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Interview: Tauck CEO Says Family Focus Continues For Tour Operators
While new technology and customized experiences are du jour in leisure travel right now, some traditional tour operators are sticking to an established formula.
For Tauck, which was founded in 1926 and granted the first U.S. Tour operator license in 1933, a focus on enriching experiences hasn't changed.
The company has expanded its river cruise product offerings in recent years, offering a wider variety of educational and athletic experiences for guests. It's also branched off into exotic journeys and small ship cruising, in addition to more differentiated land journeys tied into its brand partnerships with Planet Earth and Ken Burns' films.
Dan Mahar, CEO of Tauck, still thinks that the human element is the most crucial when it comes to designing and executing guided tour vacations that enrich the lives of vacationers. Hand-crafted journeys still have the greatest potential to create unforgettable experiences for travelers, even in a time of unprecedented commoditization in travel.
"We will always have people involved in the experience," said Mahar. "That's a real difference as you try to segment Tauck. We don't want to sell just entrance fees or hotel rooms, we want to sell complete experiences."
Mahar spoke to Skift about embracing Tauck's roots, the importance of family travel in the tour operator space, and why tour operators like Tauck aren't going to sell their products on online booking sites like Kayak any time soon.
Skift: What sort of trends do you see globally when it comes to the tour experience?
Mahar: There's an arms race occurring in all the hotels, and a lot of the physical infrastructure all around the world. That is all improving, and thankfully it is.
That, I think, is a wonderful opportunity for us all, but at the same time the thirst for a deeper, more enriching experience has increased at the same rate or if not even more. That is again where we can play a role in delivering that to the customer.
Skift: You've been working at Tauck for 20 years, which as a company is almost 100 years old itself. Over the last two decades, what are the biggest changes you've seen in the tour operator space?
Mahar: Customers today are more resilient. That's a major change from 20 years ago. I think they're just more aware of the world, and I'm not talking about terrorism, but effect of natural disasters. That's by far the bigger issue in our world today, but I think they're more resilient so where 20 years ago if there's something happening somewhere people won't travel, today people are still traveling.
Our customers were always interested in the experience, but I think they are more knowledgeable and more desirous today of a deeper, more enriching experience than what they were 20 years ago. I think it's their accumulated travel knowledge. I think it's their own thirst for authenticity, to strive to get deeper experiences.
I think the quality expectations have increased, as well. By that I mean not only the bricks and mortar quality, which certainly increased, but the service and how they want to be treated all through a journey. Understanding what's important to them, and then delivering on that across all the different touch points that occur with a guest, that importance just keeps increasing.
Skift: How important are brand partnerships to Tauck's products and marketing? I'm thinking your work with Ken Burns and PBS.
Mahar: This is not a partnership to get access to some different demographic or other countries. We look for people that can add value to guest experience.
We consider ourselves to be storytellers, that's at the core of what we do. We take our guests different places around the world. In North America, the United States in particular, you know Ken Burns tells stories through his films and if probably the preeminent storyteller through films of the story of the United States.
It was a great fit because he doesn't take people [on vacation]. We don't develop films, necessarily, but his stories can compliment our stories and deliver a deeper experience for our customers. That was Ken Burns. Same exact thing with Plant Earth people. They have built the number one market position in natural history and have built the greatest film library of videos and storytellers for natural history. We can share those stories, share the experiences, share some of the people that they know to our own customers to compliment all of the things that we already do. That's our strategy there.
Skift: Family travel is a major trend, and Tauck was one of the first major tour operators to embrace family travel in a big way. How has that progressed for Tauck and looking forward what are you doing to keep those trips fresh?
Mahar: Family travel is very core for us, and again we were first in 2003, so we launched this new category. We did it for a couple of reasons. One, we saw that parents and grandparents want to give their kids experiences. They realized the global world they're growing up in, they realized the benefits of having experiences and that is to inspire kids to pursue whatever their own dream is. If they're meeting a park ranger in Grand Canyon, not necessarily that they want to become a park ranger, but it may inspire them wherever they want to go.
