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How to Make Tour Packages: Your Step-by-Step Guide

David Ciccarelli

January 19, 2024

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In today’s digital world, mastering how to make tour packages has become fundamental for tour operators seeking to grow their business. Recognizing the shift towards online bookings, offering an array of compelling tour packages enables potential guests to weigh their options effortlessly, seeking out the best experiences that align with their interests and budget. Tour packages that provide convenience and value not only stand out in the crowded market but also pave the way for stronger revenue streams and memorable experiences for your clientele.

Understanding what to include in tour packages can be daunting, but with a systematic approach, you can assemble offers that guests find irresistible. Whether it’s a tranquil getaway or an adventure-packed excursion, the right combination of elements in your tour package can make the decision-making process a breeze for travelers, resulting in satisfied customers and repeat business for you.

How to Make Tour Packages: Crafting Exceptional Experiences

Wondering how to elevate your travel offerings? Maybe you’ve pondered what makes some tour packages stand out in a crowded market. Good news, your quest ends here!

• Online Bookings – Hassle-free, secure reservation at your fingertips.
• Flexible Pricing – Deals that adapt to budgets and seasons .
• Outstanding Support – We’re here for you, every step of the way.

Remember, the ultimate tour experience is just a click away. Ready to transform your travel game?

Identifying Your Tour Package Audience

When forming tour packages, it’s crucial to consider who your offer will attract. Are you targeting:

• Adventure enthusiasts who crave excitement?
• Cultural aficionados in pursuit of enriching experiences?
• Couples on a romantic getaway?
• Individuals seeking the luxury of high-end travel?
• The older demographic preferring relaxed travel?
• Lone voyagers on a quest for solitude?
• Families with young children requiring kid-friendly activities?

Essentials of Tour Packages

When planning your getaway , what features do you expect a tour package to include? A powerful tour offering isn’t just about the destinations; it’s about forging a personal connection, ensuring that you feel the value and the excitement long before the journey begins.

Consider these key elements:

• Age Suitability : Is this adventure tailored for you or your family’s age group?
• Value : Does the pricing reflect the experiences offered, giving you the best bang for your buck?
• Accommodations : What type of lodging is included, if any? Comfort? Luxury?
• Duration : How many days of pure bliss or heart – pounding adventure can you expect?
• Activities & Partners : Are you looking for a single activity or a melange of experiences? Are respected companies involved?
• Tour Type : Are there options for the thrill-seeker, history buff, or family-friendly explorer?

The Importance of a Package Tour

Ever felt like you need a vacation from planning a vacation? Package tours swoop in as the hero, offering the sweet relief of convenience. Imagine simply showing up, with transportation, accommodations , and meals all set. Switch to vacation mode quicker, without the nitty-gritty of travel planning.

Why do travelers adore package tours? Here’s the scoop:

• Time Saver: No more endless searching for hotels or comparing flight prices. More time for you, less for logistics.
• All-Inclusive Experience: From your comfy hotel bed to that sunset cruise, it’s all wrapped up in one neat bundle.
• Increased Value: Worry less about costs adding up. The overall value of a package often outweighs individual bookings.
• Reduced Cancellations: Commit to fun! Secured plans mean you’re less likely to back out last minute.
• Community Vibes: Booking packages that partner with local businesses can inject a feel-good factor into your trip.

Remember, a calculated package deal can translate to significant savings for you while simultaneously lining the pockets of tourism businesses with healthy profits. It’s a win-win in the world of travel. Ready to pack your bags yet?

Key Elements of a Packaged Tour

• Duration & Schedule : Your adventure, lasting from a day trip to extended stays , will have a well-defined timeline.
• Transportation & Accommodation : From flights to coaches, and hotels to unique lodgings, your journey’s comfort and convenience are considered.
• Guided or Self-Explored : Choose between having a knowledgeable guide or discovering the sights at your own pace.
• Included Activities : Adrenaline-pumping sports, tranquil cultural experiences, and exclusive events await.
• Group Size : Whether it’s cozy small groups or larger gatherings, your travel package adapts.
• Equipment & Extras : Necessary gear and potential add-ons enhance your experience without the hassle.
• Insurance Options : Ensure peace of mind with optional travel insurance for those ‘just in case’ moments.

Remember, ongoing offers and discounts can sweeten the deal of your travel package.

Crafting Your Ideal Tour Experience: A Guided Framework

Scouting the tour landscape.

Begin your tour-creating journey by examining the offerings within your industry and locality. To craft a tour that resonates with your target audience, consider:

• The unique aspects of your specific area and expertise.
• How your tour can differentiate itself within the marketplace.

Knowing what your competitors are doing is crucial; ensure your offerings incorporate distinctive elements that elevate your tour above others.

Timing is Everything

Designing a tour requires careful planning around duration and scheduling, knowing the ebb and flow of your business operations. Consider:

• The frequency of departures.
• The feasible duration of the tour for an enjoyable guest experience.

Every aspect of your tour’s timing should contribute to both your guests’ satisfaction and your business’s viability.

Tailoring the Tour Experience

Give your guests autonomy with a map and let them personalize the trip with optional add-ons. The customizations could include:

• Exclusive access to particular attractions.
• Tailored equipment rentals for a seamless adventure.

Empowering guests to tailor their experience can heighten the appeal of your tour package.

Price Point Strategies

Attracting groups through discounted rates could be a wise approach. When setting your prices, consider:

• Pricing structures that work best for your business model.
• Offering incentives for larger group bookings to maximize profitability.

Well-thought-out pricing can be the key to a successful tour package that appeals to a wide audience.

Visual Vividness

Use compelling photos and videos to showcase the allure of your tour packages. Keep in mind:

• Including images that allow potential guests to envision themselves on the tour.
• Highlighting exhilarating moments and picturesque scenery in your promotional material.

Visuals play a pivotal role in captivating your audience and can significantly boost your marketing efforts.

Collaborative Local Alliances

Partnering with other local operators can broaden your package’s appeal. Integrating complimentary activities offers your guests:

• Added convenience.
• A richer, more diverse travel experience.

These alliances not only benefit the guest but can also generate repeat business for your enterprise.

Amplifying Your Tours

Let the unique selling points of your offerings shine in your promotional efforts. Aim to:

• Emphasize the unique experiences only your tour package can provide.
• Convey the value and convenience of opting for a pre-arranged package over separate bookings.

Effective promotion involves highlighting the unique benefits that come with your tour package, contributing to an effortless and memorable vacation for your guests.

Remember, as a tour operator, you have the power to shape extraordinary travel memories. Each step you take to refine your tour package bolsters your guests’ experience, ensuring that each adventure is not just a trip but a story worth telling.

Finding Strategic Partners to Expand Your Tour Offerings

Looking to broaden the scope of your tour packages? Consider joining forces with local accommodations, top-notch restaurants, and other experience providers who align with your business ethos. Let’s say you run a travel agency and want to offer an all-encompassing experience – imagine pairing your thrilling city tours with a cozy bed-and-breakfast and the finest dining in town.

• Travel Agents : Tap into their network and offer your packages to a wider audience.
• Online Travel Agents (OTAs) : Increase your digital footprint and customer reach.
• Local Businesses : Collaborate for cross-promotion; think hotels offering your tour brochures in their lobbies.
• Wholesalers : They can package your tours with other services for a greater value proposition.

Final Thoughts

Crafting tour packages that resonate with travelers.

If you’re keen on curating tour packages that truly resonate with what travelers desire, consider your approach to content marketing . What makes your offerings gleam against a backdrop of options? It’s about more than presenting tours; it’s about narrating an experience that aligns with your audience’s travel fantasies.

Promotion must-haves :

• Regular website updates with engaging content
• Strategic marketing tools & campaigns
• SEO optimization to appear on Google search results

Sales Boosters :

• An easy-to-navigate booking system
• Package variations to encourage repeat bookings

Discover Versatile Reservation Tools

Ever found yourself swamped with managing bookings and wish there was a simpler way? Meet today’s top-tier online booking systems that are winning over businesses with their ease of use and seamless integration capabilities.

• Instant Efficiency : With a click, manage your reservations.
• Streamlined Services : Simplifies your booking process , effortlessly.
• Flexible Features : Adapts to your unique business needs.

Statistics show that businesses utilizing advanced reservation systems see a significant increase in bookings , often by as much as 20%.

Essential Components for a Captivating Tour Itinerary

Key items to include in your tour itinerary.

To capture the interest of travelers, your tour itinerary should be comprehensive and engaging. Essential elements include:

• Compelling Descriptions : Paint a vivid picture of the destinations to stir excitement.
• Varied Activities : Cater to different interests with a mix of cultural, recreational, and relaxing options.
• Clear Timelines : Provide a well-structured timeline that outlines the daily schedule while allowing for some flexibility.
• Logistical Details : Include information on transportation, meeting points, and accommodation options.

Tactics for Effective Marketing of Travel Packages

Harness various marketing strategies to attract travelers:

• Leverage Social Proof : Display reviews and testimonials as evidence of satisfied customers.
• Engage Through Storytelling : Share stories and experiences from past travelers to build a connection.
• Utilize Visual Content : High-quality images and videos can be powerful in showcasing your packages.

Innovative Promotion Methods for Tour Packages

To reach a broader audience, get creative with your promotions:

• Collaborations : Team up with influencers or local businesses to tap into new networks.
• Exclusive Events : Host webinars or live Q&A sessions to engage potential customers.
• Contests and Giveaways : Encourage sharing and participation for increased visibility.

Constructing a Package Tour That Captivates

When designing your package tour, consider the following steps:

• Define Your Audience : Know who you are designing the tour for.
• Curate Unique Experiences : Differentiate your offering with unique experiences.
• Price Competitively : Position your pricing based on the value offered.
• Pay Attention to Detail : Every component, from meals to activity duration, adds value.

