take away to improve. Sometimes, we can get so stuck in the traditional way of doing things that we neglect to see how we can be better. Comparison isn’t always bad. By witnessing how someone else operates, you can get fresh ideas to adopt & tweak or validation that you’re already a few steps ahead.

Angela Heald shares her graphic design and Canva tips for tour operators. The key part of the challenge is to time batch the task and set aside two hours for it and no switching to other projects. Ever want to share more on social media? Are you unhappy with your Instagram profile’s aesthetic? Do you wish your Facebook ads didn’t make your tours look so…boring? With a bunch of promo material on hand, you’ll never run out of visual content, which means you’ll have no problem staying on top of digital marketing in the future.

Everyone’s saying that blogging is one of the best things you can do for better SEO. Well, it’s true. The more content you have on your website, the more queries you can rank for on Google. But it can be challenging to find time in your incredibly busy schedule to sit down and bust out an article, especially if writing isn’t your strong suit. Kyla and Shane share some quick tips for tour operators.

In today's bonus episode, we share tips on how to give your tour operator website an extra SEO boost by adding relevant local keywords wherever possible. Day 22 of the 30 Day Tour Operator Challenge by Checkfront.  Make sure to visit tourpreneur.com/challenge to grab your free PDF with even more keyword tips for SEO

For today's challenge, we tackle the important subject of improving your website speed and why you need to make sure all of your pages load fast on all devices. Run a test on Google’s PageSpeed Insights by entering each page URL into the Analyze bar, and then see if there are any problems you can quickly rectify today. Do this for both desktop and mobile.