An Update From ToursByLocals

Hello from our new reality of #stayhome! There doesn't seem to be a soul who hasn't been touched in some significant way by the Covid-19 pandemic. Perhaps you're missing loved ones in hospital; maybe you've lost a job, or have a family member who's been laid off; perhaps you had to cancel the trip of a lifetime.

Many small businesses and entire industries around the world are suffering, while we all do what we can to contain the spread of the virus. ToursByLocals is no exception. As a business reliant entirely upon people travelling, we've seen new tour bookings grind to a halt, and existing ones cancelled, at the rate of over a thousand a day. Sadly, we've had to lay off a number of staff, a decision that caused (and is still causing) heartbreak.

We've done our best to make things as fair as possible for our travellers during this time, trying to smooth the stress of obtaining refunds. It has been a challenge to process them quickly, due to the unprecedented volume, but our staff are working around the clock to make it happen. We thank you for your patience, and assure you no one has been forgotten! We also thank those travelers who have chosen to re-book, or to receive a promo code +10% in place of a refund. These sorts of decisions mean a great deal to us financially right now.

We are checking in with our guides constantly, for they are the ones whose livelihoods are affected the most. They depend on travelers visiting their cities, towns and regions, and wanting to spend time learning and exploring with a local expert. Like all of us, they are spending more time with their families right now, waiting and hoping for the situation to improve. If you visit our Facebook and Instagram pages, you'll see them checking in with us via short videos, sharing their hope that things will get better soon. We're in the process of figuring out how we can best support them during the coming months.

Fodor's recently interviewed us to find out how our guides are coping - you can read the article here: Fodor's Travel article.

Many of our guides are interested in delivering "virtual tours" to our travellers - stay tuned, as we'll be launching the first batch of these shortly! From the comfort of your home, you'll be able to meet and chat with our guides in Ireland, Brazil, Budapest, New York, Peru, Italy and many more places around the world. A way to learn, dream and connect in this unusual time.

Our guide recruiters have also been using this time to find local tour guides in new and exciting places! We have a hunch that when this is over, many more people may see the appeal in visiting smaller, more off-the-beaten-track destinations. We've recently welcomed new guides in towns in Greenland, Belarus, Albania, Greece, Kenya, and Brazil.

Finally, we'll soon be launching an e-Gift Card program, that will allow you to support our guides, by purchasing ToursByLocals gift cards in any denomination. If you receive our e-newsletter, you'll be hearing more about this shortly!

Chins up, everyone. Stay safe, stay healthy, and keep dreaming.