Distribution channels to help you grow your tour business: Website

In the modern travel customer journey, the internet plays a central role. From the dreaming stage to the booking phase, travelers from all over the world rely on search engines to make decisions related to their trips.

Reading Time: 3 minute 34 seconds

Having your own website is a necessary tool to be found by potential customers searching for things to do at a certain destination.

Ultimately, the company website is the most common touchpoint with customers. It represents your offers, brand and inspires travelers to book with you.

What a good tour operator website should look like

Your website should deliver a great user experience. You can achieve that by creating easy-to-navigate pages, visually attractive with clear communication.

Easy to navigate website

  • It’s responsive, works fine on big and small screens
  • It has a navigation menu with links to the main pages
  • Visitors can access any page in a matter of seconds
  • It has call-to-actions strategically placed indicating which actions the visitor should take next

Visually attractive website

  • The layout is clean. It has a balance between images, text, and empty space.
  • The hero section has a video or image showcasing your destination, customers enjoying your experience, and your team.
  • It contains text that is easy to digest (short paragraphs)
  • It’s filled with eye-catching images

Clear website

  • Prices are visible and understandable
  • It has social proof of your experiences
  • It answers three questions: Who are we? What do we do? Why should you choose us?
  • It contains detailed descriptions of your tours and activities

3 Tools for building a tour operator website

There are different website builders on the market. Nowadays, those tools are intuitive and visual, making it simple for non-programmers to build a website from scratch in a couple of hours.

Among all the options, three tools stand out.

Squarespace

Squarespace is known for its clean and professional layout. It also has high-quality designed templates suitable for travel and tour websites.

Other highlights of this platform are great customer support, a responsive editor to build mobile-friendly websites, a good photo editor, a fair amount of add-ons, and in-app tools.

A downside is that you don’t have the same freedom as other solutions in the market when it comes down to design personalization. Squarespace isn’t the easiest solution to use as well.

The base plan costs $12 per month in an annual plan.

Wix

Wix is one of the most popular website builders in the market. Probably because it has a free plan and it’s straightforward to use.

Creating a website with it is very simple using its drag and drop functionality. Ideal for beginners with no experience in coding.

It also gives users the freedom to change the website design. You start with a basic layout and can customize it to suit your needs.

Despite being very popular, Wix does have a few drawbacks.

It limits the maximum amount of data you can store; it doesn’t matter if you are a free or premium user. That can be a deal-breaker for tour operators who want to upload many pictures and high-quality videos of their tours.

Also, its flexibility can be overwhelming if you are not up to spending hours creating and adjusting your website design.

Tour operators should go for the premium version of Wix. It costs $12.50 per month and is free of ads.

WordPress

Around 40% of the internet is built on WordPress. It’s so popular because it’s easy to use and it is highly customizable.

There are two different systems under the brand WordPress, and they are WordPress.org and WordPress.com.

The first one is an open-source content management system (CMS). It requires technical knowledge from the user, but it’s free to use and highly customizable.

On the other hand, WordPress.com is a paid website builder. It has similar functionalities to Squarespace and Wix, which makes it user-friendly.

Both have countless themes and plugins available to buy or download for free. For sure you can find one that is suitable for your needs.

WordPress.com has plans starting from $7 per month. For more customization and extended functionalities, you should choose the business plan.

Turning your website into a sales channel

More than a business card, your website can be a 24/7 seller for your business.

Imagine a visitor that has found your company on Google when searching for an experience provider at your destination. This visitor is ready to make a reservation but out of your commercial hours. If the only way to book with you is through direct contact, the chances are that the visitor will choose your competitor instead of you.

To not lose this customer, you would need a booking software integrated with a payment gateway, plus a ‘book now’ button placed on your tour pages.

On top of that, a seamless checkout is the last detail for a successful online purchase. For that reason, make sure to choose a complete solution like Orioly that gives you all those features.

Conclusion

A tour operator website is a powerful sales channel. Many still prefer relying on OTAs to sell online despite their higher commission.

There are different builders available for you to create your website. Just remember that great user experience, high-quality images, and relevant text are the perfect combination for a winning website. The final touch is integrating it with a booking engine. Once that is completed, you are ready to turn visitors into paying customers.

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Tags: Tourism Tiger, Orioly Inc

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Arival Guide to OTAs & Digital Distributors

A comprehensive directory of OTAs and online resellers for operators of tours, activities and attractions Authors: Brittani England & Martin Harlow Edited by: Douglas Quinby & Janelle Visser

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WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ARIVAL | ACTIVATE EDINBURGH AND ARIVAL 360 | VALENCIA AND WHICH SHOULD I ATTEND?

