Enjoying the Organized Tour

Story and photography by
Nancy & Eric Anderson 

 

A vacation in the old days was often a bus trip. It was perfect for unsophisticated tourists who needed to be spoon-fed information, ideal for first-time travelers who wanted to cover the basics and see it all in the fastest time, and especially suitable for elderly vacationers who didn't want the hassle of lugging heavy suitcases everywhere they went. Proving there's nothing new under the sun, the organized tour is now back. It never really lost favor but organized trips now offer so much they have made companies like Abercrombie & Kent, Tauck and now Tuscan Colors household names for many American travelers.

Richard S. Kahn, president of Kahn Travel Communications based in Long Island, NY, has had a busy life. He started as a small town reporter before he became editor of Travel Agent Magazine. Kahn served as president of the New York Travel Writer's Association and throughout his career has written the weekly editorial column "Today and Tomorrow" for travel industry executives. 

Asked to give some general thoughts on today’s tour travel, Khan takes off his baseball cap, scratches his head, and starts talking. He has plenty to say. For several years he was cohost of The Travel Show, a weekly 2-hour talk show on WMCA, New York.

Kahn’s thoughts:

Get the best price. You’re in a better place than you’ve ever been before because of the availability of information, especially on the Internet. However, the Internet is not necessarily the best place to purchase tickets because prices tend to be all over the place. One day you'll find a better price on Travelocity compared to Expedia, the next day tour operators will offer greater deals direct, and then the next day travel agents might be able to do better because of their relationship with the industry.

Know what you're paying for. Two tour operators may seemingly offer the same package at a similar price, but one may offer nicer hotels, more meals, and better sightseeing trips. It's not as easy as just reading the fine print, which is why a good travel agent still plays an important role. The better travel agents have survived the recent changes in the industry and can help consumers validate their choices. In addition, they're a resource if something goes wrong— you'll have someone to turn to. When it comes to the Internet, packages sold may not offer individuals you can complain to.

Decide where to go. Since Sept. 11 the travel world has been turned upside down, especially for Americans who previously traveled extensively. Now people are traveling again in pre-Sept. 11 numbers. The industry is recovering partly because of pent up demand and partly because Americans feel it is their right to travel. Nevertheless, patterns have changed. Security has become the utmost concern, which explains the increased numbers of Americans visiting countries they feel are safe. Europe has always been attractive and seen as stable and despite the strength of the Euro is having successful years but the cautions mentioned above still hold.

What about specific areas, say, Italy?

Challenged as to why our readers should take for example an organized tour in, everyone’s favorite, Tuscany, Vincenzo de Michelis, leans forward in the Balderinis restaurant in Florence Italy, spreads his hands earnestly (the hands proving he's an Italian at heart though he's essentially multicultural and speaks six languages) and says, "Information, Convenience and Economy."

Information

This guide, who has worked for many upscale tour operators for 25 years – and now has his own company, Tuscan Colors, continues, "No reading in advance can prep the traveler for a visit the way guides can make a place come alive with onsite commentary." Information given out by a tour guide contemporaneously is be more likely to be up to date and more accurate, he says. De Michelis, with a Masters in Education in Italian Literature from Columbia University, has found printed guide books often perpetuate inaccuracies. The classic example, successful but full of errors, is one written by three women from New York City who went on a two-week fact finding mission to Rome not speaking the language.

But tour guides can do more than quote accurate facts, they can give travelers a sense of place. For example, you can wander through a Gothic cathedral on your own and feel its size and majesty but only a guide could explain its significance. Peasants in the Middle Ages, says de Michelis, would likely be ignorant, cold and hungry. They would enter the shelter of the church with its great vaulted ceiling and feel comforted. Music would be playing and incense burning and the peasant whose life was essentially drab would be surrounded by colored images streaming in from the stained glass windows. "This," says de Michelis, "is how the church kept the flock faithful. By giving them a preview of Heaven. This is the Medieval church using a building as propaganda."

Convenience

Time is the currency of today and tours save much of it. You don't have to rifle your way through crowds at airports but instead meet guides with your name on signs. De Michelis feels persons on tours see ten times what an independent traveler might see. Tour guides on vacation even take tours themselves: "It’s worth something alone to avoid the logistics of getting from place to place -- and with suitcases," he says. Companies I’ve worked for, he continues, can get you the almost-impossible best seats  at the Edinburgh festival, tickets a year in advance for the Ommeramergau Passion Play, and assist you to enjoy the flower show in Holland, the Floriane, which likewise takes place every ten years. "The tickets for that," he says, "are not particularly hard to get. It's just hard to find the place!"

Economy

Tour operators have volume purchasing power and preferred industry rates for theaters, admissions, even restaurants. "What would be beyond the budget of the independent traveler -- such as staying at the Crillon or going to Maxim's in Paris -- are not unaffordable to the tour guest. We believe we can save you about 40 percent on airfare; even in high season where fares  might be $1000 we can usually buy at $600."

When does a tour make especial sense? Where facilities are limited as in Egypt. Where there is armed conflict or political turmoil such as in Israel. Where language is a barrier and the bureaucracy for visas and documentation is stifling as in Eastern Europe. And where the tour operator knows the countryside like the proverbial back of his hand as with Tuscany Colors.

Says de Michelis with a smile, "Maybe I'll see some of your readers next year."