Building Stand-Out Packages in the Travel Market

Travel agents aiming to excel in the market should focus on:

• Personalization : Offer customizable options so clients can tailor their experience.
• Diverse Offerings : Appeal to various niches like adventure travel or eco-tourism.
• Professional Touch : Present the packages in a high-quality, informative brochure.

Calculating Tour Package Costs Effectively

When pricing your tour packages, be mindful of:

• All-Inclusive Costs : Consider all expenses from transportation to entry fees.
• Profit Margin : Set a margin that reflects the quality of the experience while remaining competitive.

administrator

David Ciccarelli, is the Founder and CEO of Lake. He is based in Toronto, Canada, and is an expert in management, business administration, strategy, product development, and customer experience. His educational achievements include the Owner President Management Program at Harvard Business School (2019-2022) and the QuantumShift Program at Ivey Business School in 2017, aimed at CEOs of growing businesses.

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Key Tips, Tools, and Tech for Creating a Great Tour

Creating a tour that sells.

Want to know the ins and outs of creating a great tour on Built Story? The right number of tour stops to feature? How much to write per stop? What to consider for your tour takers?

You have come to the right place.

How should your tour look? What should it contain?

We have broken your questions down into some easy-to-follow suggestions with helpful tips that will get you started creating great tours today and will keep customers returning again and again to all the tours you've created.

Recommended Tour Standards

Number of tour stops:.

To create a meaningful tour experience (and get great reviews and repeat customers!), we recommend including at least 10 solid, well-thought out stops as a minimum while 20 stops is probably a good max for walking, biking, and driving tours. 

Recommended Tour Stops (Walking, Biking, Driving): 10-20 stops

Distance Between Stops:

When creating your tour, plan accordingly with a reasonable amount of walking, biking, and driving for your tour based on realistic standards.

Do not position stops for walking tours separated by more than a block or two.

Consider your audience. If you design a more general tour, your audience will most likely include older people with limited mobility. Something to keep in mind for walking tours is the distance between each stop. Please consider the distance, locations, and time needed between stops, to create a quality experience for your customers. 

Recommended Distances Between Stops:

• Walking: one block
• Biking: 1 mile
• Driving: 1-5 miles

Don’t forget to consider the local tour area and plan accordingly. Is your tour based in hot, humid South Florida? Keep in mind the amount of time your tour takers will be outside in the heat.

Include recommended rest stops, water fountains, and nearby transit options.

Highlighting locations to grab a bite to eat will get you happier customers and better reviews.

Give your tour takers useful tips – like how to travel better, more often, or more sustainably. Helpful information or additional things about a local area will always help make customers feel special. 

At the final tour stop, encourage the tour taker to check out your own website to learn more about you and your background.

You can use this opportunity to encourage them to share their journal photos on social media.

Creating Tour Content:

What's my theme.

Write about what you are passionate about and what you know about. You know the history, the unique stories, the hidden gems, and the off the beaten path eats.

There are so many types of tours you can create: architecture, food, art & culture, children’s activities, storytelling, history, literature, nightlife, and even special themes. Find something that people 1. are interested in and 2. are curious about. Then think about what you'll include in terms of topics, information, and content that will make your tour unique. 

Naming your tour.

The name of your tour should allow people searching to get a fast idea of what you will be featuring. The title should include the purpose and/or theme of the tour. Including a tour description can help generate more interest. The more info people can get as soon as they click on a tour, the better. 

How much text should be included at each stop?

We recommend writing a minimum of 600 words per stop, but adding extra content to engage tour takers is always a bonus.

What should each tour stop include?

You have the ability to include text, video, audio, and/or photos at each tour stop. You decide what your customers should experience! This lets you add in the unique features that make your local spots come alive.

Have any historic moments taken place there? Make sure to include anything that might pique the attention of your tour takers. Ensure your topic has enough content and media for each stop to create an engaging experience for your customers.

A great way to engage tour takers is to include some fun, related media at each tour stop. Photographs, sound clips, videos, and social posting are all popular and exciting ways to add value to your tour and get better reviews. Tour takers even have the ability to share their images and Journal Entry posts on social media! 

Make sure when drafting your tour that you include only original content. Any additional knowledge and information included in your tour – historical, background information, tour stop website – should be referenced with appropriate links or sources.

Focus on the tour as a story.

How does each stop connect to the next? How is each a piece of a broader puzzle? Is there a common theme, allure, mystery, or point you are trying to make? Weaving a narrative will keep customers coming back for more tours from you. It will also ensure great reviews for your tour, attracting more customers. 

A great story may also compel customers to share your tour more often on social media. 

Useful Tech and Tools:

Google Docs , Dropbox Paper , or other word processing programs can help in drafting your tour. We recommend you research, write, and polish your tour in a cloud-based word processing program, where your information can be safely stored, accessed, and updated before adding to the website.

Grammarly is an excellent tool for double checking your spelling before posting a tour to the Built Story platform.

Coronavirus Recommendations

With social distancing measures in mind, you could also consider crafting tours in areas more accommodating to isolated groups, like places with larger outdoor spaces and activities.

Read about how to create safe, family-friendly day tours .

Telling Your Built Story

Now that you’ve reviewed the helpful strategies, tech, and tips to get you started, you're ready to create your Built Story tour and start earning today!

Don’t forget to:

Note suggestions for distance and stops.

Consider the needs of your tour takers.

Create engaging, visual, and unique content that sets you apart.

Employ useful tech that will help ease the tour creation process.

Keep social distancing measures in mind.

Search our database for memorable travel experiences - whether you're going around the world or around the block.

Have knowledge to share? Follow our easy steps to tell your story and start earning today.

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How to Create a Tour Package in 6 Simple Steps

By Blake Ng — 26 Nov 2018

distribution   marketing   operations   tour operator

Updated April 2022 – As a tour company, you may be seeking effective ways on how to create a tour package that’s enticing for your customers. A packaged tour combines elements that would be a hassle to coordinate separately, such as transport, attractions, meals, and entertainment. With the ease of a tour package, these elements can be easily bought as one and provides convenience for your customers.

Travelers looking for a hassle-free trip usually seek an all-inclusive tour package. It’s an enticing product to promote and include within your marketing strategy and can help you boost your bookings. Most travelers would usually seek a travel agency to provide them with the best packages. However, if you could set up tour packages yourself, you may be able to attract customers to book packages through you directly.

What do customers look for in a tour package?

When understanding the first steps on how to create a tour package, you need to understand your target audience. What is it that they prioritize? Is it affordable airfare? Easy car rental? Flexible cancellation policies? or a particular destination that can cater for their entire trip? Understanding your target audience is key to building enticing tour packages.

Once you’ve nailed your tourism market research, make it easy for your website visitor to identify the different types of tours you offer.

Points to outline in your descriptions should include:

• Types of tours (day tours, adventure tours, family-friendly getaways, group tours, sightseeing, etc.)
• The estimated total cost and budget per guest or booking
• The total duration of the vacation package
• The different travel products included (transportation, tours, activities, etc)
• Age range. Are there any age limitations?

The price of your products should be set 12 months in advance, and it should include all your costs – product development, entry and guide fees, meals, maintenance, and marketing.

If you want to partner with other travel companies (which you totally should), make sure that

• Everyone has a good profit margin but is still able to provide competitive prices
• You have allowed for unexpected costs
• You have determined product break-even points

It would also be smart to ask everyone involved to promote and sell the package.

If you want to reduce your package price, remember not to compromise quality. It should be your last option. Consider other strategies that will make your tours more competitive.

2. Commission

Depending on the market you’re targeting, you will need to consider the commission you pay your agents. It differs from 10-30% depending on the type of agent involved.

If your market is overseas, you’ll likely be dealing with inbound tour providers, and they will expect a commission of 25-30%.

Want to learn more about agent commission rates and how to calculate commission breakdowns? Click here .

3. Legal Implications

When creating a tour package, you need to provide explicit conditions of the sale of the tour package in order to avoid any confusion. Tour wholesalers and retail travel agents must:

• Provide explicit conditions of sale
• Be selective with product endorsements

You don’t want to be involved in a customer complaint about your failure to deliver or misleading advertising.

It’s recommended that you work closely with a lawyer in order to develop the right language for your tour package. Since travel agents will need these legal conditions in place before they can resell your product, it’s best you have your terms and conditions prepared before promoting your tour packages.

4. Travel packages & promotion

How you distribute your package will determine your success. You should conduct product and package familiarisations for retail agents, wholesalers, and sample target markets.

Packaging for overseas:

Contact distributors who understand international packages and markets. You may not even need to create a package, because the international tour operator may bundle a range of products, including yours, for a wholesaler. Remember to screen your overseas resellers, too.

Packaging for domestic markets:

Trialing domestic markets before going international is probably the safer option when first starting out. It’s a more cost-effective and less complicated option.

You can start by targeting the following groups:

• Clubs and associations members (particularly those that cater to retirees)
• Schools and educational institutions (if your product has educational content, create an excursion package)
• Families (they will want the value for money)

Testing the waters within your local travel industry will also generally produce faster results.

Remember to include special interest groups and individuals in your marketing – for example, sports, festivals, and arts.

5. Complementary Product Packaging

Partnering with other tour operators who offer complementary products is a smart way to reduce your promotion costs while making your package more appealing.

For example, you can offer:

• A range of products from an area to specific niches with related interests
• A selection of products in a destination where a customer can create personalized experiences

Last, but certainly not least, is timing. When you set your availability, remember to consider your high season and the popular time of year that your target markets come by. Sometimes, however, tour packages can be the perfect answer to your off-peak season too.

The return on your investment will be gradual, so don’t expect an immediate return. Profits can take up to 2-3 years but can be achieved earlier if you get your distribution strategy right.

You can do things to speed up the process, like choose online booking software that allows agents to check your availability and book immediately. Make sure it isn’t commission-based so it doesn’t eat into your profits.

Curious to see how you can organize your tour packages with Rezdy? Start your FREE 21-day trial or request a demo today.

