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Packaged Travel in Michigan
By Patricia Thomas CTP, Executive Director of Circle Michigan Are you aware that “774 million passengers travel on motor coaches annually, and that a visit by an overnight motor coach leaves from $5,094-$11,264 in a destination’s economy”? (Quoted from the 2002 Economic Impact of Bus Tours published by the American Bus Association). Do you want to learn more about those buses or motor coaches you see traveling down the road? Do you want to learn more about the ingredients it takes to get those motor coaches going down Michigan roads? If so, read on…
Let’s walk through the process of bringing a packaged travel / group tour to Michigan. We will start with a few terms. A tour planner is a person who coordinates every detail of a packaged travel / group tour. A tour planner can work for a tour company, a bank, a senior center, or an affinity group. An affinity group is a combination of people who have a common origin, relationship or connection. A packaged travel / group tour is a number of people who travel together, normally on a motor coach. A motor coach is a large vehicle that carries 24 to 55 people. The term for this type of travel was “group tour”. It is now referred to as “packaged travel”, which means a group of people traveling together to the same destination, doing the same things throughout the tour or trip. These tours can be any length of time depending on the destination. The people on the tour depart at the same time, eat at the same restaurant, sleep at the same hotel, and go to the same attractions together. They normally have the same escort and driver throughout the tour. An escort is the person who oversees the passengers on the motor coach, explains to them where they are going, what they are going to do and is responsible for keeping the passengers happy and enthused throughout the tour. The driver is also an integral faction of the tour. The driver keeps the tour on time, knows where they are going via the best route, handles the luggage, and is often a source of knowledgeable conversation.
A destination is where the tour is going. The destination can be one place or several places within one area. For example, a day trip / tour may go to a live show or theater. The group would leave from a common place, board the motor coach, meet the people they are traveling with, perhaps play a game on the way to the theater, and see the show. After the show the passengers may dine at a restaurant while the driver is filling the motor coach with diesel fuel. Following lunch, the travelers might walk to a couple shops near the restaurant and then board the motor coach for their ride back to their home. The passengers have left home and visited another destination. A destination is filled with new culture, the theater or attraction of the tour, the restaurant, shopping and any other activity the passengers embark on while they are on this tour. A tour visiting a destination is an education for the passengers as they experience new things or a way of life that was unfamiliar to them.
Now let us talk a moment about planning a tour. Often times the inception of a tour takes place at a national trade show where a tour planner meets with sales people from all over the world. The tour planner then decides which destination will best sell to his / her clientele. The planning continues; what time of year, which activities match the time of year clients want to travel, how many days and nights, number of meals, exercise and experience stops, shopping stops, and any other enticing ingredients added to the package so that it will sell! The tour planner determines what price to charge to make the tour attractive, affordable and profitable. The tour planner must also secure a motor coach and know the motor coach regulations of the country and in which they are traveling. The tour planner and escort must also begin planning any activities on the coach which may take place; games, education, culture, birthdays, informational videos, music, movies, rest time or the myriad of other events that can take place while traveling. The tour planner should also let the passengers know; the type of dress, anticipated weather conditions, luggage limits, will they be traveling strictly by motor coach or also by an airline or train. The planner must know the passenger’s medical information in case of emergencies.
The itinerary is the detailed account of where the passengers will go and what they will do during their packaged travel tour. The itinerary must be planned down to the smallest detail so that the passenger has a seamless and memorable tour. The more detailed the itinerary is the more educated and prepared the driver and escort are. Hence the word packaged – the entire tour is packaged together for the customer. Many people love to travel this way. Many people will only travel this way. The package may also have a variety of options other than the set itinerary.
Who are these passengers? They are people of all ethnic, financial, age, religion, and family background. They share the need for the convenience of packaged travel, the security of traveling with a tour company that has insurance, the safety of traveling with a company and other people, a mode of transportation, a guide, and the camaraderie that is so revered with this method of travel. One can just “kick back” and enjoy. Remember the Greyhound advertisements, “Leave the driving to us”. This is much the same; only with packaged travel all the ingredients of the tour are taken care of.
The term-packaged travel encompasses many phases. The tour planner must coordinate a package that will be marketable. The package must be sold to the tour planner’s clientele via an advertisement, a catalog, the Internet, a mailing, or at a trade show. The customer now purchases the packaged itinerary. Finally, the passenger is on the motor coach eager to enjoy a packaged tour.
So now you understand a little more of what is involved when you see a motor coach traveling down the road in Michigan. Michigan is an easy and wonderful product to package because we have all the enticing and succulent ingredients any tour planner would want; education, diversity, culture, history, excitement, new events, and the warm genuine hospitality that Michigan is known for. Circle Michigan is the mixing bowl, the sales person or supplier has the ingredients, and the tour planner has the oven to bake the delicious recipe that results in a memorable tour to Michigan.
If you would like to learn more about packaged travel or Circle Michigan, Inc., please feel free to contact me at 231.941.4994, 800.513.6424, or pthomas@circlemichigan.com.
The mission statement of Circle Michigan Inc. from the 2003-2007 Strategic Plan is “Circle Michigan is a membership organization dedicated to the growth and marketing of packaged travel and tourism in Michigan”.
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