After more than a decade in tourism marketing, the biggest lesson is simple: the tourist is a poor customer to chase, and corporate groups are the future.
Tourists are hard to reach. Viator and TripAdvisor beat you in search, and travelers already trust those sites, so getting visibility to them is expensive and slow.
Corporate groups are the opposite. Higher profit margins, easier to predict, and better for the long-term growth of the business.
There is even an exit angle: corporate contracts make a tour business look far more valuable and profitable if you ever go to sell it. The shift toward corporate is the biggest one coming.
Want the deeper math on it? Read what a corporate group booking is actually worth.
Frequently asked questions
Why are tourists a hard customer to win?
The big online travel agencies dominate travel search and own the trusted brand names, so competing for individual tourists means fighting for scraps of visibility and margin.
What makes corporate groups better for growth?
Higher margins, predictable bookings, and repeat business, which also makes the company more valuable if you ever sell it.
Is it too late to shift to corporate?
No. The shift is still early, which is exactly why now is the time to plant your flag before it gets crowded.
Want groups to be your engine?
I build the group website and system, then run it with you. Let's map it to your tour.
Book a brainstorm callFull transcript
Ten years of tourism marketing advice in one minute. The tourist is a poor customer to go after. Viator and TripAdvisor beat online search engines, so it is hard to get visibility to those tourists, who already trust those sites. I like going after corporate groups. In more than 14 years in tourism, the biggest shift coming next is toward corporate groups: higher profit margins, easier to predict, better for the overall growth of the company. And if you ever sell the business, corporate contracts can make it look like a really profitable company.