Group Tour Magazine - May 2023 - 20

It
seems as though new travelrelated
apps and software are
springing up everywhere, and
MARKETING MATTERS
If you're still manually hitting " send " on posts,
newsletters, and other communications, then
consider a scheduler like Later or Buffer.
And if want some help getting more content
out there, Bach says you shouldn't sleep on
new artificial intelligence (AI) services like
ChatGPT. " It's a new way to think about how
to craft articles, " he says. " It's not the be-all
and end-all, but it can save you hours by finishing
up that one blog post that's been sitting
in your drafts folder for three months. "
If you're looking for smarter ways to keep
there's a good reason for that. It may have
something to do with all that mandatory
" downtime " we had three years ago, at least
according to Bud Geissler, president of
GroupCollect, a registration, payment, and
operations solution for multiday tour operators.
" I believe that during the pandemic, we
had time to catch our breath and consider
what had been missing in our professional
travel experiences, " he says. And at the same
time, customers decided they wanted more,
too. " They want more direct communication
and more unique experiences, " he says.
His views are echoed by Mitch Bach, partner
at Tourpreneur, a global tour community.
" Technology is now unavoidable because
your customer expects you to use it to
engage before, during, and after the tour, " he
says. " In an increasingly busy marketplace,
you need to make it as easy as possible for
your customers to spend money with you. "
In fact, there are new technological
solutions for just about every aspect of travel,
including risk mitigation, targeted communications,
streamlined purchasing systems,
and enhanced customer experiences.
To help you keep up on the latest innovations,
we talked to experts all over the country
to find out what " must-have " tech they're
using and recommending.
in touch, he suggests email marketing tool
MailerLite. " It has a powerful, modern look,
and it can do segmentation in a personalized
way, " he says. " It's better than Mailchimp or
Constant Contact. "
CUSTOMER COMFORTS
" My favorite app while on a tour operation is
Rome2Rio, " says Philip Sheldon, president of
HE Travel. " You can enter any two locations
on the globe, and it will tell you the various
ways to get between them by driving or via
public transportation like subway, train, bus,
plane, or boat. It's helpful when I'm on tour
and we're halfway between destinations. If
someone asks [when we'll get somewhere], I
can enter the closest town and our destination,
and give a very educated guess about
how long it will take. "
Many apps can help ease groups into a
new environment or stay connected to home.
Heather J. Gibson, a professor in the department
of Tourism, Hospitality & Event Management
at the University of Florida, offers
these ideas: " Weather apps are always useful.
Google Translate is useful for quick language
issues. Favorite radio and local newspaper
apps help your guests keep in touch with
news and weather from home. The Kindle app
is a good way of carrying your latest novel,
and health apps are always fun to keep up
with how far you've walked while on a trip. "
20 MAY 2023
Group Tour Magazine - May 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Group Tour Magazine - May 2023
