What’s an Outbound Tour Operator and How Do You Partner With One?

Tour and activity operators who are hoping to boost both bookings and revenue at their business will want to be on the lookout for new distribution partnership opportunities. Distribution agents often work with tour operators to resell their tours and activities. There are many different types of distribution agents, but some partnerships are more effective than others. Outbound tour operators are one type of distribution agent that you should consider creating partnerships with.

What are outbound tour operators?

Outbound tour operators are travel agents that work exclusively with international travelers. An outbound tour operator based in India, for example, works with Indian travelers who are interested in visiting international destinations, such as Japan, Australia or France. Outbound tour operators typically book all elements of a client’s travel, including their transportation, accommodations, tours and activities. They prefer valuable packages and appreciate when tour products can be lumped in with the package they are creating for their traveler.

Tips for partnering with outbound travel operators

• Create marketing promotions directed at outbound tour operators that showcase your products’ appeal to international travelers. As outbound tour operators work exclusively with the international travel market, you need to explain why your tours and activities are ideal for those who are traveling to your destination from another country. Be sure to highlight the aspects of your tours that are unique to your destination, that introduce a cultural tradition or those that provide background about your region that international travelers might be interested in learning about.
• Provide information about your online booking system, and emphasize the fact that outbound tour operators have access to your live rates and availability at all times. Outbound travel operators need to have access to accurate information as they are creating packages for their own clients. They will be more apt to work with you and recommend your products to their clients if they know that they can quickly and easily book your products all while being confident that you are not oversold for that date and time.
• Promote the fact that you pay outbound tour operators a fair commission that they can earn instantly when booking directly with your company. Every time an outbound tour operator books one of your tours or activities for their clients, they will be expecting a commission from you. Naturally, they will be more likely to recommend your tours to their clients if they know they will earn a fair commission for reselling your products. They will be even more pleased when they find out that the technology you have in place allows them to earn that commission immediately.

In addition to outbound tour operators, you can also partner with inbound tour operators. Read our blog on ‘What’s an Inbound Tour Operator and how you can partner with one’ here.

Creating partnerships with outbound tour operators and all types of distribution agents is easier than ever when you use Rezdy at your tour and activity company. Rezdy is an online booking system that includes an innovative channel manager, which streamlines the distribution process and allows agents to seamlessly book directly with you.

If you enjoyed this article – What’s an Outbound Travel Operator and How Do You Partner With One? – then follow the Rezdy blog. There are a lot of marketing tools and resources designed with businesses like yours in mind.

Start your free demo or trial of Rezdy today.

Want to learn more?

Need more tips on attracting tourists? Click here.

Read our blog on ‘5 ways to attract tourists to your tour or experience business’ here.