Building Customer Supply Channels in the Tourism Industry part #2
This is a follow on piece from my original article on “Building Customer Supply Channels in the tourism Industry part #1”
Here are 4 customer acquisition channels to consider and if managed correctly, you will find some great opportunities to leverage and optimize.
Direct
The direct is pretty self-explanatory and comes in the form of a direct phone call or enquiry on your website. This is the best type to get as you don’t have to pay extra commissions on top of the money you already spent to acquire the customer. One great example of this the promotion we are running for the Phillip Island Penguin Parade tour online which customer can find directly in Google.
Online Directories and Review Sites
Lots of international travelers will search for tour experiences about 3 months in advance of their trips. Travel directories are one of the main sources of information supplied in the one location making it easy for the user to find what they are looking for. The most popular one for ACMT is Trip Advisor where customers write reviews on their experience with Australian Native Animals, like Koalas in the wild.
Local Hotels and Accommodation providers
For the last minute traveler the hotel concierge is the life saver. The hotel concierge is the best recommendation any local tour operator can have as the guest is looking for the last minute booking or doesn’t have much time to make the buying decision and will take the recommendation any hotel staff will give them. In Melbourne, The Victoria Hotel have partnered with ACMT to provide a special touring option for their guests with a trip to Phillip Island to see Australia’s Little Penguins.
Government
The local tourism body, Tourism Victoria, provide a great amount of resources to help you get started. One of them is, the Visit Victoria which serves as a portal for all international tourists looking for information on activities in Melbourne and the surrounding areas. To date the Australian Coastal Mountains Tours listing on the Visit Victoria portal is the third largest traffic source for ACMT’s website traffic.
In any industry there will be a number of supply chains to think about, try to understand how each of them impact your business and look to leverage them to your advantage.
Samuel Johns is the co-founder of Australian Coastal Mountain Tours a luxury nature based Tourism Company providing one day tours, two day tours and extended overnight tours into the surrounding regions of Melbourne, Australia. Recently expanded into providing extended 10 day tours along the east coast of Australia from Sydney to Melbourne.