Covid-19 Guide: Resources for tour and activity operators

Staying open during a pandemic

Focus on Health and Safety

Let's face it, the way our bodies move in public spaces will never be the same again and the same goes for your customer segment. They are unlikely to ignore health and safety concerns moving forwards. 

Here are some guides to help you get started:

• Health and safety strategies for tour and activity operators, a webinar with industry expert Jon Peahl
• COVID-19: Government Hygiene and Operations Safety Regulations by GetYourGuide
• Cleaning guidelines to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 by Airbnb

Attract your domestic market

	What we cover: How to research your local segment Pricing Dos and Don'ts for a local market Marketing quick wins and top tips: Paid Ads, Local SEO and Keywords, Online platforms and Local Collaborations Copywriting fundamentals
	What we cover: Authentically market your tours in a post-pandemic world How to leverage on content marketing strategies to attract a local audience How to use storytelling to build and strengthen your brand Actionable insights to drive results
	What we cover: How to market your tours and activities via social media  How to weave storytelling into your social media strategy to boost engagement How to turn your social media following into booked customers

Webinars to prepare for recovery

	What we cover: How to establish health safety guidelines for your business Strategies to communicate and set customer expectations Tips to protect your staff and your business through recovery
	What we cover: Common pricing mistakes to avoid Factors to consider given our current circumstances Pricing for a local market Pricing virtual tours Steps to price your tours right
	What we cover: How to pivot your existing products for a domestic audience SEO deep dive and why you should work on your SEO now How should you market and distribute virtual tours?

Strategies for long-term success

What can you do to set your business up for success in the long-run? Take this downtime to work on tasks you've been meaning to catch up on, brush up on industry knowledge, or learn something new.  

Work on your marketing

1. Check-up on your website to make sure that your content is updated and that your Google Analytics is setup correctly. 

• 5 tips to build a tour or activity operator website that converts more customers 
• Webinar: How to double website bookings and revenue
• Webinar: Write content that converts browsers into booked customers
• How to set up Google Analytics for your website 
• Google Analytics Maintenance Schedule: When you should be doing what

2. Set up your Google My Business listing

Google My Business is an easy way for tour and activity businesses to get listed on a global platform and is part of Google's effort to improve their Local Search feature where users can search for businesses, attractions, restaurants and other services in a given location. 

With travellers searching for "things to do near my" or "tours near me" once they've arrived in your destination, being listed on Google and having it shared to travellers can bring in a substantial number of bookings.

Learn how Google My Business works here.

Build and strengthen your distribution

Now is a good time to build up partnerships with online travel agents, local operators and your local destination management company. Remember to also review your contracts with existing partners and call them up if you need to renegotiate terms. 

• Central Contracts: A quicker and faster way to connect to multiple distributors
• Ebook: OTA comparison guide
• Webinar: How to work with OTAs so they work for you
• Webinar: Building long-term and profitable business relationships with travel partners
• Avoid these traps when negotiating in a crisis

Streamline your operations ⚙️

Have you wanted to improve the way things are done internally? Because we have. Now is the time, if you have the time, to look into automating your systems, streamlining communications and getting more efficient with the way your company runs. 

• 111 Ways to Drive Operational Efficiency in Service Industries
• Get more out of your TrekkSoft account with these integrations
• Automating email flows with MailChimp

Need help? TrekkSoft users can schedule a call with their account managers to optimise their website performance. 

Implement revenue management

It's never been more important for tour and activity suppliers to understand their revenue streams, business cost structures and revenue drivers. 

• An Introduction to Revenue Management for Experience Providers
• Webinar: Revenue management strategies for tour operators
• Webinar: Can revenue management work for complex tours and activities?
• Webinar: How do you price your tours?

Should you pivot to virtual tours? 👩‍💻

Blog post: Should your company run virtual tours and experiences?

In this blog post, I explore the idea of creating virtual products, the types of virtual products I've come across so far, the pros and the cons, tips from companies already running virtual tours and how you can setup your TrekkSoft booking system to sell this new way of learning about the world.

Avital Tours: How I Reinvented our Company in 5 Days to offer remote culinary team building sessions and chefinars

 A great blog post outlining how Avital pivoted at the start of the pandemic to create at-home experiences for her customers.

Divinea: #iorestoacasa. Divinea inventa lo smart tasting per degustare vino in videoconferenza con il produttore 

Divinea offers online wine tasting sessions with local wine producers through video conferencing.