The second thing is, the parents want more time with their children. Kids are busier than ever, you know sports are year-round, clubs, activities, etc. Are year-round. It's just getting harder, so travel's the perfect antidote to provide time for shared enrichment. Shared enrichment is what was the core for our entry into the family travel market, and it still guides us today.
We do not have [trips where] parents go here and kids go there. We create all those itineraries to bring people together through travel and one of the great things that helps us that we craft all these experiences for people to experience, but then we also take care of all of the logistical challenges so people are free to have that experience, while they're traveling.
Skift: How do you assess the impact of mobile technology on your trips? Some tour operators are embracing smartphone use while others encourage travelers to avoid it.
Mahar: We actually send out a letter that we discourage the use of phones during the experience times. You're welcome to use them in the hotel rooms or somewhere else, but we want parents and children, first of all, to bond, and then we want them collectively to bond with the destinations. To have the experience without being distracted. That's really at the core of what we want to do. There are lots of different ways we could grow, or maybe serve more families, but this let's us do it in a way where we can deliver that experience and somehow enhance their lives individually and collectively. That's what motivates us.
There's two things, it's where you are and who you are with, and I think there are many benefits of technology, and technology can help our business in a variety of ways, but it can't deter from our customers ability to connect with a destination, connect with those that they're traveling with.
Skift: On the same note, how do you deal with vacationers who want more control over their trip? Consumers are sort of trained by online booking sites to want to choose specific experiences for themselves. On the same note, are you seeing travelers continue to plan trips with a travel agent or are more looking to book directly with Tauck?
Mahar: I think it's the marriage of meaning and ease. I think our customer are now secret explorers, they want to learn while they travel, but then they want people to remove some of the logistical challenges. That's the sweet spot. When you can do that for people, a transformation can occur for people and that's what we seek to do. I think it all comes down to providing access to experiences. The choice of experiences, and the removal of the logistical challenges so that they can be free to immerse in those destinations, individually within their travel.
The customer is paying, and he will decide. I do think there's a role for travel agents, and there will continue to be in the future because they do bring added value to the planning and experience decisions that their customers will make. I think there definitely will be travel agents in the future and they'll be great partners of ours.
Skift: Kayak recently announced it will experiment with selling tour experiences online. What do you think about the phenomenon of tours being commoditized online like flights or hotels?
Mahar: That's the business they're in. If you're involved in more point-to-point travel, if you're just selling or interested in buying components, and kind of thing, then you'll probably go to the internet or that will be more of a direct sell. We're an experience provider, and that takes people to deliver it, and it takes people every step of the way to assist the customer in finding an experience for them.
10 Best Tour Companies That Will Make Your Next Vacation A Breeze
via wheeltheworld.Com via wheeltheworld.ComPros:
One of the best tour companies in the accessible travel category, Wheel the World offers a platform of accessible tours, experiences and accommodations for disabled travelers. From international surf trips to rainforest tours, the company offers adventure trips in 40 destinations around the world and on every continent. Group tours are led by guides specially trained by the company to provide assistance to disabled travelers, and all itineraries have been tested to make sure they're accessible, have adaptable bathrooms and provide the best travel experience. The Costa Rica trip, for example, includes amphibious wheelchair use in Arenal's hot springs and use of trekking wheelchairs to explore Manuel Antonio National Park.
Pros:
Cons:
Not all tour operators have large group tours. Audley Travel is a good example of a company that offers full-service trips that can be individualized for independent travelers. For example, I recently explored Namibia on a bucket list eight-night itinerary to four different Natural Selection safari lodges. Audley handled all the details, including international routing that was way more involved than I could have figured out on my own. I followed their itinerary, however I didn't travel with a group, but instead with individual travelers who were following the same itinerary. (In other words, there is no tour leader and travelers are free to customize their itineraries.) In other cases, the company will create custom itineraries, and they do have some very small (around eight people) adventure mobile safari tours too.
There are a lot of tour companies out there, so it can be difficult to find the one that's right for you, especially if you're traveling with a group for the first time. Here are a few factors to consider as you narrow down your search.