If you enjoyed this article – 6 ways to package tourism products – then follow the Rezdy blog . There are a lot of marketing tools and resources designed with businesses like yours in mind.

Start your free trial today

Enjoy 21 days to take a look around and see if we are a good fit for your business.

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How to Create a Brilliant Tour Itinerary

By Breanna Lawlor

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Do you enjoy puzzles? Sure, they can take hours to complete, and there’s no set method to approach them, but isn’t it so satisfying to plunk in that last piece and admire your handiwork?

Designing a tour itinerary is a lot like completing a puzzle. It might take a little longer than you thought when you initially set out, and there’s no one way to design a tour. Many possible variations can get you to your destination and delight guests along the way.

Just for fun, imagine what would happen if you marketed a tour without a tour itinerary? It’s hard to picture guests feeling confident that they’d receive enough value without having an idea of what to expect.

Understandably, a tour itinerary acts as a trip plan for your guests planning a vacation and wanting to feel prepared. So, we’ll look at what you need to include in the different types of tour itineraries in tourism and how to display them in an easy-to-digest way for your prospective guests.

What is a tour itinerary?

A tour itinerary acts as a roadmap for your future guests. It tells them what they’ll be doing and seeing should they opt to book your tour. Plus, it outlines arrival time(s), frequency and duration for each tour.

Before you begin laying the groundwork for your tour, see what some of your competitors are offering. Grab a few brochures to explore details, highlights and overall tour structure.

For guests, part of the draw of booking with a tour operator is having a pre-planned itinerary. This means travellers can simply show up and enjoy the tour.

Picture yourself in a potential guest’s shoes. They’re looking at different tour options, trying to decide what activity and where to book. A detailed tour itinerary simplifies the booking experience for prospective visitors and can be a powerful marketing tactic in motivating these visitors to book your tour.

So, right in your tour introduction, describe the experience to travelers as if they were on the phone or standing in front of you. To sound approachable and lighthearted, try speaking your tour itinerary description aloud. There are many components you’ll need to factor into your itinerary and we’ll dive into those next.

Components of itinerary in tourism

Let’s say you’re evaluating whether to offer one type of tour or a range of options, try to imagine what guests will be curious about. It’s important to determine how much you can fit into your tour’s duration without pushing the timeframe.

Your guests are seeking experiences that will immerse them in the local culture and foods. As a tour guide, this is an amazing opportunity to showcase off-the-beaten-path locations and experiences designed to provide guests with an authentic experience.

In your tour description, included details that customers might ask about so they can self-screen instead of booking a tour that isn’t quite right for them. When working on drafting up an outline for your tour itinerary, make a note of what you want to lead with. For example:

• Is this tour suitable for kids?
• What type of weather can guests expect while on tour?
• Is there a certain type of experience or skill required to enjoy this tour?
• Will guests be able to take photographs on tour?
• Is a lot of walking involved on this tour?
• Do tours run frequently or are they only offered at a certain time?

A tour itinerary will look different depending on whether you offer hourly, single-day and multi-day experiences. Here are some basic steps to follow when looking at components of a tour itinerary:

1. Start by researching ideas for your tour

Deciding on what to offer is a challenge. Before you decide on your tour name and start marketing, ensure you explore a handful of ideas. You’ll want to see how seasonality affects your future plans, discover the type of equipment you’ll need. Factor in variables like weather and guest numbers before committing to a specific tour type.

2. Evaluate the competition

You might have a brilliant tour plan in mind, but is it realistic? When creating a tour from scratch it’s wise to understand your competition and whether your ideas are realistic. So while the possibilities are endless, building sustainable tour business needs to look at the competition in your area.

3. Look into partnering with vendors or attractions

When evaluating opportunities to share the workload, are there fellow experience providers that your tour business might align with?

Sure, some might look like competition at first glance, but what if there’s a way to benefit from offering experiences in the same region? Consider exploring partnerships that offer complimentary activities, meals and chances to visit unique landmarks that might save you doing some of the work.

4. Decide on the mode of transportation

As you fine-tune the plan for your tours, you’ll need to figure out how travellers will move around. Your transportation needs will be based on guest count and whether you’re planning to visit uneven terrain while sightseeing on tour.

5. Find out where to accommodate guests

One of the biggest challenges of multi-day tours is in coordinating the logistics. Accommodation, meals and transportation will all need to factor in your group size.

Since longer tours typically come with a higher price tag than hourly or single-day experiences, guests expect almost everything to be taken care of for them. Fortunately, with larger groups, you’ll be privy to lower rates for blocks of hotel rooms and the ability to book at early-bird rates.

So, while might make more sense to seek out different types of lodging, like entire homes instead of a hotel, accommodations will need to align with the type of experience you’re offering guests. If you’re offering a high-price tag tour, guests may be pretty surprised if they’re offered a more rustic experience.

6. Plan the route

Part of the fun of designing a tour is trying it out yourself to see if you’re enjoying the experience. There’s a saying I remember from 11th-grade math that runs along the lines of failing to prepare is preparing to fail. If you’re pouring energy into perfecting a tour itinerary on paper, you need to give it a dry run to see if your expectations match reality.

7. Walk it out

So, consider doing a walk-through or inviting a few friends to join for the added benefit of another perspective. This will help fine-tune the details and assist with getting the timing down. And, as you grow more familiar with your tour, you might discover better ways to approach the route or plan out points of interest.  

For some National and Provincial Parks, you’ll also need to obtain a permit in advance just to visit certain sites. In Canada, you’ll want to research the Parks Canada website and here for information on permits in the USA , Based on your location, you’ll want to coordinate with your closest Tourism office.

Example of a tour itinerary description

Creating memorable experiences for your guests starts with how to market your offer. When describing a tour, you want guests to develop an emotional connection to the experience.

Let’s say you’re planning to offer a 2-hour paddleboard sunset cruise in the summer months. Your introduction could describe it as something along the lines of:

“Imagine gliding across the pacific ocean with unparalleled views of the scenic coastline, finishing with the warm glow of the sunset in a protected area of the harbour. You’ll have a whale of a good time. We hope to “seal you” you soon for our most popular 2-hour summer sunset paddle tour.”

In just a few sentences, guests can imagine themselves immersed in the experience. You’re highlighting the possibility of seeing ocean wildlife while simultaneously describing the serenity of this tour.

To further support travelers reading the full itinerary, aim to make your copy and tour descriptions easy to scan. To do so, add in plenty of bullet points, bold and photos to highlight components of the tour in a visual way. 

Common tour intinerary questions

• When will the tour(s) depart and return?
• What is the frequency of your tour? 
• Where will the central meeting point be? 
• Is accommodation be included in the tour?
• Do you offer transportation to and from the tour?
• Will extras be available on site or for purchase? 

Then, in the next section, repeat important information like meeting locations and tour frequency along with whether pricing differs depending on the time or date of booking. Are guests required to book in advance or book private tours if they book four or more spots? Address all of the questions in your tour description and make it easy for guests to find out if yours is the right type of tour for them.

3 different types of itineraries in tourism

Imagine you’re evaluating whether to offer an hourly or full, single-day tour. To deliver on a promise, explore how much you can fit into your tour’s duration without pushing the timeframe. 

• Hourly tours can run anywhere from 1 – 4 hours, based on what you’re going to include in the tour
• Plan for an activity that doesn’t make guests feel rushed by including enough time to put on extra gear or listen to a safety briefing pre-tour
• While on a walking tour, make a point to visit few landmarks, while also allowing guests “free time” to take photos and understand the culture
• As a bonus, you’ll be able to stay on schedule and still accommodate time for your guests to take photos

2. Single Day Tour

• A single day tour might last anywhere from 4 to 8 hours
• Curate a schedule that accounts for buffer time
• Account for ample time for guests to take photos
• Clearly describe if/when any meals are included
• Structure sightseeing for when places are less busy
• Describe meeting locations and tour frequency

3. Multi-day Tours

• Determine accommodation options for groups 
• Describe the type of transportation plus pick-up/drop-off locations
• Source suppliers for meals and restaurants
• Plan out transportation to and from each new location
• Factor in a few different activities to entertain different guests

Whether you’re offering short adventures or multi-day tours , make a point to test out your tour. This will allow you to see if your timing is accurate and if you need to make any changes. As a result, you’ll be able to make adjustments that help to elevate the experience for all of your guests. 

Final thoughts 

Designing a tour itinerary isn’t just about fancy words and shouting from the rooftops; it’s about designing a tour that your guests want to book. 

Travelers seek out activities and experiences that align with their expectations. So, if you’re hoping to create a tour itinerary that is attractive, you need to play into their interests and what you know works.

So many factors go into whether people decide to book; the images you choose, the layout of your website, your marketing tactics and the type of tour experience you offer. 

Knowing this, if you can prepare travelers and exceed their expectations, you’ll have guests raving about their trips — inspiring more guests to book with you. 

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In an era where travelers seek out meaningful trips, tour operators can secure a competitive edge by designing itineraries that embody the principles of sustainable travel. This document provides ten actionable steps for creating enriching tours that give back to the places and communities that fuel your guests’ explorations. By adopting these practices, you can offer journeys that respect the planet, support local communities, and ensure that the world’s natural and cultural wonders remain for travelers of tomorrow.

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Meet Your DC Design Team

Carolyn Muraskin – Founder & Tour Guide

A former architectural designer, Carolyn left her drafting desk and started DC Design Tours in 2015. She prefers talking about buildings to drawing them and can spot a mansard roof a mile away. Carolyn is a graduate of the University of Maryland Architecture Program and lives in the Cleveland Park neighborhood of DC (so named for former resident and President Grover Cleveland) with her family. She has a passion for all things brick and mortar. When not guiding, you can find Carolyn counting columns at the National Building Museum (there are 152) and traipsing through Rock Creek Park looking for Civil War remnants.

Sam Bowersox – Tour Guide

An enthusiast for architectural design and a well crafted story, Sam came to Washington DC to work with exciting history and great people. Originally from the blue grass state, he graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a bachelors in history and a focus in museum studies. When he isn’t daydreaming about historic drama or talking a mile a minute, you’ll find him playing board games or reading.

