Marketing materials should request not only a registration or deposit
for the currant tour but should also represent a brief type of survey.
For example questions can include, "If you can not attend this tour
what would be your schedule preference?", or "If you can not
attend this tour what changes would your want to make to the tour so
that you could attend?" Another question to ask is "Do
you know of someone that might have an interest in this tour?"
These questions can be put in the concept of planning for future tours.
It can provide you valuable information as well as participants for the
current tour.
One of the major trends over the past years is an increased demand
for quality. People come to expect quality at any level of
expenditure - in fact there is no reason not to give people a quality
experience whatever the fee level. One sure way to measure your
quality is to request the completion of an “exit survey” that
requests specific information on the tour, marketing, meals,
accommodations, materials, guide information, etc. It will serve
to keep quality issues in the forefront and to use with the various host
sites, meal providers, accommodation facilities, etc. You can
summarize the surveys and provide the report to everyone involved.
It is useful to everyone.
On self-guided tours it will be important to have registration sheets
at each of the formal stops to capture names and addresses for future
marketing purposes.
If for some reason an exit survey can't be obtained at the end of the
tour, another option is to mail the survey to the participant with a
self addressed return envelope postage paid. The return rate
will not be as high, however, an incentive can often be included for a
quick return.