Travel Industry Trends: Growing your Multi-Day Tours in 2023

As the travel and tourism industry evolves, multi-day tours have become increasingly popular with travelers. From multi-day safaris in Africa to multi-city trips across Europe, multi-day tours are an excellent way for tour operators to diversify their offerings and attract customers worldwide.

But with so many options available for tourists, it can be difficult for tour operators to stand out and grow their businesses. Digital marketing is one of the most effective ways for tour operators to reach potential customers and promote their multi-day tours.

In this article, we will explore some of the latest trends in digital marketing that can help you grow your multi-day tour business in 2023.

What is a multi-day tour?

A multi-day tour is a travel package that consists of multiple days or nights spent in various places. These tours can include a variety of activities, from sightseeing to outdoor activities, and may include multi-destination trips with overnight stays.

“Much like last year, people are eager to get out and see the world in 2023.”- USAToday

The main benefit of multi-day tours is that travelers get to experience multiple destinations in one trip instead of spending a few days at each destination.

Why Consider Multi-Day Tours in 2023?

The travel industry is constantly changing and multi-day tours are becoming more popular.

Multi-day tours are on the rise in 2023, as travelers seek out immersive and adventurous experiences.

Tour operators who offer multi-day tours are finding that they can attract more customers with deeper and more meaningful experiences than traditional single-day excursions.

Travel Industry Trends: Because Travelers Love it

Travelers today love the idea of a pre-planned trip without the hustle of organizing everything.

For instance, many travelers prefer to book all-inclusive vacation packages with flights, accommodations, and activities already taken care of.

This way, travelers save time and money by not having to do extensive research and bookings. Plus, they can enjoy their vacation without any stress or worry since all the details have been taken care of beforehand.

Read more: Skift has a full report on multi-day tours and how they are evolving post-pandemic

By weaving together unique activities and destinations with cultural, historical, and ecological components, these multi-day tours offer customers an immersive experience that they cannot get from a single-day outing.

Moreover, multi-day tours are becoming more affordable for travelers, making them attractive to budget-conscious customers.

Challenges in Selling Multi-Day Tours

As multi-day tours become more popular, tour operators need to find new and innovative ways to market their multi-day tours. However, selling multi-day tours can be challenging due to a variety of factors such as competition, budget constraints, and customer expectations.

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Competition within the multi-day tour industry is escalating as more tour operators enter the market and offer multi-day tours to customers. With so many multi-day tour packages available, tour operators need to find ways to stand out from their competitors and appeal to potential customers.

Solution:

To remain competitive, tour operators need to focus on offering unique multi-day tours that include special activities and destinations that can’t be found elsewhere.

For instance, one tour operator might offer a three-day sightseeing tour of a remote mountain range that includes a night of camping, while another might offer a two-day wine-tasting tour of local vineyards. 

Budget constraints

Multi-day tours require significant planning, coordination, and time to execute successfully. This can put a strain on tour operators’ budgets, making it difficult for them to offer multi-day tours at competitive prices.

Solution:

Tour operators can minimize budgets by taking advantage of digital marketing.

Digital marketing offers a range of cost-effective solutions to promote multi-day tours, such as email campaigns, social media advertising, and search engine optimization (SEO).

As for the time involved in planning, do not rush.

Take the time to research destinations, activities, and accommodation options that will appeal to potential customers. See how your competitors are doing multi-day tours and think of a way to make yours better.

Customer expectations

To be successful in selling multi-day tours, tour operators must understand and meet the expectations of their customers.

Solution:

Customers are looking for multi-day tours that offer an unforgettable and immersive experience at an affordable price.

Such tours explore local businesses, and local culture, sample regional cuisine, and make memories that will last a lifetime - all at a reasonable cost.

People want “adventure, a change of pace from day to day ... rafting in Northern Greece, camel riding in Morocco, riding horseback in Iceland, or kayaking in Uruguay”- USAToday

For example, tour operators need to make sure that the tour itineraries provide enough time at each destination to explore and enjoy the activities.

In addition, they need to provide enough free time for customers to do what they want.

Statistics say that there are about "35 million digital nomads around the world" and the idea of leisure travel while they work remotely is becoming more in demand.

Getting customers

Reaching potential customers and making them book multi-day tours is one of the biggest challenges tour operators face due to growing competition.

Solution:

So tour operators need to find innovative and creative ways to stand out amongst the competition and attract customers to book multi-day tours. This can include offering unique experiences, discounted prices, and special promotions.

Let us know more about smart marketing solutions for multi-day tours below.

Smart Marketing Solutions for Multi-Day Tours

Using digital marketing

Multi-day tour operators can maximize their profits at an affordable price with smart digital marketing strategies in place.