An enthusiast for architectural design and a well crafted story, Sam came to Washington DC to work with exciting history and great people. Originally from the blue grass, he graduated from Northern Kentucky University with a bachelors in history and a focus in museum studies. When he isn’t daydreaming about historic drama or talking a mile a minute, you’ll find him playing board games or reading.

Christine Phillips – Tour Guide

A lover of history and design, Christine arrived in DC from North Carolina in 1999 with a passion for this city and its many stories. She holds a Masters of Architecture from the NC State College of Design, focusing on conservation and preservation, and she worked for several prominent DC architecture firms before her kids came along. Having an inherent curiosity for the story of a place led her into guiding. When not reading about Washington history, you will find Christine birdwatching at local hotspots or wandering around DC’s neighborhoods with her family.

Natalie Walsh- Tour Guide

Natalie  came to DC after graduating from the College of Wooster where she studied History and Political Science. From leading constituent tours through the Capitol Building as an intern on the Hill, to crafting the VIP tour experience at the National Archives Foundation,  Natalie has experience fostering connections between guests, Washington, and the fascinating history of our Capital. Natalie “makes the walls talk” on tour, so everyone walks away with a great experience and new fun historical and architectural facts to share! In her spare time, Natalie  is a voracious reader of fantasy books, a yoga lover, and a devoted dog mom to Sweet Pea.

Natalie Walsh – Tour Guide

Kim Vacca – Tour Guide

As a city planner for the District and self-proclaimed urbanist,  Kim ’s love for design is blurred between her professional and personal interests.  Kim moved to DC in 2018, a long-made promise to herself after visiting in college and experiencing the District’s beauty and diversity of neighborhoods, architecture, and culture. Since then she’s worked on development projects in all eight wards, with a specific focus on the design of public space. On weekends, she can be found biking our urban trails, enjoying Malcolm X Park, or eating at the infinite number of mouth-watering local restaurants. If you’re new to town, look no further for a recommendation; she has a Google Pin for everything!

Mark Riddle – Tour Guide

In the area since 2001, Mark has always been struck by Washington’s fascinating history and unique stories. Mark worked as an elementary music teacher for several years before going back to get a second undergraduate degree, this time a BFA in Interior Design with a minor in Art History. Still an educator at heart, Mark is thrilled to be able to share the stories and culture that shaped this remarkable area. When not walking the city, Mark can be found renovating his 1941 Wardman home, working in the garden, or taking orders from his two rescue dogs.

Ellery Ammons – Tour Guide

With a passion for places, both how they’re designed and the stories of their streets, Ellery loves continuously learning and sharing Washington, DC’s history and design story. Originally from Memphis, TN, she holds degrees in Urban Studies and Political Science from Rhodes College (making DC the perfect fit!) and loves architecture, historic preservation, and art history. When she’s not giving tours, you can find her biking around town, shopping for vintage décor, and enjoying the city’s numerous public parks, trails, and forests.

Sara Johnson – Marketing Manager

A California transplant, Sara has called D.C. home for more than a decade. She covered architecture for five years at Architect magazine, and holds a B.A. in English from U.C. Berkeley. Her writing has also appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, CityLab, DCist, San Francisco, and other publications. When she’s not tagging along on a tour snapping photos, she’s probably still wandering around D.C. neighborhoods snapping photos.

Rachel Kohli – Business Development Manager

Rachel focuses on business development and partnerships for DC Design Tours. Rachel met Carolyn at a four year old birthday party and instantly wanted to be a part of DCDT! Rachel moved to DC in 2016 and loves being a tourist in the city she calls home. She’s managed capital projects at Union Station, the Golden Triangle BID, and Georgetown University (all destinations on our tours). Her favorite buildings in DC are the Supreme Court and Union Station.

Rachel focuses on development and partnerships for DC Design Tours. Rachel met Carolyn at a four year old birthday party and instantly wanted to be a part of DCDT! Rachel moved to DC in 2016 and loves being a tourist in the city she calls home. She’s managed capital projects at Union Station, the Golden Triangle BID, and Georgetown University (all destinations on our tours). Rachel lives in Tenleytown with her husband, fur baby, and two human babies. Her favorite buildings in DC are the Supreme Court and Union Station.

See What Our Guests Have to Say!

The tour of Dupont Circle/Embassy Row was amazing! Christine has such a wealth of knowledge of architecture and the history. She's super sweet and had us laughing while teaching the group. It was my second of the Design Tours and can't wait for the next one!

Had a wonderful time and learned a lot. My family took the walking tour (led by Christine) from the Washington Monument to the Lincoln Memorial. She made the tour enjoyable for everyone, including my 6-year-old daughter. I highly recommend this for families that want to visit the “must sees” and want a better understanding of how Washington D.C. was initially developed and how it has evolved over time.

Great tour! It's was a great day to get introduced to Union Station and Capitol Hill building architecture and history. Tour started in time and ended on time. Sam is a great guide with passion, energy, and information.

Terrific tours from our guide Carolyn - we did both a tour of the main monuments and a tour of Arlington Cemetery. Carolyn tweaked the tours to suit our interests and stamina, held the kids (and adults) in rapt attention, answered all our questions and shared lots of details and history we would not otherwise have known. Strongly recommended.

We booked Monuments and Memorials, Georgetown and Capitol Hill tour during independence day weekend. All 3 of them were so amazing! Our guide, Sam, was knowledgeable and full of energy. If you want to know history, understand architectural details and hear stories, then I highly recommend DC Design Tours. Our experience exploring Washington DC via these guided public walking tours was very enriching.

Incredible tour of Georgetown with both insightful information about the design and architecture, but also a rich history of the community. Sam, our guide, was informative and made the tour fun. His passion for history and architecture came shining through.

This tour was everything I was hoping for and more (found on IG)! I lived in Georgetown decades ago, but didn’t have a chance to experience it like this. Passing by and admiring architecture is one thing, but learning about it is another. And you don’t know what you don’t know! Every trip to DC, I look forward to enjoying a different one…

We had a wonderful experience with DC Design Tours. Our team of real estate agents went on this tour to learn a little history and architecture about DC. We truly learned so much and had so much fun. The bus was gorgeous and our guide was so knowledgeable and personable. Highly recommend!!

My family did the DC Museum tour with Sam this Sunday. He was great. Meeting us in front to Smithsonian castle and walking and talking us thru the architecture and history of all the museums on the mall. Very knowledgeable and willing to answer any questions. Thanks Sam.

Fantastic tour! Sam made the cherry blossom tour of the DC tidal basin so much more then a walk amongst the cherry blossoms. He really made the monuments and whole area come to life too! I will be recommending all of the DC Design tours to visitors and neighbors here! And Sam gave me plenty of time to snap pictures to my hearts content, a real bonus on a guided tour! Thanks for the wonderful experiencence!

Beautiful walking tour of the cherry blossoms. Unfortunately we weren’t able to the splendor due to the bad weather a few days prior to the the tour. Our guide was very informative!

I've been on two DC design tours in the last month and I am so impressed! I am a local and I love architecture and I have learned so much history about my community. These tours are fantastic! You should absolutely go! Don't question it.

The Georgetown and National Mall tours were so good. Sam was our guide on both tours and he was great. I learned so much and highly recommend.

Our tour guide Sam was incredible. I told him he should do Podcast. Was able to navigate between tour questions and general questions beautifully and seamlessly. Love the restaurant recommendations. Would highly recommend this tour to anyone.

We live nearby in Maryland and have been to Georgetown numerous times. Sam made it’s history and beauty to come alive with his very informative and entertaining presentation. 2.5 hours flew by. Highly recommend.

We did the private tour of DuPont Circle and Embassy Row with Carolyn. It was amazing. She’s very knowledgeable and did an excellent mix of history and architecture. I wish I could do a tour with her everyday of my trip. I will be using DC Design Tours anytime I’m back in DC.

Carolyn was a wonderful guide for our family group of seven. We would definitely use her on our next trip to DC. And I’ve already recommended her to several friends. Thanks for perfect experience.

Our tour of Georgetown's architecture was absolutely amazing! Carolyn's knowledge of the history of Georgetown is deep and her added stories about little known snippets of American history added a wonderful touch of humor. I would highly recommend taking one of the custom tours for a few hours that you will never forget!

The tour was amazing. Carolyn was nice and knowledgeable. She was sincere about the good and bad of DC, very descriptive and had great suggestions. Took time to hear our story and made personalized suggestions on other tours we should take with them. We definitely will be back to take more tours with Carolyn.

Four of us went on a National Cathedral-Cleveland Park Cherry Blossom tour with Carolyn. It was very informative and fun. Carolyn is so prepared and knowledgeable, you can tell she has a background in architecture and has studied the neighborhood history. We are looking forward to booking another tour soon.

4 Questions to Help You Design the Perfect Tour

Table of Content

1. what do people say, 2. which offers bring the most sales, 3. which offers bring the most revenue, 4. which offers bring the most profit, what’s next.

In a perfect world, you’ll create your tour concept, arrange all the moving parts, put it out into the wild and get people to buy.

They are happy with the experience, you are happy with the way you earn a living.

But that’s not how it always pans out.

For example, you can fail in driving awareness for your business. A lack of traffic and calls leads to a lack of sales.

And even if you generate some “buzz”, people might choose a competing offer or bounce off your website.

But let’s say you do a great job of these and people buy your tour. That’s good, right?

Well, even now there’s one more crucial element – you must give them a great experience.

Traffic and sales are worthless if people don’t like your tour. Sometimes, even a few bad reviews can put your business at risk. In addition, bad experiences lead to few referrals and low morale within your company.

And while you may be getting great reviews, there could be ways to streamline, offering more value to your customers and a better profit for your business.

This is what we’re going to explore today – 4 questions to help you design and improve your offers from both a customer and business standpoint.