Since 2019, Arival has hosted one major event in Europe each year. For 2024-2025, we’re thrilled to offer two exciting events: Arival 360 | Valencia and Arival | Activate Edinburgh. Here’s a quick comparison to help you decide which event to attend—or why you might want to come to both:

Arival 360 | Valencia (28-30 April 2025)
  • Scope: Flagship European Event with a global reach; up to 30% of attendees from outside Europe, including the U.S., Middle East, LATAM, and APAC.
  • Audience: Experience creators, tech and distribution companies, and industry professionals from around the world.
  • Arival Theater Content: Global topics including: over-tourism and sustainability, technology, distribution, European consumer and operator trends.
  • Breakout Sessions: In-depth workshops on operational best practices, product expansion, AI, channel management, marketing tech, a Spain-specific track and an Innovation Showcase highlighting the most tech-savvy companies in our industry.
  • Networking: Connect with leading OTAs and distribution companies, and build valuable partnerships.
  • Location: Valencia, a stunning coastal city offering rich cultural experiences.
  • Attendees: Approximately 800, providing extensive networking opportunities.
Arival | Activate Edinburgh (23-25 November 2024)
  • Scope: Regional focus on the UK, Ireland, and the Nordic regions.
  • Audience: Operators and industry professionals from the region.
  • Content: Gain insights on regional topics like technology, distribution strategies, and hear from top regional tourism leaders.
  • Breakout Sessions: Experience hands-on learning at Edinburgh’s top attractions and tours, with sessions on visitor experience, digital journeys and innovative tour development. In-depth sessions for companies at the beginning of their digital journey and more advanced sessions for people and companies looking to elevate their experience.
  • Networking: With a more intimate setting. you’ll have more time to build deeper connections and create more meaningful interactions with your current and future partners including distributors, tech companies, DMOs and more.
  • Location: Edinburgh, known for its stunning architecture and historic charm
  • Attendees: Approximately 400, fostering an intimate peer-to-peer learning and networking environment.
Key Differences:
  • Global vs. Regional Focus: Valencia is a global event with an international audience, while Edinburgh is a regional event focused on the UK, Ireland, and Nordic regions.
  • Event Size: Valencia hosts about 800 attendees, providing broad networking opportunities, whereas Edinburgh’s 400 attendees create a more intimate, focused environment.
  • Content and Sessions: Valencia features global themes and advanced topics, whereas Edinburgh provides region-specific insights and hands-on experiential learning.
  • Location Experience: Valencia providing a coastal escape and Edinburgh offering historic and iconic attractions.
  • Who Will Be There: The most valuable part of Arival Events is the connections you make and the partnerships you build to grow your business. At Arival | Activate Edinburgh, you’ll engage with key industry players in the UK, Ireland, and Nordic regions. If your business focus is on these areas, Edinburgh is where you need to be. For those targeting broader European or global markets, Arival 360 | Valencia offers the ideal platform to network with international leaders and innovators. 
Why attend both?

With limited opportunities for business development, learning, and networking in our industry, attending both events is a strategic move. By participating in both Edinburgh and Valencia, you maximize your exposure to diverse markets and influential contacts. 

However, if budget constraints or a specific regional focus dictate your decisions, choose the event that best aligns with your primary business goals. Join us in Edinburgh for regional insights or Valencia for global perspectives—or better yet, attend both to fully leverage the potential of Arival’s expansive network.

For service providers such as a restech or ticketing platform, distribution company, or other services including marketing, AI tools, etc., attending both gives you access to attendees from both markets to connect with your current customers and to meet new ones!

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THE ARIVAL INSIDER PRO ACCESS MEMBERSHIP; YOU GET ALL THIS TO HELP YOU ADVANCE YOUR BUSINESS.

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Short, digestible research & trends reports delivering insights into our industry, such as The Tour Operator Outlook for 2021.

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Topical articles about marketing, tech, operator business and operator stories in all areas of tours, activities & attractions & experiences

Job board access
Find a job from our regular listings, post a resume to the talent network and learn strategies from the job resources articles

New webinars
Helpful, instructional sessions covering subjects such as Mastering Facebook Ads, Grow Your Business and How To Work With OTAs — topics to help advance your business.

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20% Discount on all Arival in-person events (save up to $300)* based on business type

Arival ProShield – Insurance program
Access to tailored insurance solutions by Granite Insurance is available exclusively for Arival Insider Pro Access Members. Insider Pro Access Members also have access to a suite of resources from Granite Insurance including templates, forms and other informative documents.

Insiders Pro Access member exclusive webinars
Paid membership-only webinars to deepen your understanding of important industry topics.

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Post jobs & connect with candidates most applicable to your business.

Private roundtables to connect, learn and engage
Small, focused and intimate discussions exclusive to Arival Insider Pro Access members.

Full access to Arival’s library of in-depth reports
Up to date, deep analysis of tourism topics ranging from Self-guided Tours to Sales & Distribution Trends and Outlooks, based on the data that defines the industry.

The latest on-demand videos
Over 350+ on-demand videos featuring hot topics in tours, activities & attractions

Insider discounts in digital marketing, tech, e-learning, and more
Save money on additional tools, services and learnings you need to run your business. Exclusive to paid members.

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At Arival, we believe travel can make the world a better place. Our mission is to establish and inspire a diverse community of individuals and companies in the In-destination Industry by providing opportunities to gain insight, share knowledge and build connections. To make it possible for true collaboration, creativity, innovation, and idea exchange to thrive, we are committed to facilitating a welcoming and respectful community for all. This Conference Code of Conduct shares our community expectations and applies to all attendees, employees, exhibitors, speakers, sponsors, volunteers, and other participants at Arival- produced and sponsored events. We empower all participants in our community to actively engage in creating a friendly, inclusive and safe environment for all.

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