Best practices in times of crisis

Blog post: How to manage cancellations and refunds

To maintain your cashflow, the best thing to do in this situation is to avoid a refund altogether. Here are some alternatives you can offer:

• Immediate refund of 80% only

• 100% refund in 3 months

• Offering a gift certificate for a higher value that can be redeemed over an extended period of time, for example 3 years. 

🖥️ Adjust your marketing

• Ebook: Coronavirus Battle Plan: Marketing Through a Crisis- This free ebook was written by Chris Torres from Tourism Marketing Agency. It's been circulated a lot lately but that's only because his advice is timely, long-term and incredibly practical. 
• Keep an eye on your Paid Ads - Tips from Google: Navigating your campaigns through COVID-19
• Get advice from industry experts on Tourmageddon - This website contains a list of curated resources and experts offering help during this global crisis. Check out their list of industry experts offering free consultations here. 

HR Advice from Workable

Get HR advice from Workable, an online HR tool to make the hiring process easier.

Check out their coronavirus HR response plan for steps to get your workplace ready to support your team and keep them safe during this time. 

They also published a full list of HR resources you'll need including Covid-19 company policy templates, remote working policy templates, tips to work from home and more.  

Remote working tips and advice

Productivity tips

• The remote work survival guide
• Ebook: The ultimate guide to remote work
• Working from home? 4 tips for staying productive
• Remote work wiki (A central hub for the best resources for remote work)

Building your team remotely

• How to implement an emergency remote work setup
• Ebook: A Guide to Managing Remote Teams
• How Much Does It Cost to Build a Remote Team?

Working from home with kids 💆

• How to Educate & Entertain Kids That Are Suddenly In Your House — All The Time
• Parents Share Their Tiny Victories While Working From Home With Kids
• How to work from home when your kids are home, too
• Working From Home with Kids: 21 Tips From Our Remote Team 

Taking a break ☕

These are unprecedented times and sometimes, you just need a break from it all. So, we published an extensive list of pandemic-free and productivity-free websites and online activities you can do alone or with your family. 

Connect with your community and stay updated

Social media groups

Across the world, people and  businesses are coming together (online) to help one another through this time. If you're not already plugged into these communities for tour and activity operators, be sure to check them out.

• Tour Operators United on Facebook
• Tourpreneur for Tour Operators/Tour Professionals on Facebook
• Revenue Management for Tours and Activities on LinkedIn

Other communities

• Travel Massive
• European Tourism Association (ETOA)
• Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA)

Stay updated with the industry

• Tourprenuer's Daily Brief
• Arival's Newsletter
• Arival's Live Online Events
• Skift's Newsletter

Financial aid for European tour businesses

We've compiled a list of websites for more information on how you can apply for financial aid for your tour or activity business. 

Germany

• Arbeitsrechte.de published a detailed guide of Kurzarbeit (Short-term working compensation) for employees and businesses in Germany. You will also find guidelines for application.
• The English version can be found on Eurofound. 

Italy

• Businesses in Italy can refer to Governo.it, the government's official's website for the latest updates and check here for day-to-day updates on the measures taken to combat the pandemic. 
• You can also refer to GetYourGuide's write up for a more detailed guide of the support available to Italian tour and activity operators. 

Ireland

• The Irish Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection published the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment with details for who qualifies and how to apply. 
• You can also learn about the Temporary COVID-19 Wage Subsidy Scheme on this page. 

Norway

• NHO Reiseliv (The Norwegian Hospitality Association) published an article about the government measures announced to support small and medium-sized businesses.
• Visit Norway has pivoted their marketing efforts to focus on domestic visitors instead of international visitors. You can learn about their efforts here. 
• Innovasjon Norge (Innovation Norway) is also offering support to businesses during this time. Learn more about it here. 

Spain

• Comunidad de Madrid shared guidelines and FAQs for employees, businesses, and freelancers in Spain on COVID-19 such as sanitary prevention, remote work and labour measures, and Expediente de Regulación Temporal de Empleo (ERTE) that companies can apply for on behalf of their employees.
• The Confederación Sindical de Comisiones Obreras (Spain’s labour union) also compiled a useful source of information for Spanish companies regarding ERTE measures. You can read the overview of the main conditions and its implications in this PDF.

Switzerland

• Arbeit.swiss published a detailed overview of Kurzarbeit (Short-term working compensation) for employees and businesses. You will also find guidelines for application.
• You can find the English version here.