Built around a “Tourism Marketing Blueprint” and much hard-won insight, this clear-eyed guide from Torres—the founder and director of the Tourism Marketing Agency—offers a thorough, practical, and refreshingly frank guide to best practices for growing a tours and activities business, with an emphasis on digital marketing, referral strategies, and ongoing refinement of approaches. Torres extols the benefits of the “authentic marketing” opportunities unique to this industry, laying out how to apply “the sheer power of genuine storytelling coupled with strategic marketing” to crafting content, sites, and “personalised and authentic travel experiences” that will drive customers to a business. The goal is not to sell but to “captivate” prospects and convert them into customers, preferably the kind that comes back multiple times.

Torres’s secret formula is to blend inspiration and imagination with practical guidance, such as highlighting the expertise of your team. He offers detailed accounts of his own work in building businesses and helping transform others, plus step-by-step guidance applicable to anyone running a tourism or hospitality business. The advice is original and up-to-date, including tips on growing a social-media presence, the usefulness of paid ads, targeting geographic segments, analyzing competitors, measuring success, remaining patient when building one’s business, diversifying traffic sources, utilizing Google Analytics, and understanding customer engagement. Torres shows how to turn customers into fans who rave about their experiences through reviews, recommendations, and social-media posts. Their often contagious enthusiasm is the fuel that grows the business.

Representing something of a new vision in marketing, Torres’s business-growing philosophy goes far beyond aggressively pushing products. It’s a hands-on approach focused on offering a steady stream of useful, inspiring content that builds trust, engagement, sales, and ultimately an army of fans. For those in the travel business, this is a must-read playbook. For others looking to grow their businesses while inspiring themselves and their staff with enthusiasm, many easily transferable lessons can be found here.

Takeaway: Exemplary guide to building and marketing tour and activities businesses.

Comparable Titles: Matthew Newton’s Sell More Tours.

Production grades
Cover: B
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: N/A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A