Ready? Let’s go.

The most obvious source of inspiration for improving your offers are existing customer reviews.

Look for patterns or themes that people mention again and again. These could be both positive or negative. Don’t get defensive here – the idea is to learn and improve.

Perhaps people consistently mention the guide and their professional knowledge?

On the other hand, some people might complain about the itinerary or the duration of your tour.

And what if you had a really interesting aspect of your tour that you thought people would love – but no one seems to mention it? If something takes a lot of effort but seems to have no impact, you should consider removing it from your offer.

Once you go over your reviews and feedback, you’ll get a good sense of what’s working and what can be improved.

But this is just one way to collect information. And it can sometimes be subjective as people’s experiences tend to be different. To make it count, you also need the concrete numbers.

If you’ve heard of the 80/20 rule , you’ll know most of your sales likely come from a small portion of your offers.

Which ones are they? This will give you an indication of what people find the most appealing among your offers.

That’s a great way to understand what to focus on and improve.

The number of sales is just one measure – but it’s actual revenue that pays the bills.

This is why it’s crucial to segment your offers based on the amount of revenue they bring, especially when you’re selling multiple types of tours.

The revenue per product is a good metric to look at because these offers likely contain the elements people enjoy the most.

Lastly, you should take into account your business costs per tour.

Knowing the revenue and cost per tour will give you the profit margin so you know which offers are streamlined from a business standpoint and which ones are barely breaking even.

By this point, you’ll have a good list of ideas to design a tour that contains the most valuable aspects for your customers and remove the elements which create costs an eat up your profits.

Now that you have all that information, it’s time to organize it into 4 buckets: Add, Remove, Keep, Improve.

This will be the basis of a new or improved offer. It should have all the best elements you found based on your reviews, feedback, and quantitative data.

The elements that people don’t like or don’t appreciate should be cut off from the offer to make sure you’re focused on bringing value rather than stuffing your offer with things no one needs.

This will let you streamline the offer from a business perspective.

Your offers are at the core of your business.

If you improve your delivery and overall tour design, you’re likely to improve your cash flow and business exponentially. This will bring you more referrals, better reviews, and more satisfaction from your work.

Even the tours that do well can often be better by using the Add/Remove/Keep/Improve framework.

Use that to your advantage and create the best tour you can so your business runs like clockwork.

You might also like: 

• How to Start a Tour Company with (Almost) No Money
• How to Conduct Market Research for Tour and Activity Companies
• How To Start a Walking Tour Business

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Barcelona Design Tours

For travellers with design on their minds.

ARCHITECTURE IN BARCELONA

Squares, promenades, the mediterranean; discover architecture in Barcelona on foot.

DESIGN & CRAFT IN BARCELONA

Barcelona’s shops, showrooms, and flea markets unearth special treasures for trend hunters and holiday shoppers, if you know where to look…

CUSTOM TOURS & CONSULTANCY

Barcelona Design Tours can put together a personalised experience in response to your specific requirements.

Consuming Architecture

Barcelona is renowned for its cuisine and its architecture. With Consuming Architecture we bring the two together in a feast for the senses.

Artisan Shopping

Architecture in barcelona.

Award-winning design hotels, art nouveau-era apartment buildings and 21st century skyscrapers built on a delightful network of promenades, parks and squares. From the moment you step off the plane at El Prat airport, it’s obvious that  the city is obsessed with design, architecture and style.

Barcelona Design Tours reveals the city’s long-term love affair with architecture. Our private and group tours give insight to the enduring legacy of Gaudí and   modernisme   – Barcelona’s signature architectural style – and lead you to the new urban developments, the revamped waterfront and beaches, and inner-city makeovers that make Barcelona so endlessly inspiring.

Custom tours & Consultancy

Design & craft in barcelona.

Barcelona’s modern art reads like a who’s who of the 20th Century masters Picasso, Miró, Dalí and Tapies still inspire the city today. Led by experts and curators, Barcelona Design Tours can take you inside the studios and galleries of the city’s emerging art districts, and take you to the graffiti and street art hot spots.

Barcelona’s old town is living history. This unique tour aims to tell it in a fun and original way – through its historic shops.

Though gentrification and rising rents have taken their toll, the city’s gothic quarter still has plenty of traditional retail treasures. We take you on a magical mystery tour of the area’s stone-walled squares and hidden cul-de-sacs to discover antiquarian booksellers, ancient herb shops, and art nouveau-style boutiques trading in handmade fans, candles and espadrilles.

TESTIMONIALS

As a group of 12 Project Managers and Building Surveyors, we were a tough crowd to please, but Brian and Suzanne were excellent.

Brian showed us a side of the city I never would have found on my own and gave great background on the buildings, architects, and art periods.

Took my demanding, out of town, visitors on this tour, lovely but notoriously hard to please culture snobs, who loved every minute of it, charmed by their guide and utterly seduced by the clever itinerary.

John Knowles, Managing Partner, UK

Peggy Sijswerda, journalist, USA

Jane Darroch Riley, graphic designer, Barcelona

Our Partners

Barcelona Design Tours is proud to partner with the best design hotels and niche travel companies.

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It’s Harder Than It Looks

You’ve done it, you’ve wrangled that ever elusive home page click out of the user. They’re interested in your site and they want to learn more. You think you’re in the clear but a new challenge awaits. You now have one shot to convince them that you can make good on the promises of the home page, that your app does what you said it would and more in a way that is better than what everyone else is doing.

You’re designing a tour page. It’s a deceptively simple task. You’ll do well to not run through it half-heartedly but instead spend some solid time making it the best page you can. This is where potential users will really start to form judgments about your service and you don’t want to screw up that all important first impression. Let’s take a look at some live examples from designers that have gone before you to see what we can learn.

Mint is one of my favorite services on the web. Not only is it immensely helpful for tracking every cent you spend, it also happens to be super attractive from a design perspective. Since their designers are so talented, I figured they could probably teach us a thing or two about today’s topic. Here’s a snap of the tour page:

Content Organization

The first thing I notice about this page is that it has a ton of content. You don’t want to overload your visitors with information if you have a fairly straight forward service, but something financial like Mint raises a lot of red flags with people who’re rightfully cautious about giving a website access to their bank account. In light of this, Mint is very transparent about every aspect of the service before you sign up.

This is an important concept. If your service has any reasons that would give visitors pause when thinking about signing up, the tour page is your chance to address those issues in detail by being open, honest and reassuring about your product.

Another great thing that Mint gets right is the organization of the content into small, digestible and neatly organized chunks. Rather than tossing everything into one mile long page, they’ve implemented a sort of AJAX content switcher that updates the right column as you choose a topic.

Strong Content Presentation

Another thing that mint really nails is the presentation of their content. Take note of this because lots of people get it wrong: Short, simple and straightforward headlines coupled with clear, attractive screenshots and brief but descriptive supporting text. Here’s what that looks like in action:

Notice the copy here, it’s brief and to the point while telling you what you need to know. Also check out how the screenshot is focusing in on the important part, this loupe trick is really common in web design right now.

Mint has another trick up its sleeve as well. When the screenshots may not be enough, they toss in some extra visual cues. In the screenshot below, the headline about a budget is reinforced by the instant read of a piggy bank with a belt around it to signify budgets:

The screenshot could’ve done this itself, but the graphs are a little vague and were therefore not an instant read, the pig may be cheesy and predictable but it helps push this design right where it needs to be.

Let’s leave Mint behind and look at another well designed tour page. The folks at 37signals are known for their simple and clean design style that serves up just what you need and nothing more. Here’s a shot of the tour page for their Basecamp app.

Different, But the Same

Notice two important aspects of this page in light of the previous example. First, the design style is very different from Mint’s. However, the pages are actually incredibly similar. Notice the brief chunks of content organized by a content switcher on the left, screenshots, strong headlines, extra visual cues to aid the screenshots, even the back and forth layout style is almost exactly what we saw on Mint.

This is a very important thing to learn as a designer: design patterns exist independently of design style . Mint has a very shiny, finished look with lots of gloss and reflection while Basecamp is very flat in its Google-like simplicity. This is merely the candy coating though, under this is the critical framework of a strong layout, which makes the content easier to take in.

Digging Deeper

Once you’ve checked out the overview for the Basecamp features, you have the opportunity to see them in action by clicking on the little video links scattered throughout the page. I’m a sucker for a good product video and I think these really help to keep your content brief and to the point while still offering the in-depth look that some visitors need.

Keep in mind that Basecamp prides itself on how simple and stripped down its feature set is, so if Basecamp isn’t too basic for product demonstration videos, neither is your site. Video screencasting apps are very affordable and easy to use so no matter what your budget is, it’s not hard to pull together some professional looking video tours.

Mozilla Rethinks the Tour Page

The basic format that we’ve seen for the last two tour pages is a fairly common one. You can see nearly identical tactics being used on dozens of web app sites. Check out the tour pages for Checkout App and Campaign Monitor and you’ll find that same left aligned content switcher being used in conjunction with brief lists of features coupled with screenshots and icons.

There’s a reason this format is so widely used: it works. Each of these pages is able to maintain its own unique identity while sharing tried and true techniques with its brethren. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the rules of the tour page are set in stone or that we’ve landed on the best possible solution for all sites.

One example of a company that often decides to think outside the box is Mozilla. Their talented design team decided to ditch the common tour page format and blaze their own trail. The result is a fun, interactive and incredibly straightforward overview of the browser:

Here we see a screenshot of the browser with a bunch of markers placed all over it. The instructions are simple and can be read in a second: “Roll over the markers below for feature info.” Following this advice gives you a closer look at the important features.

I love how direct this method is, it explains the app’s features not through abstract generic icons and bloated paragraphs but with a simple screenshot that points out everything you need to know.

An Organized Mess

This method of marking up a screenshot makes for a fairly organic design. Rather than a predictable and logical flow, the markers are scattered all over the place. There’s a very subtle design trick though that helps you see order in the chaos, can you see it?

