9 tips for writing the perfect tour description for your travel business

Updated December 2021 – While surfing the web, travelers are often bombarded with information about any given destination. A quick Google search of “things to do in Sydney” or “things to do in New York” for example,  will yield thousands of results, and it can quickly become overwhelming. In your tour business, your goal is to attract potential customers to your website and subsequently convert them into paying guests who attend your experience. By typing up the perfect description of tours and travels your business offers, it will help in helping customers during their decision-making process 

By writing a compelling and engaging tour description within your business, you’ll be able to increase your bookings in no time. All while creating a personal connection with your customers. In this article, we’ve detailed out 9 key tips to remember when writing a tour description. By following these tips, you’ll be able to convey your message even clearer and convince customers to book through you.

9 tips for writing the perfect description for tours and travels

So, let’s find out what the 9 key tips are for writing the perfect tour description.

1. Find your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

Competition is only natural within the experiences industry. With so many other businesses providing similar tours and activities, it’s sometimes hard to stand out from your competitors. On the other hand, having so many similar options available at once may be overwhelming for many customers. Most of the time, customers want to quickly understand what makes one service different from the others. Having a clear differentiation, allows them to make a swift and efficient booking.

You can help your customers by promoting your business’s unique selling proposition. 

Unique selling proposition (USP) is a term used in marketing that indicates specialties your business offers that make you stand out from your competition. By having a unique selling proposition, you’re able to leverage your business by giving customers an experience they won’t be able to find elsewhere.

Your USP should showcase your strengths and advantages effectively, however, your USP should be uniquely valuable for your customers. By simply being “unique” won’t add that valuable element your customers seek. You have to differentiate around some aspect your target audience cares about, otherwise your messaging won’t be nearly as effective.

A compelling USP is:

• Flaunted with evidence: Simply stating that your tours are “heaps of fun” may work for a few people, but proving and showing evidence that your activities are heaps more fun than your competitors will most likely capture bookings. You can achieve this by showcasing your reviews, adding quality photos and videos, and writing an engaging tour description.
• Customer-focused: Promoting your USP won’t be effective if it doesn’t align with your customer’s value. Try to perform surveys and research your target audience to find out what their values are. Whether that be price-focused, social issues, or flexibility, finding out what your customers value, will help you find your USP.
• Featured in the fine print: While taglines may be one way to communicate your USP, your USP should also be reflected in all areas of our business. Feature it within your policies, your “About Us” page, your descriptions, and more.

2. Find a persona for your tour description

Target a specific persona before you begin writing. For example, if you are a company that provides kayak tours to experienced adventurers, then develop a persona that addresses your target audience. It might be an open-minded person who has the necessary skills to kayak and enjoys the thrill of a new experience. You need to think about who will most likely book your tour business, think about your ideal customers, and break up the details of your tour description for a persona that identifies with that audience.

3. Make an easy to read description for tours and travels

Make sure your tour description is easy to read by:

• Avoiding long, wordy sentences that can be cumbersome; 
• Making every word count, and choosing powerful action verbs to describe the experience;
• Instead of writing a paragraph about each tour that you offer, create several bullet points. Bullet points are easier to scan through and will allow you to keep your reader’s attention.

4. Tone of Voice

Choose a tone of voice, and remain consistent throughout your website. Some tour operators want to maintain a corporate presence, and therefore should adopt a professional tone of voice. A smaller, local business might be more interested in connecting with their customers on a personal level. They may choose to use description styles with a tone of voice that is light-hearted with a dash of humor. Either way, a consistent tone of voice is key to telling your story.

5. Be persuasive yet straight to the point

Be sure to outline the benefits of booking with your activity experience. If your business focuses on winery tours in the local wine-growing region, then be sure to explain what each unique offering is about. Avoid vague descriptions such as “Our day-long wine tour takes you to several wineries in the area.” Instead, provide additional details and throw in the benefits of booking this tour: “Our 8-hour wine tour takes you to 5 different local wineries, where you will sample delectable wines and snack on delicious cheese.”

6. Don’t share too many straight away

Being bombarded by the endless options of tours and activities your business offers may be too overwhelming for many customers. Not only that, it distracts your customers from the experiences they’re really after and as a result, may lead them not to follow through with the booking.

Likewise, strategically designing your website so that customers aren’t bombarded with options would be the best move. An effective method is to segregate the different tours and activities into categories. For example, if you’re a water sports operator that offers an array of different water activities for singles, couples, groups, and families, it’s best to select the top 4 to 6 activities for each audience and expand on it. By categorizing your activities, people will find it easier to navigate through your website and will be able to read a detailed description of each activity. Don’t forget to add photos and videos to complement the description.

7. Optimize your content

Optimize your content with relevant keywords, but do so in a natural way. Keywords might include the activity you offer, the name of your city, and any phrases your customers might use while searching for activities. If you can place your keywords naturally in the copy, not only will it capture your highlights but it will quickly optimize your site for search engines too. You also can add keywords into subheadings and image file names to include additional keywords for SEO and therefore increase your rankings in the search results.

For more tips and tricks on how to optimize your website and content, click here.

8. Add photos and visuals to complement your tour description

It’s no secret that photos and visuals are an effective way to draw people’s attention. People love to view photos of tours they’re about to experience as it helps them visualize the tours and activities. Featuring quality photos and videos to your description for tours and travels will only help people visualize and envision the description they just read.

9. Check your grammar and spelling

Clear grammar and spelling don’t only help people read and understand your descriptions easier, but it also adds an element of professionalism to your brand. Poor grammar and spelling on your website may come across as unprofessional and sloppy. As a result, it may decrease your brand’s value within your customer’s eyes. This could lead to a loss of potential bookings. Having clear grammar and spelling allows people to put their trust in your business. It shows that you pay attention to detail, especially when your tours and activities require a high level of safety.

When writing your description for tours and travels, it’s recommended that you type it out with the help of an online grammar checker. Apps like Grammarly are a great tool to help you stay on top of your grammar and spelling.

Conclusion

Once you have mastered the art of writing a compelling tour description, you’ll see that you’ll have fewer inquiries. Clear descriptions reduce the chances of your customers asking for more details of a particular tour and activity. Ultimately, capturing more bookings.

Once you start capturing more bookings, the best thing you can do is invest in an online booking software. A software like Rezdy is specifically built for tour operators like you. It helps you easily manage bookings by showcasing real-time availability, automatically updating manifests, and allowing customers to make secure payments. At the same time, Rezdy also offers a one-click website builder that makes it easier for tour operators to edit and update their photos and descriptions.

Curious to see whether Rezdy is right for you? Start a FREE 21-day trial or book a free demo today.

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