There are memorable trips, and then there are magical trips.

Sandra Weinacht believes that group tours should be magical — especially tours in Europe. As the founder of Inside Europe, she has been taking groups to her native Germany, as well as Italy, Ireland and other popular European destinations — for decades. She joins this episode of the podcast to share her secrets to planning magical European trips in 2025.

Sandra tells us how she leverages the economies of group trips to create once-in-a-lifetime experience for her customers. She share tips for navigating the economics of European travel in the midst of rising prices and gives tips on where travel beginners and travel pros should travel in Europe next year. Plus, we have news about new tech tools for U.S. passport holders; a road tip about falling asleep on international flights; and a Hot Minute about common meal-planning mistakes tour operators make.

Insights from Sandra Weinacht

Sandra had lots of great insights on how travel planners can build magical tour experiences, whether in Europe or in any other destination. Here’s a sample:

“We organize their concerts, we prepare exchanges, and that’s where the magic happens. And when you have a certain number of people, you can privatize things, and that’s when it gets unique. You can go into the Vatican museums on private tours. Occasionally, your group gets to sing in the Sistine Chapel…. If you privatize with a larger group, it becomes really affordable. You have more buying power and more opportunities, and you can give people a better deal, and make travel affordable for young people.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Learn more about Inside Europe at inside-europe.com.

Follow Sandra Weinacht on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Email Sandra at sandra@inside-europe.com.

Visit our Start Here page for growing your group travel organization.

Key Moments From This Episode

2:11 — Travel News: U.S. passports can be added to Google Wallet

3:31 — Road Tip: Sleeping on transatlantic flights

10:19 — The ultimate resource for getting started in group travel

14:33 — How Sandra Weinacht went from sports journalism to group travel

20:14 — Creating magical moments for tour groups in Europe

25:28 — The most common misperceptions about European travel

27:14 — Tips for planning your first group trip to Europe

32:23 — Undiscovered treasures for Europe travel veterans

34:37 — How to manage the high prices of travel to Europe

37:42 — Are the wars in Ukraine and Israel affecting European travel demand?

51:41 — Hot Minute: Are you planning your group tour meals wrong?

Thanks to our sponsor Malta Tourism Authority for making this episode possible. Learn more about Malta’s travel experiences for groups at visitmalta.com.

About the Podcast

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

Get This Episode on Your Phone

Select your favorite podcast player for a direct link.

Scan to listen on Apple Podcasts

Scan to listen on YouTube Music

Scan to listen on Spotify