The Credibility Gap in Travel

Thanks to the internet (WordPress specifically), everyone can now have their own website past a free page on Facebook. That’s great news for the travel industry as now anyone with dreams of becoming a rich and famous tour operator can get their message out to the world. From a large city to a tiny hamlet in the middle of nowhere, travelers can find you, and hopefully, you’ll be doing what they want to do in a place they want to go. But do you have credibility so travelers will send you money?

But as the number of tour operators expands, credibility shrinks, starting with choosing business names. For example, travelers want to go on a Kenyan Safari. KenyanSafari.com is long taken. So, as you scroll down the list of what’s available, you end up with KenyanSafariBestAwesomeTour.info. It doesn’t inspire confidence when your name comes up in the search engine (if it even does), but it’s all you have, and the rest of your operation runs like a top. If travelers only gave you a chance, you know they’d love it.

But for travelers, this is more a concern than an opportunity to discover something new.

Credibility Problems with the unknown

Safety and security concerns: Booking travel with an unknown company can make it difficult to know if the company is legitimate or if they have your best interests in mind. As when the local clinic they take you after you’ve been bitten by a lama to runs out of Band-Aids, and they have to use duct tape to patch you up.

Lack of customer service

If something goes wrong while traveling, you may not have access to the same level of customer service that you would expect from a more established company. This can make it more difficult to resolve any issues that arise. Such as when you accidentally offend the locals by wearing your shoes indoors or using the wrong fork at dinner, and now you’re the village outcast, forced to wear a grass skirt and perform a ritual dance for your supper.

Language barriers

Communication can be challenging, especially if you don’t speak the local language. Booking travel with an unknown company can make it more difficult to communicate effectively with the company and with locals, even navigating the area. Fortunately, the language barrier leads to some hilarious misunderstandings, like when you ask for a glass of water, and they bring you a live fish.

Limited options

There may not be as much tourism infrastructure when you travel into the unknown with the unknown, which can limit your ability to customize your trip or find unique experiences. Such as, instead of a luxury bus, you end up riding on a rickety donkey cart with a driver who plays “The Macarena” on a worn-out boombox the entire journey. Or your hotel room turns out to be a hammock strung between two coconut trees, with the ocean lapping at your feet and the howler monkeys slinging poo at you for your wake-up call.

Lack of (or fake) reviews

Booking travel with an unknown company may mean no reviews are available to help you make an informed decision. This can make it more difficult to know what to expect and whether the company is trustworthy. Though it’s easy to tell the fake ones as they try to spin a negative into a positive. “Every meal is a surprise, you never know when you’ll be served something exotic, like deep-fried tarantula or boiled yak eyeballs!”

Lack of Truth

Tour operators sometimes spin or lie outright about what they’re offering. When the local entertainment consists of a one-man band playing “Chopsticks” on a kazoo while juggling mangoes and dancing the cha-cha, it’s not entertainment. Or when the tour guide takes you to see the world’s largest ball of twine, but it turns out to be a giant ball of discarded flip-flops, it’s not a destination. Or even when they touted the authentic local crafts, and it turns out to be an empty gift shop with only a handmade potato gun, which you’re pretty sure is illegal in at least 49 states.

Travel Companions

Tour operators try to maximize the return on every tour they operate by putting as many people together as possible. You might end up sharing your trip with a group of rowdy Australian backpackers who insist on singing “Waltzing Matilda” around a couch they just set on fire.

buying your Credibility

Credibility can be earned (which takes time) but also purchased (at a dear price). There’s ATTA (Adventure Travel Trade Association), NTO (National Tour Association), and IATAN (International Airlines Travel Agent Network), to name a few. For the informed and experienced traveler, these associations might mean something, but at least membership lets you use their logo, showing you’re a real company.

But membership isn’t as easy as writing a check. Depending on the association, it comes at a cost (anywhere from $350-$2500) and more strings than a marionette. Among them:

• Minimum Revenue
• Maintain commercial general liability insurance coverage. Maintain professional liability insurance.
• Maintain hired/non-owned auto/motorcoach liability insurance
• Has a minimum of three years in business as a tour operator
• Maintain and use a program for the escrow of consumer deposits and prepayments.
• Maintain ISO 9001:2000 certification.
• Maintain membership in good standing in a travel-related association.
• Provide each and every customer with comprehensive travel protection insurance.

Credibility Through a Representative Agency

Travelers from the market that you want to target will always feel better working with a local agency. So, for example, if your target market is the United States, having a U.S. “representative” that speaks the language, understands the needs, wants, and standards of the American traveler, can answer phones in the same time zone, and can handle payments reliably and easily will make your destination substantially easier to sell. But what would such a representation arrangement look like?

This representation agreement goes beyond the common travel agency selling a tour. Common travel agents work for clients and send them to various destinations locally or worldwide without loyalty to a specific brand or tour operator. The representation arrangement you’re looking for involves much more than a common travel agent can provide. It involves American agents speaking American English with an in-depth familiarity with your destination and activities so they can discuss it with knowledge and answer questions immediately. It also involves being engaged with marketing and tour creation to fit the US market. For the tour operator outside the US, it means not having to worry about billing, credit card processing, foreign transaction fees, calls in the middle of the night, unanswered online chats or emails, and US licenses and memberships. Your US representative handles it all, sending you payment for the tour and the clients’ names and dates when they make a booking.

The representative agency typically expects certain responsibilities and benefits in a travel representation agreement. These may include:

Sales and Marketing Support

The representative agency would expect the foreign tour operator to provide them with marketing materials, brochures, and other promotional resources to effectively sell the tours or travel packages in the US market.

Commission or Compensation

The representative agency would expect to receive a commission or compensation for each sale they make on behalf of the foreign tour operator. The specific commission structure and payment terms should be outlined in the agreement.

Exclusive Representation

The representative agency may expect exclusivity in representing the foreign tour operator in the US market, meaning they would be the sole representative for that company.

Training and Product Knowledge

The representative agency would expect the foreign tour operator to provide comprehensive training on the tours or travel packages offered. This would enable the sales agency to promote and sell the products to potential customers effectively.

Support and Communication

The representative agency would expect ongoing support and communication from the foreign tour operator. This could include regular updates on product offerings, pricing, availability, and any changes or updates related to the tours or travel packages.

Performance Expectations

The representative agency may have certain performance expectations, such as minimum sales targets or quotas, which they would need to meet to maintain the representation agreement.

Contract Duration and Termination

The representative agency would expect clarity on the representation agreement’s duration and the termination or renewal terms. This ensures that both parties have a clear understanding of their obligations and rights.

It is important for both the foreign tour operator and the sales agency to negotiate and agree upon these expectations and terms before entering into a representation agreement.

Success isn’t always a straight line

The bigger and more successful a tour operator gets, the less they’ll need a representative agency, but for a small company starting out or an established company that’s gone as far as it can, having a legitimate voice in the market you’re selling to might make having a representative the solution to your problems. It’s been the honor of Manifest Destiantions Group, Inc. to act as a representative agency for select tour operators. Contact us, and let’s talk about helping your operations grow.