That little dotted path is one of those tiny design touches that can really pull a page together. Without it, there’s a mess of links, with it, there’s a clear progression to follow. Granted, you don’t have to follow it perfectly and I’d wager that few users ever do, however, it’s mere presence gives the page a slight but important usability boost while bringing in a semblance of order.

Show the Process

Our last tour page design trick that you should know comes from Big Cartel . Here’s a cropped shot of their tour page:

There’s something super simple but incredibly effective at the top of this page, a three step process . Sometimes a tour page needs to be more than a simple showcase of features. For instance, when you’re claiming that your service simplifies something complicated, such as setting up an online store, it’s critical that you illustrate how this works somehow.

Three is a magic number so when possible, try to break down processes to three nice and simple steps that anyone can grasp. This is all about making the user feel empowered, they need to look at this and say, “I can do this!”, especially if they’ve looked elsewhere and found only discouragingly complicated solutions.

The examples above each have their own unique lessons to teach us and together they paint a picture of some very common tour page design practices that you can implement in your upcoming projects.

As you embark on your tour page adventure, remember that the web gives you remarkable freedom to experiment to see what works best. Try coming up with a few different designs and then running some A/B testing to see which users respond to best.

If you’ve designed a tour page recently, leave a comment with a link below. What techniques did you employ to ensure success? Have you learned anything by experimenting with different layouts and designs?

Guided Tour

Taking a guided tour through the home or workplace of the person you’re designing for can reveal their habits and values far better than talking to them on the street., suggested time, level of difficulty, materials needed.

Pens, paper, camera

Participants

Design team, person you’re designing for

Process Phase

A Guided Tour is a great method to employ when you’re in the field. Immersion is one of the primary ways we learn about the people we’re designing for at IDEO.org. Having one of them give you a Guided Tour of their home, workplace, or daily activities will reveal not just the physical details of the person’s life, but the routines and habits that animate it.

• Arrange with someone you’re designing for to get a Guided Tour of her home or workplace. Cultural and gender dynamics may come into play when you visit someone’s home, so be sensitive to those issues and make sure you’ve got full permission before your visit.
• Come with just two team members, one to ask questions and the other to take notes. Pay close attention to the space that you’re visiting, the rituals you see there, what’s on the walls, who uses it, and where it’s located. All are key pieces of information.
• Only take photos if you can get permission.
• Ask lots of questions about the person’s habits and space. Why does she do the things she does? Who uses the space and where are things kept or why are things organized the way that they are?

Peers Observing Peers

Resource Flow

Method Spotlight

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What’s New?

Our physical space at 1218 Arch Street is now named the Center for DesignPhiladelphia, marked by new window signage and exterior flags on the building.

We are also excited to announce that several design associations will be joining AIA Philadelphia and the Community Design Collaborative as In Residence Partners . This partnership will bring exhibitions, events, and programming to our space.

Stay up-to-date with all the latest news and updates by signing up for our newsletters! Be the first to know about new exhibitions, events, and the launch of our upcoming podcast, Together We DesignPhiladelphia, hosted by our Executive Director, Rebecca Johnson.

What’s staying the same?

Our programming: Design Education, the Festival, the Edmund N. Bacon Urban Design Awards, and the Louis I. Kahn Lecture will all continue underneath the new DesignPhiladelphia brand.

AIA Philadelphia and DesignPhiladelphia will continue to coexist in our shared space. As part of this collaboration, both organizations will have shared staff members, including our Executive Director, Rebecca Johnson, and our Director of Development & Strategic Partnerships, Jermaine Jenkins.

The Community Design Collaborative will also continue operating their programs from our space. Furthermore, we are delighted to host PhilaNOMA (National Organization of Minority Architects), Design Advocacy Group, and Creative Mornings PHL for their meetings and events.

We look forward to this exciting new chapter as DesignPhiladelphia and can't wait to share our journey with you. Sign up for our newsletters now to stay connected and informed!

Design education for all

One of the guiding principles of DesignPhiladelphia is to make design accessible to everyone, so we are building a robust pipeline from K through Career. We are focused on bringing K-12 design education in underserved communities across Philadelphia. We also are cultivating a culture of belonging in partnership with our higher education partners and professional firms -- so that all students and emerging professionals can thrive and continue to grow as a designer.

Find out more

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Longwood Reimagined: Beauty in the Making

Upcoming events, read + make workshop: landscape design - 04 may 2024.

Families will bring a photo in of their child’s favorite type of landscape-the beach,mountains, city, outer space, etc. We will then duplicate the space on a poster board and re-design the area by adding in architectural and natural elements and rearrange otherparts so that… Read more

The Journey Ahead: How AI is Impacting the Creative Design Process - 08 May 2024

Join DesignPhiladelphia and W Philadelphia for a conversation delving into the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the creative design process. In an era where technological advancements are reshaping traditional paradigms, it's imperative to explore the intersecti… Read more

LIFTOFF 2024: UArts School of Design Spring Exhibition - 09 May 2024

Liftoff is the Spring Exhibition for the School of Design at the University of the Arts. This event showcases student work from our undergraduate and graduate Design programs in Illustration, Graphic Design, Interaction Design, Product Design, and Museum Exhibition Planning &… Read more

3rd Annual JADE-PHL Symposium - 15 May 2024

Join us for the 3rd Annual JADE Symposium. This year's session will focus on sharing ideas, panel discussions, a deep dive into the JADE studio experience, and a facilitated workshop to promote conversations regarding learning objectives for the JADE Studio. Convening th… Read more

Volunteer Information Session - 18 June 2024

The Design Education (DE) team is inviting you to our Discovery Meeting for our Spring 2024 Semester! DE plans to ensure an enriching and productive class so that students are inspired and empowered through creative learning. We are looking for professional de… Read more

IDSA's Women in Design Deep Dive 2024 - 26 June 2024

This event is our annual celebration of inclusion and diversity in design. Now in its 8th year, the Women in Design Deep Dive is a celebration of talented women and nonbinary individuals in the industrial design field. Get ready to reconnect, learn, and create with our diverse co… Read more

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Expert tip: “Head to a local market like the vibrant Damnoen Saduak floating market, where you can buy the freshest local produce. Capital One’s virtual assistant Eno, whose features include account monitoring and fraud alerts, could come in particularly handy if you encounter the unexpected while you’re traveling. Many families hire live-in babysitters from foreign countries because they want their children to grow up speaking a foreign language right here . Dubai has gradually transitioned into a global icon of engineering and construction with the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa marking the skyline of the city.

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PRE-POST CRUISE MIAMI

semana santa - ORLANDO

PRE-POST CRUISE ORLANDO

MIAMI-ORLANDO

• Development
• Components Overview
• FloatButton 5.0.0
• Flex 5.10.0
• AutoComplete
• ColorPicker 5.5.0
• InputNumber
• Descriptions
• QRCode 5.1.0
• Notification
• Watermark 5.1.0
• ConfigProvider
• Util 5.13.0

When To Use

Use when you want to guide users through a product.

Common props ref： Common props

Design Token

Component token how to use, global token how to use.

The most basic usage.

Change the placement of the guide relative to the target, there are 12 placements available. When target={null} the guide will show in the center.

Custom indicator.

Use mask={false} to make Tour non-modal. At the meantime it is recommended to use with type="primary" to emphasize the guide itself.

Custom mask style.

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Can this golf-ball design help your game? We put it to the test | Proving Ground

The multi-colored design on the side of Bridgestone's Tour B ball is part of a multi-step visualization process.

Jonathan Wall/GOLF

Welcome to GOLF.com’s ClubTest Proving Ground, where  managing equipment editor Jonathan Wall  and  senior equipment editor Ryan Barath  put the latest designs and groundbreaking technology in the equipment space to the test on the range and the course.

The tools: Bridgestone Tour B X Mindset golf ball

The test:  To determine if Bridgestone’s Mindset visual technology can improve your pre-shot routine.

The results:  About two years ago, I stopped relying on a visual aid that had been a part of my golf game for more than a decade. The putter had gone cold, and I was spending an inordinate amount of time lining up the side stamp to the target, which led me to do something Scottie Scheffler did recently: remove the line and shake up the pre-shot routine.

“I like not having to line the ball up,” Scheffler said of his Titleist Pro V1 after his win at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. “I line this putter up well in the middle of the face. It’s very good visually. And yeah, I try not to focus too much on the results, but my process was really good this week and the results so far are pretty tough to argue with, I would say.”

Scheffler started focusing on the single black alignment line on the putter crown and allowed himself to rely more on his eyes and feel to visualize the path to the hole. As the great Ty Webb once said, “Be the ball.”

Simplifying the process not only worked for Scheffler, but this gear scribe as well. Relying on a single sight dot and removing the sight line — I have the blank space on the ball facing me at address — brought the feel and confidence back within a few practice sessions. This was a massive win in my book.

There was no reason to mess with a good thing, but my interest was piqued when Bridgestone sent me a dozen Tour B X’s with their new Mindset visual technology, the multi-colored design developed by Bridgestone, major winner Jason Day and Day’s long-time mental performance coach, Jason Goldsmith.

Bridgestone Tour B X MindSet 2024 Golf Balls

Since he was 12 years old, Day has employed a multi-step visualization process that came about through work with Goldsmith. It was through their work that Mindset was conceived.

The visual technology on the side of the ball is designed around three different circles that act like a stop light: Red helps the golfer stop and identify what needs to be calculated — things like distance and wind. From there, the yellow circle is designed to help the golfer prepare for the shot by visualizing what needs to be accomplished. Once the golfer is fully engaged, the green circle gives them the permission to fully commit to the pre-shot work and execute.

Even though I have simplified my process on the greens, I tried my best to be mindful (no pun intended) of the pre-shot process and focus on the colors before tee shots and putts. It wasn’t all that easy at first. As someone who plays fast and tries to keep the brain free of additional thoughts on the course, making sure the visual technology was visible on the tee and putting green took some getting used to.

