The world is wide and full of wonders to experience. But with so many great places to visit, how can you choose the right destination for your group? How do you pick among the places that populate travel bucket lists and the hidden gems your travelers don’t yet know about?
When you throw in rising costs, choosing your group’s dream destination may seem like a difficult puzzle to solve. Here are five tips on selecting the right destination for your groups.
1. Consider Your Travelers
When selecting the right destination for your group, the first thing to consider is your travelers. What are their ages, activity levels and interests? Certain destinations skew younger or appeal to people with higher levels of mobility and activity. In other words, a group of seniors may not enjoy a trip to a destination known for its outdoor recreation.
If you’ve traveled with the same group in the past, think about activities on the itinerary that really piqued their interest. If they were enthralled by a trip to the zoo, next time, take them to a place that lets them have up-close encounters with wildlife. If they loved the wine tastings, consider a well-known wine region for your next venture. Thinking about your travelers’ demographics means you’re keeping them top of mind and crafting a trip to a place they won’t soon forget.
Also, direct feedback is the most powerful indicator of your travelers’ interests. From time to time ask them where they want to go, send out a survey or post a question on social media asking about their dream destinations.
2. Stick to Your Budget
These days, having a tighter budget than normal is nothing to be ashamed of — in fact, it’s to be expected. Prices for every aspect of travel, from lodging to meals, have increased sharply in recent years, along with the overall cost of living. So when you’re planning your group trips, remember that travel has changed.
Think about your budget and see what destinations will allow you to stick to it. Some cities may be out of the question, thanks to hotel rates, taxes and steep pricing in general. Selecting smaller destinations can help with this, because compared with large cities, they usually offer cheaper hotel rates. If your group would love a trip to Chicago, look into staying in one of the smaller communities in the North Shore. You can explore Chicago for a couple days while discovering the charm of the lesser-known communities around it.
3. Find Alternatives to Overpopulated Destinations
While it’s tempting to exclusively plan trips to some of the most common bucket list travel destinations and sightseeing spots, this can contribute to high trip costs and the unpleasant effects of overtourism on the destination itself. So consider planning trips to alternative places with similar natural features or attractions.
If your group wants to see a top-visited national park but it’s overcrowded and overpriced, consider a less-visited state park nearby. If your group loves Broadway but New York City isn’t doable, look for Broadway shows that travel to other destinations. Traveling exhibitions and new attractions can make these alternative destinations shine even more than their overly patronized counterparts.
Stay in the know about what each destination offers by reading travel media, attending travel shows and keeping your ear to the ground. And don’t think this means swearing off bucket-list destinations forever — it’s about traveling responsibly and reaping the benefits for your own travel company as well.
4. Think About Timing
Speaking of budget, the timing of your trips will also determine the price and how much bang you get for your buck. Visiting an extremely popular destination during the shoulder season is a great way to save money and avoid crowds. But be careful — sometimes it’s the shoulder season for good reason. Montana in the winter is a completely different experience than Montana in the summer.
If you don’t have the flexibility to pick the season or dates you travel, look into how each destination will hold up during that time frame in terms of weather, available activities or attractions and even events that are already occurring at that destination. Sometimes, large festivals or events can steal a destination’s spotlight and much of its lodging — think the New Orleans Jazz Fest. Unless you’re building your trip around that event, it may be a better idea to steer clear of that destination while it’s occurring.
5. Lean on Your Network
One of the best ways to narrow down the long list of destination choices is by using your network. If you’ve been in the group travel business a long time, you’re sure to have built many relationships with CVBs, DMOs and other tourism organizations. Use those relationships to help decide which destination will be the best fit for your group. After all, a good relationship with a DMO could mean discounted hotel rates and an inside scoop on the destination’s most popular attractions. If you’re new to the industry, start attending travel shows to forge those strong relationships and collaborate on future group trips.