I'm an award-winning travel writer, covering everything from how to pack your clothes to stay wrinkle-free to the secrets of Disney World. I have 25 years of journalism experience and am a passionate traveler myself. My work has appeared in Lonely Planet, The Points Guy, Travel Agent Central, Luxury Travel Advisor, TravelAwaits and more.
How we found the best tour companiesTo come up with the list of the best tour companies, we reached out to travel planners and other travel experts for their top picks. We also used our personal travel experience and checked in with travelers who have vacationed with these tour companies to get their first-hand reviews. Finally, we cross-checked our research with Tripadvisor's star ratings to make sure we've picked the best of the best so that you can have the best group tour all-inclusive vacation no matter where you want to go.
FAQs Is it cheaper to travel with a tour company?While booking a tour company can be more expensive than planning a trip yourself, it can also have financial benefits. Tour companies often have relationships with vendors, hotels and even airlines, allowing them to negotiate or get discounts on your behalf. Here are our top tips to book cheap travel with tour companies.
What is the difference between a tour company and a travel company?Tour companies plan and package tours for travelers. In contrast, travel agents at travel companies often serve as the intermediary between clients and tour companies, helping them to find the best fit. Travel agents may also create customized trips for travelers from transportation to lodging to itineraries.
What's the major difference between a tour and a vacation package?Tour packages are guided tours offered by a tour company, and vacation packages include all the logistical elements of a tour package, like transportation and lodging, without the tour guide. A vacation package is best suited for someone who doesn't want to spend time planning a trip but also wants the flexibility to manage their own time at their destination.
Is it cheaper to book tours in advance?Like airfare and hotels, booking a tour company earlier can save you cash. Some tour companies run early bird specials for those able to book months or even a year out. You may even see deals on Black Friday or other major shopping holidays.
A Travel Company So Discerning They Even Smell Their Tour Guides
Gyde and Seek is a travel platform that does not believe in travel as usual. I confirmed this in Mexico this summer after becoming addicted to the customized, socially-conscious private touring company that operates in 20-plus cities internationally. If you haven't tried it, you really should.
Paco is a former professional bullfighter and ex-Olympic chess prodigy who's as at home in Mexico City's ballet folklórico scene as he is taking visitors to lucha libre. In colonial Puebla, Maria knows the best hidden spots for baroque dishes, like chiles en nogada, but her true passion is tacos árabe. Then there's Salvador, who will elucidate Toltec ruins in Tula or the Aztec glyphs of Tepotzotlán but can go deep on Chicago blues, too.
Friends and travelers Vanessa Guibert Heitner, left, and Andrea Guthrie are co-founders of Gyde and ... [+] Seek.
Gyde and SeekThe company was co-founded by Vanessa Guibert Heitner, a veteran travel planner, and her friend Andrea Guthrie, a business strategist who grew up living around the world with her diplomat parents. Their idea was to connect discerning travelers directly with highly educated, charismatic guides in each location but without large group experiences or obnoxious price padding. Gone are the intermediaries and onion-like layers of tour operators who add costs, complexity and potential for mishaps. Instead, you search for the elements of a tour you're seeking — culinary history, street art, nightlife, Jewish culture, etc. — and Gyde and Seek's algorithm will match you with a guide. You then coordinate with that person directly, and the guide, who sets her or his own pricing, gets the lion's share of the fee. It's like Airbnb for people who show you the world.
After a very positive first Gyde and Seek experience in June, I booked two more Gydes for August. Mexico City is the company's most popular destination and the platform really delivered on my particular needs: one trip was a family graduation celebration for my son. The next was an extended-family tour of the ancient pyramids at Teotihuacan, located 30 miles outside of Mexico City. The third was an all-day food tour of Puebla with three hungry teenage boys. In each case, the guides went beyond the usual 'here we have a cathredral founded in 1548 constructed out of limestone'-type tours. All three guides were super engaged, deeply knowledgeable and also just cool to hang out with, which is important. Maria, for instance, showed us where and exactly how to eat those street tacos she adores, and she pointed us to the best coffee, chocolate, molé and mollettes, too. The tough crowd of teenagers had a blast and that's the point: You're on vacation, after all. You don't want want to be stuck in paradise with a wet rag all day. Someone like Maria elevates the entire trip.
