15 Lessons We've Learned After 15 years in the Travel Business

After 15 years of selling tours in over 185 countries, we've garnered some pretty massive insights when it comes to traveller habits. We’ve got hard data: where are people travelling, when do they book, how often do they cancel? And also a lot of softer insights: what do people look for in a tour? What little gestures go a long way? What motivates folks to travel? What makes them want to return to a destination?

On the days leading up to our 15th anniversary on October 20, here are 15 things ToursByLocals has learned after sending over 2.2 million people on private tours.

15 Lessons We've Learned After 15 years in Travel

1. Paris is consistently the #1 most popular destination in the world to book a tour. Unless it’s a pandemic, and then it’s Yellowstone.

2. Italy will forever be the most popular country as a whole for tour bookings, especially for Americans! Rome, Florence, Naples, Venice, Tuscany, the Amalfi Coast… in 2023, 15% of all our tours sold worldwide took place in Italy.3. People love the chance to customize their travel experience! Just under a third of all tours booked since 2008 have been customized itineraries that cater to the unique needs and interests of the travellers who booked them.4. One of the most popular ways to really personalize a travel experience is to book a genealogy tour; local guides are an under–the-radar resource for people looking to research their ancestral homes and reconnect with their roots.

5. Punctuality matters a lot. Nothing gets a tour off to a worse start than a guide who shows up even a few minutes late. (It’s why we always recommend guides arrive 15 minutes early!)

6. So does a clean, modern car. For all that people want an “authentic” travel experience, that doesn’t extend to dog hair or clunkers. People remark upon the state of cars more than you’d think in tour reviews!7. After meeting hundreds of local guides face to face over the years, we’ve learned they are some of the nicest people you’ll meet anywhere. They are literally in the business of meeting, welcoming, helping and caring, and their personalities shine with it.

8. Along the same lines, we’ve learned that sometimes the things you see while travelling aren’t as memorable as the people you meet; many travellers cite their guide as the reason for wanting to return to a destination. These people really know how to help you fall in love with a place.9. There’s one thing that every guide in any city will always know, at any given time: where the closest restroom is. This is by far and away the most common question they’re asked!

10. If you meet a dozen New York City tour guides for dinner, they will not agree on the best place in the city to get a piece of cheesecake. Or a bagel. Or a slice of pizza. But they’ll be able to debate it for an hour.11. On average, about 9% of travellers need to change their plans and end up canceling their bookings. Unless it’s a global pandemic, in which case it’s closer to 100%. Either way, we’ve learned it’s a great idea to provide people with an easy to use, flexible cancellation policy.

12. Travellers will return if you treat them right. For instance, ToursByLocals offered full refunds, not credits, without question for every tour cancelled in 2020. Sales in 2023 are now seeing double-digit increases over those pre-pandemic numbers.

13. Cruise travellers really like to plan ahead. They’re the reason we extended our booking window to a full 2 years + 2 months. Shore excursions at popular ports book up fast, so in this case, it pays to be a planner!14. Bucketlist travel is big, especially since the pandemic. In recent surveys of our travellers, over 50% are motivated to plan those big, bucketlist trips now, not next year or the year after. There’s a feeling of carpe diem in the air these days.

15. Destinations with rich history and culture are top drivers for travel desire; they beat out wildlife, landscape and even food! To this point, people say their main reason for hiring a guide is to have access to local expertise - a guide brings the magic that will really bring the history and culture of a place to life.Join us on our Facebook page this week as we give away over $2500 worth of private tours to celebrate our15th anniversary!