Taking an extra beat to consider the variables and visualize the shot is something more golfers should do before they pull the trigger, but we’re so focused on avoiding a pesky fairway bunker or the lake running down the left side of the hole that we tend to forget how even a simple pre-shot routine can help us block out the noise.

As I started logging more rounds with Mindset, I began to notice how much I enjoyed leaning into visual tech. I tend to get frustrated after a poor shot and let the bad vibes linger, but I found myself becoming more resilient after a poor shot and focusing on the one at hand.

In my estimation, I removed roughly 1.5 “poor shots” — one that required a punchout or drop from the hazard line — during each round, which ended up improving my score anywhere from 1 to 3 shots depending on how I was hitting it that day.

While it’s still early days, I believe Bridgestone’s visual technology can make you a more resilient golfer, provided you stick to the pre-shot process and don’t consider it a quick fix.

Conclusion: I’m not going to sit here and proclaim Mindset will make you a worldbeater overnight. What it can do is give you a valuable pre-shot process that can help you cut down on silly mistakes. It adds purpose to each shot and forces you to live in the moment instead of continually focusing on the last three-putt or the long par-3 ahead that always eats your lunch.

If you’re a golfer who doesn’t have a pre-shot routine or gets easily frustrated, consider giving Mindset a shot. And if you’re like me and have a simplied approach on the greens, don’t sweat staring at the visual tech. Never once did I feel like I had to rely on design to help me line up the ball, so rest easy knowing you won’t become robotic with your approach.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2024?  Find a fitting location near you at True Spec Golf

Latest In Gear

These payntr golf shoes boast comfort and a ton of style options, ping adds 6 new designs to 2024 putter line: everything you need to know, i tried it: these golf shoes are the most comfortable i've ever worn, shop the latest looks from athleisure wear powerhouse unrl at fairway jockey, jonathan wall.

Jonathan Wall is GOLF Magazine and GOLF.com’s Managing Editor for Equipment. Prior to joining the staff at the end of 2018, he spent 6 years covering equipment for the PGA Tour. He can be reached at [email protected].

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Here Are the Setlist & Stage Layout for Feid’s 2024 Ferxxocalipsis Tour

Feid is officially on tour! On Apr. 24, the Colombian artist kicked off his 2024 Ferxxocalipsis Tour at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, CA, giving his fans a glimpse of what to expect for his biggest arena tour.

Fans can look forward to an exciting setlist including hits like “Normal,” “LUNA,” and “Feliz Cumpleaños Ferxxo.” The highly-anticipated tour starts with animated figures talking to each other on the screens, then goes straight into “ALAKRAN.” Right after, the singer performs “50 PALOS,” “CHIMBITA,” “Lady Mi Amor,” “Castigo,” and “BUBALU,” in the first half of the show. Towards the end of this section, he slowed down the hype with an acoustic version of “FERXXO 30,” “Prohibidox,” and “PORFA.”

@ferxxocalipsi #feid #sacramento #ferxxocalipsis #tour #2024 ♬ sonido original – ferxxocalipsis – ferxxocalipsis

@ychm1599 #ferxxocalipsis #feid #acustico #ferxxo @Feid ♬ sonido original – Cychm99

The second half features songs like “ESQUIRLA,” “Mojando Asientos,” “EY CHORY,” “Le Pido a DIOS,” and “ROMÁNTICOS DE LUNES.” He is also singing other hot collaborations like “Perro Negro,” “Classy 101,” and “Yandel 150,” throughout the showstopping green-hued performance. 

@teenxmanny610 #ferxxo #feid #sacramento #2024 @Feid had a blast que chimba ♬ original sound – TeenXM@nny

@dr_g33 #feid #feidykarolg #feidmireligion #ferxxo100 #ferxxonitrojam #ferxxocalipsis #ferxxomor #ferxxotour2024 #ferxxotour #ferxxo444 #ferxxomor444 #ferxxofans #ferxxomireligion #ferxxo #sacramento #cali #california @Feid @Feid mi religion 💚 @Ferxxo ♬ original sound – Dr. G 💙🪬👑🇲🇽💴

As far as the stage design goes, he uses giant digital screens that amplify the star to a bigger-than-life status in the center of the venue. The innovative stage also has stairs that allow the singer to reach a higher platform. The structure overall gives Feid the opportunity to be near his fans from various angles . There are also disco balls to give a nightclub feel to the performance.

@89nu20 FEID 💚🧡 #feid #feidconcert #feidcalipsis #sacramento #feidtour2024 #ferxxocalipsis #goldenonecentersacramento ♬ original sound – 89Nunu

Social media users also captured the tour’s merch for online fans.

@its_syydney FERXXOOOOO MERCHH!!🧡💚 Setlist coming soon!! #ferxxocalipsis #feid #foryou #parati #fypシ #fyp #ferxxo ♬ original sound – Sydney👑🤍✨

Feid’s new arena tour overall shows the artist’s rapid growth. In 2022, he performed in small venues during his U.S. Trip Tour and later in theatres during his following Ferxxo Nitro Jam Underground Tour (2023). 

SETLIST OFICIAL DEL FERXXOCALIPSIS WORLD TOUR 🦂💚🧡🔥🌞 pic.twitter.com/BVm97Fln2z — Feid Site (@feidsite) April 25, 2024

View this post on Instagram A post shared by FERXXO (@feid)

2024 Ferxxocalipsis Tour will continue to Los Angeles, CA (Apr. 27). From now to July, the tour will also reach various major cities like San Jose, CA; Las Vegas, NV; Houston, TX; New York City, NY; and Orlando, FL.

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A Burlesque Family at Home

Showbiz couple angie pontani and brian newman’s high-spirited marine park house..

Everybody knows that we love old things,” says the burlesque artist Angie Pontani, who is showing me the exuberant, family-hand-me-down-filled Marine Park house in in Southeast Brooklyn she shares with her husband, the musician Brian Newman, and their 8-year-old daughter, Sistilia. “And if you give me something, I can’t get rid of it.”

“That was my aunt Livia’s,” Pontani notes, pointing out the armchair in the living room, “from when she got her first apartment in the ’80s.” Pontani and Newman had it reupholstered in leopard. The matching ottoman, from her aunt Norma, dates from the 1940s. The bedroom set was her parents’. The chandelier is from Grandma Mary, “who brought it back from Italy in the ’50s,” she says. “There’s also Great-grandpa Paul’s office chair from his restaurant, Casa Lido, in Trenton.”

The dining table was her great-grandmother Sistilia’s; even their daughter’s name is an heirloom. “It’s a super-old-school name,” Pontani says. “It loosely means ‘sixth-born,’ like when they name you after a number. But it’s such a pretty name.” Some of what they have inherited were her father’s flea-market finds. “Growing up, this is one of the things that my dad would do every Sunday morning. We’d get up at five and go, and we’d just search for cool stuff.”

Pontani and Newman moved here in 2019 after living together in her apartment in Kensington. Her nephews were upstairs in the same building; family is important to Pontani. She is “100 percent Italian, born in Trenton, New Jersey,” she says, where every-one in her neighborhood was related and knew one another. Her family, she adds, “are very traditional,” but her father liked to paint and had what she describes as “extreme style,” including in home décor. She takes after him.

Pontani had always wanted to be in show business. But after a year in the acting program at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, she grew bored and dropped out. While working at a Tribeca café, she met a group of performers from The Dutch Weismann, “one of the first true revival burlesque shows in the city in the mid-’90s,” she says. Pontani signed on. “The show had dancing and singing and, of course, burlesque, but I didn’t even know what it was at the time. I couldn’t have cared less about stripping, but it brought out natural skills that I didn’t know I had in terms of costuming, choreography, and production.” (She was the co-producer of the New York Burlesque Festival from 2002 to 2023.)

Newman, a trumpeter and singer from Cleveland, moved to New York in 2003. He found music gigs on Craigslist. “I did hip-hop bands, I did Latin bands, I did jazz bands — literally, any gig that had a trumpet I would take.” He met Lady Gaga while bartending at St. Jerome on the Lower East Side; she was a go-go dancer and party promoter at the time. Later, he co-produced the track “La Vie en Rose” with Lady Gaga for A Star Is Born and was also the bandleader, arranger, and trumpeter on two albums by Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett .

Newman met Pontani when he answered a Craigslist ad that said “trumpet player wanted for burlesque troupe.” But he played it so cool on their first date — a Mets game in the best seats he could buy — that she wasn’t sure it was a date. Four years later, their friend the comedian Murray Hill urged them to go out again. They married in 2013.

Now, Newman is the music director of Bruno Mars’s club, the Pinky Ring, at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. He and Pontani also have a residency in Vegas at the Nomad Library called “Brian Newman After Dark,” which Newman describes as “really a throwback to the old lounge vibes of Louis Prima in the main showroom with Frank Sinatra.”

“The biggest thing” about being a burlesque performer, Pontani says, “is this self-ownership of your sexiness, of your femininity, and you display it any way you want to in a satirical way.”

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The Strength Of The Aggie Ring

D ecades of stories tell of Texas Aggies greeting each other on sight, all over the world, no matter if they are wearing business attire or a uniform or tourist gear.

This is possible because of the extraordinary strength of the Aggie Ring. The Aggie Ring Program, with roots going  back to 1889  and operated by The Association of Former Students since 1969, is the largest college ring program in the country, unique in its scope, history and enthusiastic adoption.

Each year, over 15,000 Texas A&M students complete the requirements and order their Aggie Rings – the purchase rate is 94% among undergraduates who qualify. Traditionally, they wear their Aggie Rings throughout their lives, carrying the most visible symbol of the Aggie Network out across the globe. Though college rings began at West Point and remain strong with military academies, Texas A&M’s Aggie Ring survived the transition from military-only to a large public university population.

