Boyd....read all the books you can get on "Setting Up A Tour Biz"....especially clock in how others have "Marketed and Promoted and Sold" their tours....then....go talk to someone who has already packaged and sold Tours.

Now....initially, YOU do NOT want to "do-it-all-yourself"! You want to "work with" someone who has done it...preferably on a "Flat-Fee" basis.

Find a local travel agent who has put trips together. Ask them if they'd be interested in putting together a trip for you for X number of people....where they would charge you a "flat-fee" to put it together and you would be responsible for selling the package for "Y" dollars.

Many Banks nowadays have "Over 55" or "Senior" clubs with ONE PERSON in charge of putting the Tours together.

You could ask that person if they'd be interested in working with you on putting a package together, not necessarily for seniors.

Work thru their organization...let them get the "insurance"...the tickets...make the arrangements...etc. All you do is SELL...for which you take a hefty commission.

When I helped a buddy put together a "Siberian Black Bear Hunting Trip" in the Aspen area, we charged $10,000 per person and we were charged $6,000 Flat Fee for someone else to arrange the details. Our "commission" for selling the 10 tickets per trip was $40,000 per trip.

Before I left Colorado I had helped sell 7 or 8 "Bear Hunt" trips back in the 80's.

It was FUN. We'd rent a conference room for a Monday night (the Aspen Times was published on a Thurs so this gave prospects time to plan on attending)....run 1/2 page ads for the "GREAT SIBERIAN BLACK BEAR HUNT". Have prospects call our recorded message which gave more info and we could capture their name and phone for a "verification" return call.

Our first intro we had over 50.

We ran slides of where the trip would take place...photos of the Bears...breakdown on costs and what they'd get for their $10,000.

WOW! Talk about a "Hungry Market"...these people were RAVENOUS. So we knew we had a "tiger by the tail".

Even before we announced "anyone interested please fill out the form and hand it in!"...people were making out checks and running up and giving them to us.

We instantly filled the first 10 spaces and collected deposits of $1,000 from 18 or 19 others, so we knew we'd be putting on 2 more hunts.

Sure is a great feeling to be in a "marketplace of people WITH MONEY...with something they WANT!"

So...again...my suggestion is to;
1) get acquainted with the "tour" biz by reading books available
2) talk to local agents who have put together "packages". find out if they'd be willing to put together a tour for you and give you a "flat fee" for everything.
3) you come up with a "dynomite tour"
4) rent a conference room OR...find a "niche market" and put up a website explaining the tour and have prospects sign up...on-line.

For example; In my area, there's a lumber company with 3,000 employees. THIS represents a "niche" market. These people would like to take Tours together to "Hawaii"...the "Alaska Inland Passage"....DisneyLand...etc.

So...I have the woman who puts together tours for my bank putting together other tours.

And again...don't try and do-it-yourself. Have someone else "package" the trips for a "flat fee" and you mark up the price accordingly just for "selling the tickets".

Don Alm

> is there a book that tells how to start a
> business where you give bus tours to local
> spots of interest? Sell tickets, load a
> bunch of people on a bus, take them
> somewhere then feed them lunch....

> TIA TIA TIA TIA TIA (thanks in advance)

> Best,

> - Boyd




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