Digital marketing offers a range of cost-effective solutions.

From email campaigns to social media advertising and search engine optimization (SEO) - multi-day tour operators can utilize digital marketing to reach potential customers and build their brand.

Here are our guides to digital marketing for selling tours:

• SEO
• Google Ads
• Social Media

Focus on Content Creation

Content is a powerful tool that multi-day tour operators can use to attract new customers and increase sales.

For example, multi-day tour operators can create content such as videos, blogs, eBooks, and podcasts that showcase their multi-day tour offerings, highlighting unique destinations and activities.

Here is our guide to using TikTok for promoting tours.

By creating content multi-day tour operators can build an authentic connection with potential customers.

Content creation can also help multi-day tour operators stay top of mind by providing regular updates about travel and hospitality industry trends.

Frase.io offers free tools for content creation. Check out our blog about Frase for content creation here.

Run promotions & contests

Promotions and contests are a great way to generate interest in multi-day tours and engage with potential customers.

For example, multi-day tour operators can offer discounts on multi-day tours or run competitions to win multi-day trip packages.

Offering free stuff or early bird discounts can also incentivize customers to book multi-day tours.

Using Travel Review Sites

Travel review sites such as TripAdvisor can help multi-day tour operators showcase their multi-day tours and get noticed by potential customers.

For instance, the more reviews a tour operator has, the better their ranking on TripAdvisor, which increases their visibility to potential customers. Tour operators with a lot of reviews have an edge!

Get started with our top three picks for travel review sites.

Partner with Online Travel Agencies

Partnering with online travel agencies (OTAs) is a great way to increase multi-day tour bookings. OTAs such as Expedia and Booking.com provide multi-day tour operators with access to millions of customers across the globe who are looking for multi-day tours.

Joining an OTA can help multi-day tour operators reach a wider audience, increase bookings and maximize profits.

Find out more: Should you list with OTAs? Know the costs and gains.

Affiliate and Influencer Marketing

Multi-day tour operators can partner with affiliates and influencers to boost multi-day tour bookings.

By offering incentives, such as discounts and special promotions, these operators can leverage the reach and influence of their affiliates and influencers to increase the number of bookings and gain loyal customers.

For example, a multi-day tour operator might offer a 10% discount to any customers who book through an influencer's website or social media channel.

The operator could then track the bookings from the influencer's link to measure the success of the partnership and assess the return on investment.

Partner with local hotels and Airbnb hosts

Partnering with local hotels and Airbnb can help multi-day tour operators to increase multi-day tour bookings.

Tour operators can give flyers promoting their tour packages to hotel guests and Airbnb hosts, and offer discounts to encourage bookings.

Are you listing on Airbnb Experiences too? Here's what you should know first.

These partnerships provide multi-day tour operators with an opportunity to reach potential customers who may otherwise not have found out about multi-day tours - not to mention promoting local tourism.

Above all, take time to plan

Planning is the key to success for multi-day tour operators. It involves taking into account the preferences and needs of customers, understanding the most popular multi-day tours in different locations, and ensuring that all necessary information is available for customers prior to the tour.

Dietary preferences

Tour operators should consider their customers' dietary needs and make sure to provide meals that cater to those needs and preferences during the tour.

For example, be prepared to provide vegetarian meals for customers who are vegetarian or vegan, and make sure to have a gluten-free option for customers with celiac disease.

Personalize the guest's experience

Get to know each guest too! Ask questions during their booking.

By asking questions during their booking, you can understand their needs and personal preferences, and create a tailored experience for them. This can help to build a strong relationship with each guest and make them feel valued.

For example, you can ask guests whether they are visiting for a special occasion. You can also ask them what they are looking forward to doing during their stay, or if they have any special requests.

Prepare for the unexpected

Make room for unexpected travel delays and changes in plans. Things like flight delays, bad weather, and even traffic can cause unexpected delays or changes in plans.

Having a backup plan and a contact person can help you to handle these unexpected changes without too much worry and stress.

The importance of planning multi-day tours should not be underestimated, as multi-day tour operators are responsible for customers’ safety and satisfaction.

Ensuring that customers have a comfortable and enjoyable experience should be the number one priority for multi-day tour operators.

But avoid overplanning

Although guests want the comfort of a pre-planned trip, they also want a bit of me time.

So try to strike a balance between scheduled activities and some free time for guests.

This will allow your multi-day tour customers to explore on their own and make sure that they are enjoying their multi-day tour experience.

Final thoughts

In conclusion, multi-day tour operators have a great opportunity to grow their business through digital marketing, partnerships, and personalized experiences for guests.

With careful planning, multi-day tour operators can provide the best possible experience for customers while still delivering a profitable venture.

Happy tours!