Today, Texas A&M’s program is larger than any other college ring account with America’s three biggest manufacturers, Balfour, Jostens and Herff-Jones, company representatives said. That most likely makes Texas A&M’s the largest college ring program in the world, since school rings originated in the U.S. and are “a much bigger phenomenon here than in other countries,” said Balfour representative Lee Briggs ’94.

Balfour has manufactured all Aggie Rings since 1947, and the Aggie Ring Program is more than triple the size of Balfour’s next-largest college ring accounts. Balfour has around 55% of the college ring market, including 75% of the colleges that have an established college ring program, Briggs said. Their second largest college account is Clemson University, with around 4,500 rings per year; third is the University of Texas at around 2,500 rings per year, Briggs said.

How does the Aggie Ring thrive, even as ring programs at other schools work to catch up?

High Standards

Strict qualifications mean each Aggie Ring represents the wearer’s hard work and academic achievement.

Aggie Ring qualifications are among the tightest in the country – and they’ve been in place since the 1930s, with  periodic updates .

Back in 1933, officers of the Class of ’31 petitioned the A&M faculty to restrict purchase of the Aggie Ring to students who have attained at least the second semester of their junior year.

Today, Aggie Ring requirements for  undergraduates  include 90 completed credit hours, with 45 at Texas A&M; a cumulative GPR of 2.0 or higher; and good academic standing. Qualifications for  grad students  and  former students  are similar.

These standards are inflexible; exceptions are not made, and each individual may only order a single Aggie Ring. The Association conducts audits to ensure each recipient is qualified.

“There has always been a very real mystique surrounding the Aggie Ring. And an unbelievable amount of pride in earning one,” said  Class Agent  Robert Oliver ’74 (Class Agents are Association volunteers who work to connect Classmates to each other and Texas A&M).

That pride is on full display both when students order their Aggie Rings – many take photos commemorating the moment – and at Aggie Ring Days, when students invite 40,000 family members and friends to see them pick up their bands of gold.

Although strict ring requirements once were uncommon at other schools, Briggs said that in the past 20 years, the college ring market is shifting toward Texas A&M’s model with “all of the elements that A&M has had for years”: tight criteria, a single ring design and specific delivery days with a celebratory event. Texas A&M’s first event celebrating the Aggie Ring began in 1934: Ring Dance has provided generations of Aggie photos under a giant replica Aggie Ring. Today, Ring Dance is put on by the student Class Councils, and the 2024 Ring Dance will be hosted on April 26 by The Association, which has long provided support for both Class Councils and Ring Dance.

Briggs believes the visibility of the Aggie Ring and pride in earning one have been elevated by two recent Association additions to the tradition: Aggie Ring Day, which began in 2000, and the three-ton Haynes Ring monument , dedicated in 2009.

“I think when you attend a Ring Day and you see the students bring their parents and grandparents, it’s something that you feel like as an Aggie you need to participate in,” Briggs said. Upon its  unveiling , the Haynes Ring Plaza instantly became a campus landmark and the focal point for thousands of celebratory Aggie photographs.

“I don’t think anybody really knew how big a symbol that would be,” Briggs said. “Those maintained and increased the importance of Aggies wanting to get their Aggie Rings.”

Association President and CEO Porter Garner ’79, who had the idea to create Aggie Ring Day and has overseen its development as well as the creation of the Haynes Ring, said it’s hard to estimate their effect accurately, but “intuitively, you would be hard-pressed not to believe that it has to impact the anticipation.”

Garner noted that Aggie Ring Day also helps others learn: “Starting in 2000, you had parents who never went here, grandparents who never went here, you had faculty members come over. And you look at it today: There are thousands of people that know more about the Aggie Ring than ever because we’ve included them in Aggie Ring Day.” Ultimately, Garner said, “I think it is our graduates, the people who wear the Aggie Ring, who have made the Ring strong.

“I think it means more today than it ever has. Because I think Aggies look for the Aggie Ring – they look to connect – and it means you can trust whoever that person is. Because you have a bond with them.”

Historic Design

The symbolism of the Aggie Ring began in the 1880s, has been standardized since 1933 and carries great meaning.

“Consistency of design,” said Class Agent Philip Leopold ’84, makes the Aggie Ring “easy to spot in a crowd of rings. Many schools have made the mistake of allowing custom-tailored rings.”

Balfour representative Briggs agreed: “When I started 30 years ago, most colleges or universities had several different ring designs you could choose from, and several different manufacturers. There was a multitude of different designs, and A&M stood alone because of having one single design.”

More schools now are moving toward a single approved ring style, Briggs said. But they are starting from nearly a century behind. Since 1933, the Aggie Ring has had a distinctive design, recognizable worldwide.

The earliest rings at Texas A&M varied; some featured an entwined “AMC,” including the oldest known example from 1889.

The design made for the Class of 1894 was the first known to feature an eagle on the top, state seal on one side and crossed saber and rifle on the other; there is an 1898 example in The Association’s  display collections .

The Ring Committee appointed in 1933 – made up of students, former students and faculty, and led by the head of The Association of Former Students – added the words “Texas A&M College-1876” and standardized the design and production for an Aggie Ring that is visibly similar to those worn ever since.

That recognizability paid off. Leopold said, “Younger Ags saw how powerful the ring was in connecting with older Ags. I saw Aggie Rings as I traveled around the world, and it proved to be an immediate way to reach out and connect.”

Read the full story on the Association of Former Students website .

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More From Forbes

Harry potter tour revenue surges past $1 billion.

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The Harry Potter tour in Leavesden is a big money spinner for Warner Bros.

Britain's Harry Potter movie tour has generated more than $1 billion of revenue since it opened 12 years ago according to its latest financial statements which show that sales doubled to a record $184.4 million (£149.1 million) in 2022 as the end of pandemic restrictions cast a powerful spell on the attraction.

The tour is set inside two cream-coloured cavernous soundstages at Leavesden Studios on the outskirts of London. Owned by media giant Warner Bros. Discovery WBD , Leavesden was originally an aircraft factory before it was converted into a movie studio in 1994 so that James Bond flick GoldenEye could film there.

Warner bought Leavesden in 2010 making it the first studio to have a permanent European base since Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the 1940s. Leavesden re-opened in 2012 after Warner invested more than $123.7 million (£100 million) in the site. Since then it has been home to well over 50 productions including all eight Potter films, the three Fantastic Beasts spin-offs and last year's highest-grossing movie, Barbie .

The studio generates 39.7% of Leavesden's total revenue which rose by $87.5 million (£70.7 million) to a record $305.8 million (£247.2 million) in the year to 31 December 2022 as we revealed in Britain's Sunday Times newspaper. The increase was entirely driven by the tour as studio revenue dipped 2.9% to $121.3 million (£98.1 million).

Revenue is increasing at Warner Bros' Leavesden studios

The Best Romantic Comedy Of The Last Year Just Hit Netflix

Apple iphone 16 unique all new design promised in new report, rudy giuliani and mark meadows indicted in arizona fake electors case.

Over the past few years soaring inflation and the cost of living crisis has caused consumers to cut streaming subscriptions leading to studios scaling back the number of shows in production.

It didn't stop there as Leavesden faced the challenge of strikes in Hollywood when actors and writers downed their tools for more than six months last year in a bid to boost the royalties they receive. Warner is still counting the cost of this and on February 23 announced that revenue for the fourth quarter of 2023 was down 7% to $10.2 billion partly driven by strike-induced production delays. On the day of the announcement its shares closed 10% down at $8.61, almost the lowest price since the group was created by the merger of AT&T’s T WarnerMedia and Discovery Inc in April 2022.

The impact is being felt far beyond the studios as special effects firm Framestore, which created the spellbinding visuals in the Potter movies, said it expects margins "to be impacted" by the strikes in 2023.

In contrast, the tour behind the scenes of the Potter movies has been a dream ticket for Warner. Leavesden's net profit more than doubled last year to $87.8 million (£71 million) which was largely driven by the tour given that the studio's revenue reversed. Since 2012 Leavesden has generated total net profits of $589.6 million (£476.7 million) and paid $289.4 million (£234 million) of dividends to Warner.

Guests can wander through recreations of classic Harry Potter locations (photo by Andrew Aitchison / ... [+] In pictures via Getty Images)

Since it opened 12 years ago more than 18 million people have streamed through the tour's turnstiles generating a total of $1.2 billion (£935.8 million) of revenue – 67.5% more than the studio has made.

The tour is filled with props and sets from the movies with the latest addition being Professor Sprout's Greenhouse which opened in summer 2022. From the outside, the giant greenhouse appears to be in the grip of a giant vine which covers the walls inside. Its tendrils spread into flower boxes where plants seem to sprout from them. Visitors can uproot them to reveal a squealing shrub as Harry and his chums did in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets .

As we recently revealed , the tour has been so successful that Warner has invested more than $115 million in its first overseas outpost which opened in Tokyo last year and is 50% bigger than its British counterpart.

Leavesden operates the Japanese facility as well as the wildly popular chain of Potter shops and the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage show which premiered in London in 2016 to critical acclaim. Since then it has expanded to five other countries and is still growing as the financial statements reveal that "in 2022 the company invested in another production of the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ."

The company also produces the Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stage show (Photo by Sam ... [+] Tabone/WireImage)

Despite the logjam in Hollywood, Leavesden too is expanding. Last year it announced plans to build 11 new sound stages which will increase production capacity by more than 50% and will create 4,000 direct and indirect jobs. It is expanding to stay in the game in the face of increasing competition.

Britain has become a popular location for filming thanks to its generous fiscal benefits which give studios a reimbursement of up to 25.5% of the amount they spend in the country. It explains why Shepperton Studios, just outside London, is planning a 1.2 million square feet expansion which will make it the world's second-biggest studio.

Likewise, nearby Pinewood plans to spend $1.6 billion (£1.3 billion) on new facilities including a studio tour which will put it in even more direct competition with Leavesden. Over the past 80 years Pinewood has been home to everything from the Pink Panther and Paddington to Superman and Star Wars so it may take more than the wave of a magic wand to beat.

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