(Collaborative post)
The capital city is perfect for walking tours, with thousands of tourists visiting each day. From iconic monuments and eye-catching architecture to world-famous parks and renowned museums, London is packed with must-see locations – it’s easy to see why so many visitors choose to explore the city on foot. If you’re thinking of starting your own London walking tour, what can you do to make your business stand out from the crowd, and how can you provide visitors with a taste of the best of the capital?
Research the most popular destinations – London is a huge city, so you won’t be able to cover all of the landmarks in one tour. Do some market research and figure out which locations and attractions are the most popular – keep in mind that tourist traffic can vary between seasons and try to avoid locations that are wholly weather-dependent. Plan your tour routes in areas where you can quickly and easily cover the most popular attractions with minimal walking time.
Provide useful resources – A good tour guide will know their routes and locations inside and out. Do your research and produce some high-quality resources detailing all of the key info that your guests may need. This could include area maps, itineraries, historical information and route guides. When it comes to sourcing resources, don’t cheap out – invest in printing your own custom-branded booklets and consider giving your guests headphones to listen to pre-recorded guided tours in real time.
Plan your route – By choosing your locations and attractions wisely, you should be able to plan a natural route between destinations. Ensure that you’ve done plenty of ‘ghost-runs’ of your route ahead of time and make alternative plans in case of disruption – be prepared to book tickets for public transport if necessary, the cost of which can be incorporated into your final pricing. When planning for a walking tour, try to select the most picturesque and memorable routes instead of the quickest or easiest.
Plan your timings – By minimising the minutes spent walking between locations and basing your route around tourist-friendly areas, you’ll be able to give your guests more time to explore the attractions and enjoy the sights on offer – ensure that you leave plenty of spare time for visitors to do their thing. When planning your overall timings, always leave some extra space to allow for disruption and ensure that you and your guests are not in a rush.
Marketing – London walking tours are a competitive business, so you’ll need to market your tour heavily if you want to stand out in the market. This is especially true if you’re planning to run a tour in Central London or other locations with a high density of operators. Ensure your website is up to standard and spread the word across social media and UK tourism platforms – try to focus on walking, sightseeing and city break groups if you want to attract the most key potential customers.
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