Guibert Heitner and Guthrie believe that travel experiences should never feel cliché.
Gyde and SeekGuibert Heitner and Guthrie video-chatted with me recently to talk about their company ethos, the challenges of pandemic travel and their hopes for the future.
What was the travel problem you set out to solve with Gyde and Seek?
Vanessa Guibert Heitner: I had been in the industry for a very long time in a more traditional kind of high-luxury operation. We were always looking for ways to represent a destination in ways that weren't reductionist or exploitative and that didn't exoticize culture. So, in the case of Argentina, where Andrea and I met and where we worked, we wanted to find way to run tours that went beyond tango and steak. That meant finding people with unusual perspectives on everything from human rights and economics to fine art and popular art; artisanal makers of all kinds, historians, scientists, sociologists—intelligent experts. I'm a former university professor, so the education of our guides was really important from the outset.
Andrea Guthrie: We also wanted to provide a service without it costing as much as the big-name tour companies, like Abercrombie & Kent. This meant designing a technology platform to address all the little pain points that exist with most travel operators. So, we knew we wanted to eliminate all the extra steps and multiple parties who involve themselves in a typical tour experience. The old model where you would call a travel agent, and they would contact a local office in Patagonia, and that office would contact a guide, and each person takes a little piece of the profit, so the costs add up.
Vanessa Guibert Heitner: Not only does this raise the costs for consumers. It massively lowers the remuneration for the guides. There's no value, and it takes away those subtle opportunities to let a guide do their thing if, say, someone is coming to Rio and just really wants to see postmodern, kinetic art.
We've had people connect a day before a trip to say, 'I'm coming to Mexico City and want to photograph churches at night.' The guide responded and said, 'I'm also an architectural photographer. I'll take you to see six churches tomorrow night.' If you were working with an agency, there's no way you could arrange something that quickly.
You have around 400 guides. How do you select them?
Vanessa Guibert Heitner: We've traveled ourselves to most of the destinations to meet each person, or sent people from our staff to meet them. We have a strict criteria and reject over 80 percent of the people who want to be on the platform.
What does it take to be a Guide and Seek guide?
Andrea Guthrie: Experience, academic degrees, expertise—that's first.
Vanessa Guibert Heitner: There's a threshold in the beginning. Can they back up what they're promising? Whether they're a sommelier or an art history guide or a Jewish historian, do they have the credentials and base of knowledge? We interview them and spend time with them in person so we can, you know, smell them.
Smell them?
Vanessa Guibert Heitner: Smell them. Nobody likes guides who smell bad. You want their English to be good. You want a personality. You want enthusiasm, excitement, friendliness. You want people who won't take three days to get back to you.
Andrea Guthrie: You want someone who's going to listen—not just to your questions but to your concerns, and even read between the lines and figure out what makes a guest happy and comfortable. Being attentive—that's the number one thing I want.
These are not easy times for travel companies. How's it going?
Vanessa Guibert Heitner: It's been very tough. We've been hit hard by the pandemic. We suffered a year's worth of cancellations in just a few weeks in 2020. Planes stopped flying. There was a cognitive dissonance for us—we were like, how is this possible?
We have ten new destinations that are ready to launch, including Peru, Croatia, Finland. The guides are ready, the profiles are written. But we can't launch them because we're waiting to see how the recovery goes, what's happening with Covid rates, the economy and all that.
Andrea Guthrie: We're focusing on wins. We had a Swedish family who took their kids out of school and traveled with Guide and Seek for a year. Four kids, 14 and down. We structured their experience and it became a real learning journey for the family. Regardless of how things turn out, we're incredibly proud of what we've built and the types of experiences our clients have.
Vanessa Guibert Heitner: So many people dream of traveling but many times, the experience can be disappointing. You get 60 percent of what you want if you're lucky. For us, the goal is 100 percent exceptional. A tour should never feel canned. A destination should never feel like a cliché. Sixty percent just isn't good enough.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
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