‘Tis the season of gift giving, and when those holiday sales start to make their way around, you don’t want your touring company or activity-based business to be left out in the cold. 

The holidays often mark the biggest increase in sales for most companies. While your tour of Edgar Allen Poe’s favorite hangouts might not be mainstream, more and more people prefer experiences over products to the tone of 92% of recipients.

Think about it this way. Instead of having to wrap an oddly shaped toy for your child that you know will end up under the bed in a week, you can purchase an activity or gift cards for the whole family to enjoy. 

Taking advantage of these needs is key during the holidays. You need to promote how your business offers advantages and hammer home selling points that lead to conversions.

There are many ways to capitalize on the holiday season, including these benefits and selling points to take your holiday promotions to the next level.

Holiday Selling Points for Tours and Activities

There are some advantages of gifting tours and activities compared to traditional physical gifts. 

• Shared Experiences: Most recipients want to enjoy a unique experience they can talk about for years to come. Instead of something that might break or get lost, you get a fun journey that can be used to make memories, start holiday traditions, or even use it for next year’s Christmas photo!
• Flexibility: A fruitcake is just a fruitcake. It serves one purpose and doesn’t offer much excitement. An experience has the flexibility to be shared at any time. Gift cards can be used in the future, building anticipation for when your family member, coworker, or friend gets to enjoy the activity, tour, or attraction you’ve selected.
• No Shipping: With a gift certificate or card, you don’t have to worry about timelines. There are no additional shipping costs or unwanted “porch pirates” who will snag your Amazon box from your property. Holiday deliveries get lost or are misdelivered all the time. Cutting that risk and lowering the costs is an excellent benefit to your offerings.
• Instant Access: Get rid of those long shopping lines at your local big box shop. Choosing a gift card or booking a tour provides instant gratification – something especially attractive to any shoppers who need a gift quickly before showing up to a holiday party.
• Last-Minute Friendly: There is nothing quite as stressful as realizing you have two days left until the big day and you still don’t have a gift for Mom. Gift cards and attraction bookings provide a last-minute solution. All you need is a printer and envelope, and you can put it in the tree for your Secret Santa requirement. 

Pro Tip: Create themed gift card designs within FareHarbor to make them more visually appealing and match the tone of the holiday or the purpose of the card. 

Getting Ready for the Festive Rush

The holidays in general drive a burst of demand, so you may experience more visits to your website or phone calls to your business, especially if you’re a winter tour operator. 

When this happens, you must be ready! Make sure your 2024 booking calendar is built and ready to go before people start making plans for the upcoming year.

Pro Tip: Invest in clean UI/UX, and don’t forget CTAs. You want your customers to funnel to your 2024 bookings and sales pages. Make them as clear as day, especially if you are coordinating visual promotions and email leads. 

It may also help to have a separate gift card and special offers page. This puts all the essential information in one location for your customers’ convenience. It also gives you a streamlined landing page if you are running holiday PPC or social media ad campaigns.

Finally, review your current business information across all customer touch points. Your website and online listings (Google Business Profile, social media, email signatures, etc.) should carry the same contact information and links. Otherwise, you risk all that potential revenue getting lost to lousy phone numbers or broken links.

Pro Tip: Don’t forget the holiday hours! Make sure your customers can see when you’ll be open leading up to and including every major holiday. 

As the year comes to a close and the holiday season steps into overdrive, take advantage of your major selling points and advantages for shoppers. Your business is a fantastic alternative to physical products. Running a tour, activity, or attraction-based business allows you to offer an experience customers will not get anywhere else. Get more tips for holiday success in our holiday marketing guides.