How to find a reliable tour operator

Editorial by Patrick Totty

“Elevator spiel” refers to the concise, 15-second-long summary of your job, company or great idea that you can give a curious stranger while both of you are riding from the lobby to the fifth floor.

Our elevator spiel is probably a three-floor one: Cultural Travels exists to bring small, passionate tour operators to the attention of an educated online audience that seeks travel that goes beyond standard bus tours.

We’re talking about tour operators who know a destination so well it would almost be a crime not to use their services. Often they have access to places and people that casual or solo travelers could never find on their own. Through a combination of experience, education and contacts, they can offer things that nobody else can. Also, they’re often willing to create or accommodate very personalized itineraries.

Putting yourself in touch with such people is still half art and half science. The science part is using our 1,200-tour host database to find those tour operators who offer what you have in mind.

The art is in determining how good and reliable a tour operator is. Unless you’ve had direct experience with one, it’s hard to know in advance how good he is.

But there are some markers that will help you tell if you’re on the right track. They’re based on our own experience with tour operators who have impressed us with their savvy in dealing with clients. Among them:

• How well does a tour operator handle a request for information that you’ve made through Cultural Travels? You should receive a reply within 24 hours. The reply should offer you more than such pro-forma advice as “Read our web site.”
• A tour operator should make it easy to contact him. This means including an address, phone number and e-mail address on  his web site.
• A tour operator should be willing to give you information about his company that helps you determine his qualifications. What associations does the company belong to? Is the company insured? How long has it been in business? Can you get references?

There are exceptions to these rules!

After laying down those rules of thumb, we have to add that they shouldn’t be applied harshly or remorselessly. Please keep in mind that you are often dealing with people who have a lot on their plate. Sometimes you’ll get an e-mail or phone machine response from a tour operator that says, “Sorry, we’re out of town on a tour. We’ll contact you as soon as we get back.” It may be frustrating to have to wait a bit for the information you want, but that response tells you you’re dealing with a company that’s a going concern and has a hands-on approach to its trips.

Sometimes an operator simply isn’t that comfortable with the Web and e-mail technology. One operator we know conducts historical tours in the UK. He’s considered one of the finest, most knowledgeable people on earth in his specialty, but he hates communicating by e-mail. He is such a gem that his clients (and us) overlook the inconvenience of corresponding by letter and fax. In fact, we suspect that his discomfort with the most advanced aspects of modern life makes him a better guide into the past.

Sometimes you’re dealing with small business people who are following their passion but don’t have a lot of administrative experience.  One of the things we try to do here at Cultural Travels is alert smaller operators to the things they can and should be doing to make their web sites more informative and consumer-friendly.

A final way to tell about an operator

Since we began publishing The Cultured Traveler, we’ve reviewed 28 tour operators in our “Pick of the Month” column. You can access those reviews here and then if any of the operators we’ve profiled match your travel criteria, just visit their site or request more information from us.