Here at Tourism Tiger, we have a fantastic content team (at least I like to think so!) that has graciously shared their writing wisdom in Tourism Tiger blog posts. Previously, we’ve delved into content that sells(opens in a new tab) and how to write for your target audience(opens in a new tab) from the Tourism Tiger secret stew. So, let’s add a few more ingredients to that recipe, shall we?
Writing a tour page is a careful balance between an art form and a science. We construct and write our clients’ tour pages according to carefully formulated personalities that encompass the majority of your potential guests. They are:
1. Rushing Rose
Rushing Rose looks to make a quick purchase, not read paragraphs of content. She wants to tick the basic boxes and get something awesome booked.
2. Experience Eddy
Experience Eddy looks for a company that will give him a great, hands-on experience. So, he keeps an eye out for loads of great images and video content, looking to connect with the experience emotionally.
3. Representative Ryan
Representative Ryan is looking to book something on the behalf of someone else. Often, he is scared of making a mistake, so he needs to feel that the company is popular, experienced, and safe.
4. Questioning Quentin
Questioning Quentin inspects each part of a tour before making a purchase. He loves reading every detail and truly understanding of a tour before handing over his hard-earned cash.
5. Hesitant Henrietta
Scared of making a decision, Hesitant Henrietta finds various reasons not to book anything. A sense of urgency will help her overcome these hesitations.
By appealing to each of these personalities to some degree, your tour pages are guaranteed to be more successful as you get these personalities the information they crave and the confidence they require to make a reservation with you. In order to do just that, there are a few pieces of the puzzle that cannot be missed. Including at least these three elements on your tour pages will decrease your online inquiries and increase your direct bookings.
Component 1: The trip details
The trip details are the logistics of the tour. This includes price, meeting point, group size, inclusions, exclusions, participation requirements, and more. Yes, your lovely tour description that details exactly how the tour is going to go is important, but what needs to be the most prominent content are these essential details. These should appear in a list and not in full sentences so that they are as clear as day and leave nothing to be desired.
What should you include on your trip details? Think about it this way: answer as many questions as possible.
- How much is it per person?
- Do you have a separate price for children?
- How many people can come on each tour?
- Where does the tour begin?
- Are there any special requirements, like being able to carry a certain amount of weight or walk a certain distance?
- What is included?
- Are there things that guests should bring to be comfortable and/or enhance their experience?
By providing answers to these questions right away, you will discourage individuals from getting in touch with you to ask simple questions and encourage them to go ahead and book right away. These need to be especially clear for Rushing Rose and Representative Ryan.
Component 2: The overview
This is where your lovely overview and detailed itinerary need to go (of course they have a place on your tour page)! This is a great way to not only work in some keywords, but also really help your guests that are Hesitant Henriettas and Questioning Quentins get a feel for what to expect on the day of their tour.
We recommend phrasing this content as if the guest is indeed going on the tour (that is, using language like “you will enjoy…” “Discover…” etc.). If they can picture themselves on the tour, they will feel much more comfortable booking. The overview or itinerary is also a good place to quell any potential nervousness that they may feel surrounding the tour. Yes, there will be a stop for lunch; yes, you will have time to rest or take pictures; yes, the vehicle you’re traveling in is new, clean, and safe.
Component 3: photos & videos
The old cliche “a picture speaks a thousand words” is a cliche for a reason — visuals like great photographs(opens in a new tab) and videos can be very powerful. As we already know, Experience Eddie thrives on this type of content, but it also helps the other personalities to put themselves in the experience.
Aim to have at least 7-10 images across the tour page in a variety of locations — this breaks up the content and keeps users interested. Photos should include a variety of sights, including people smiling and having fun (ideally from your target audience), landscapes with great weather showing, and some of your guides participating in an activity (this can be simply chatting with your tour group). For the user, this drives home the idea of putting themselves in the tourgoer’s place.
The takeaway
How you write your tour pages is entirely up to you. We recommend that you keep your target audience in mind, but also appeal to the personalities mentioned above. Make sure all of the nitty gritty details of your tour are clear, front, and center. Introduce exciting content as well as anxiety reducers to keep a nice balance. Photo and video content can go a long way, so make sure you put time and effort into one or both, rather than just throwing a couple of blurry photos on the page and calling it good. And, most importantly, keep that book now button constantly available — you never know when the decision will strike!
This may seem like a lot to handle. Well, there is one other option (shameless self-plug incoming): Tourism Tiger can handle your website for you, and yes, including writing the tour pages! Get in touch with us today.(opens in a new tab)
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