Tourpreneur Tour Business Podcast

Tour Operators know the importance of local marketing for tour operators during COVID-19 but how exactly do we go about marketing our tours to locals especially when local attractions are still closed? Rob Pitingolo is a DC based tour operator who is struggling to market his local tours online, so we asked tours and activities marketing expert Jeremiah Calvino of Blend Marketing to join us in the virtual Tourpreneur studio to talk local marketing for tour operators. On today's episode, we discuss how tour operators can market and promote their tours to local consumers, despite increased shutdowns among tourist attraction sites. We discuss how remarketing campaigns and content marketing strategies can help with local marketing for tour operators and the importance of understanding your target audience and their search habits. Our guests explain why you need to identify your company’s competitive edge and value proposition and how you can use your website and landing pages to build rapport and promote the customer experience. We share strategies you can use to troubleshoot poor performing re-marketing campaigns, the average cost per lead you should expect from your campaigns, and the importance of using a nurture funnel approach to your marketing efforts to avoid ‘ad-blindness.’ We also share strategies you can use to customize your website copy and online content to attract local - and international - tourists and how to use Facebook look-alike audiences to attract new customers.

On Episode 101 of the Tourpreneur Podcast we invited 3 tourpreneurs from different parts of the world to discuss the recent Tripadvisor White Paper - Beyond COVID-19 - The Road to Recovery for Tour Operators.  Our guests share their response to the Tripadvisor white paper and if it correlates with their own tour business and what learnings they picked up from the report. In this episode you will hear:What were some of the panel's takeaways from the report.What correlation our tour operator panel are seeing from the Tripadvisor research and what is happening with their own tour businesses.Why the restaurant data offered some of the most compelling insights for Lauren as a food tour operator.Why the phases of COVID-19 recovery are important reading for tour operators.How the panel will make changes to their tours based on the data shared by Tripadvisor.And Much More!

On this 100th episode of Tourpreneur the podcast for tour operators, Rob Pitingolo of TripHacks DC turns the tables on founder and host Shane Whaley and pulls back the curtain on Tourpreneur at we celebrate episode 100. Tourpreneur Founder Shane shares his journey, from his decade long career at Booking.com and how he played a pivotal role in what Skift called ‘travel greatest acquisition’ to leading OTA GetYourGuide in the Americas to founding and producing a podcast for tour operators. On Episode 100 of Tourpreneur the podcast for tour operators, guest host Rob expertly quizzes Shane and asks:What is Shane Whaley’s history in the travel industry, what makes him a ‘travel veteran?’Why did Shane start a podcast for tour operators?Why reaching 100 podcast episodes is not the norm? The average show runs for 7 episodes!Was Shane nervous launching a podcast for tour operators? Did he suffer imposter syndrome? Shane reveals that launching a unique podcast is similar to launching a new tour, you ask yourself why is nobody else doing this?Why is Shane so passionate about tours, activities, attractions and experiences?How did he come up with the name Tourpreneur? Shane also reveals what his first name for his tour operator podcast was and why he ditched it.Why did Shane decide to produce a podcast for tour operators rather than a YouTube channel for tour operators?How much work goes into producing an episode of the Tourpreneur Podcast?What are the main challenges in creating and producing a podcast for tour operators?What is the Tourpreneur Mission?What is the Tourpreneur business model? How is Shane monetizing the Tourpreneur Podcast?What are some things that listeners to the podcast might not realize happen behind the scenes?Which of the first 99 episodes is your personal favorite? (episode 32 obviously)Where does Shane find his guests?You probably get a lot of messages from people who want to come on the podcast to promote or sell something. How do you handle those types of inquiries?  Shane reveals how he has turned down lucrative offers in affiliate commissions and pay to play.Covid-19 has financially impacted many of us tour operators – has Tourpreneur felt similar financial pain because of Covid-19? How so?Are there any productivity tips that you’ve implemented that you think tour operators could benefit from too?You’re in the early stages of starting a tour company in Vermont. What can you tell us about that?What’ is Shane’s vision for the next 100 episodes of Tourpreneur?And Much More!

In this episode of the Tourpreneur Podcast, we bring you the full audio of the Arival Online Session The Future of International Travel with Brand USA's Carroll Rheem. In this in-depth discussion we’ll delve into how travelers around the world are thinking about travel, how they are planning trips and what they are looking for. We’ll discuss what operators of tours, activities, attractions and experiences should do to reach those travelers, what travel marketing will look like in the future, and what adjustments operators should make to their products.

Arival CEO Douglas Quinby reveals more about 'Your Revival' a virtual one day summit which focuses on how tours, activities and attractions are reopening and reassuring nervous travelers. Douglas also explains why the summit is 'not another freakin webinar' but offers interaction such as themed roundtables and access to 1:1 meetings with Arival Experts.

Amy Overy offers private tours of Hong Kong. She shares with us how she got started, how she grew her business and how she has coped with political protests and COVID-19. This is the story of Hong Kong Greeters.

In this quick call, we check in with Catia , the tour operator behind Lisbon Stories Today we have a COVID-19 to operator check-in. I might even start calling these, just tour operator check-ins. I hate writing the word COVID-19 and today we feature our first ever Portuguese tour operator on the Tourpreneur Podcast. Catia of Lisbon Stories wrote to me saying: 'I'm writing to you from Portugal and our official tourism board has launched a program called clean and safe .It requires a few hours of online education. You have to elaborate a plan for your own company, and there are random checks to make sure your businesses are following everything they should. I'm working on this right now, and I'll be glad to go on the show and talk to you about how our seal works, what it requires and what I've learned during the certification. I am a licensed tour guide and I run a very small company offering private tours in Lisbon Portugal.  We offer a few walking tours, but mostly car tours, always to small private group.' So we talk about hygiene, the safety protocols for tour operators. We also then talk about how Catia is going to pivot her tour business. Catia is very motivated by showing tourists 'off the beaten track' Lisbon. So I think you will enjoy this episode and I love how international the Tourpreneur Podcast is becoming. So don't hesitate, wherever you are in the world. If you want to come on and share a story with us, about how you're growing your tour business, what you're learning during the lockdown drop me an email. And as we hopefully head into recovery, we are here. We want to feature your stories, email me at shane@tourpreneur.com 

Today we bring you an exclusive announcement, from two former guests of ours - two food tour operators They have teamed up with a major tour operator booking platform FareHarbor and have built a microsite Global Tours Connect, which they say, not only can deliver bookings for your tour business but will also pay you a dividend. Intrigued? I know I was. So we welcome onto the show today, Lauren McCabe Herpich of Local Food Adventures, Midgi Moore of Juneau Food Tours and first time guest on the Tourpreneur Podcast, Sabine Whitney of FareHarbor..

In this week's episode, I share with you: Why we pulled an episode of Tourpreneur this week. How being candid and honest as a content creator requires a thick skin. Arival announced they are moving their Phoenix event from September to November. Arival Phoenix Cancellation policies and why I credit them for their clarity around what will happen if they are forced to cancel the event due to COVID regulations. My dilemma about whether to attend Arival Phoenix or not this year The beta version of the Tourpreneur Approved Directory What is coming up on the Tourpreneur Podcast.

Checkfront just released a free in-depth and highly actionable e-book on local marketing, which covers everything from optimizing your local presence online to standing out in the local community.In this episode of the Tourpreneur podcast, Kyla Steeves who authored the local marketing guide for tour operators joins us and shares her 5 key marketing strategies.