In the tour business WHAT’S NEW? is very important. If a tour operator misses a trend or opportunity to promote something new then they are going to miss sales from their travelers. We have a commendable repeat factor from our existing travelers, so in addition to offering a great travel experience, we need to have the freshest and newest travel products.

Tour development is the name of the game and at Mayflower Tours we are constantly looking and talking about travel components that we think will keep our tours new. It is often said that there are no new destinations, just different ways to travel and things to promote. Give me a special event and I know we can sell it.

Everything ebbs and flows. Take for example Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. This year, it is the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and the third year of our Civil War Series. In 2011 we toured Virginia’s Battlefields; in 2012 we were at the Battle of Shiloh reenactment; 2013 finds us in Gettysburg; 2014 we’ll follow Sherman’s March to the Sea; and in 2015 back to Virginia and Appomattox. The highlight of our 2013 Civil War departure will be July 5 with the reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg. The excitement of this experience is remarkable. We now have travelers who would not miss one year of any of the five Civil War Series - plus, they have friends joining them.

How often do we do tour development? It is part of our everyday work. For me, I read newspapers, travel magazines and am constantly clipping out articles of things I know that our travelers would like. I listen carefully to my friends to find out where they have been and what they are looking for. I have gotten some wonderful ideas at parties! Mayflower Tours always has the most attendees at industry meetings such as NTA, ABA, and USTOA. We are always on the lookout for little things that will make us unique and even possibly creating a brand new tour series. And, of course everyone in our company travels – and travels a lot.

John and I don’t go out the door without thinking of tour development. In fact, last Sunday, we were in church grabbing the church newspapers, paging through them looking for ideas - and there it was. I can’t share the idea with you - but it is a great one. Once a tour component is discovered, we discuss it and turn it over to our tour development team to research - and when it’s a winner, we send someone to check it out. The fun is in the hunt. Then once it’s created, we spar over whose idea it was, especially if it was successful.

As mentioned, there are no NEW destinations - yet so many ways of presenting tour products. What an industry!