how the familiarisation tour contributes to department or business

What You Should Know About a FAM Trip

Annie Brigham, Digital Marketing Coordinator

What is a FAM trip?

Who attends a fam trip, who pays for a fam trip.

What are the benefits of a FAM trip for Travel Agents and Media Personnel?

What are the benefits of a FAM trip for the Hosts?

What are some things to keep in mind when planning a FAM trip?

A FAM trip stands for “familiarization trip” and is one incentive of being in the travel industry. FAM trips are exclusive educational trips for travel agents, media personnel, and resellers. These familiarization trips provided by travel businesses such as travel operators, tour operators, and accommodation suppliers allow them to experience their services and destinations first-hand. FAM trips are opportunities for travel businesses to familiarize agents and media personnel with their destination and immerse them in the local culture, introduce them to local operators, and highlight the benefits their company offers, essentially take them backstage. For instance, they can have the opportunity to meet a celebrity chef that they have been referring their clients to.

The usual people presented on these trips are Travel Agents, suppliers, and media partners such as Journalists, Editors, Influencers, & Tour Operators. These individuals are necessary for countless travel businesses’ success, and as suppliers and travel operators, you are looking to build a long-term working relationship with them. The aim is to keep track of key industry influencers and invite people relevant to your industry’s success. These invitations may rope in a travel agent you have worked with in the past, who you want to enhance your relationship with or introduce new offerings to, or a new prospect who has recently jumped on your radar who can potentially help you collect new business.

Though FAM trips are endlessly changing and evolving, and differentiate per business, tour operators, cruise lines, and hotels interested in showcasing their points of interest typically provide everything for these trips. FAM trips are more often than not fully sponsored invite-only events unless there is a partnership with a rental car company or airline that exists. Sponsorships are customary because the host provides the money or product in exchange for their visit.

What are the benefits of a FAM trip to Travel Agents and Media Personnel?

Familiarization trips present numerous benefits to the attendees. The head benefit of a FAM trip is that it allows travel agents and other travel industry providers to gain ideal first-hand experience. This involvement enables them to understand better the several benefits that different kinds of trip excursions offer to their clients. As a result, they can better supply the perfect services and vacations to their client based on their desires and needs and effectively inform their clients on what they can expect. In addition, media personnel, travel writers and editors, and photographers can gain first-hand experience that can help provide better content, details, and photographs for their future publications. These trips grant journalists opportunities to develop tailored stories that they may want to develop further. For example, the trip may introduce them to a chef who has a fascinating life story or recipe to share. A further benefit is that the FAM trip guests can expand their professional network by building connections with other travel agents, suppliers, and media personnel; most FAM trips embrace downtime to relax with other professionals. This schedule allows them time to get in touch with industry experts and exchange stories on what has worked for their business. By developing long-lasting relationships with travel operators and suppliers, they will also acquire better deals for themselves and their future clients.

What are the benefits of a FAM trip to the Hosts?

Arranging a “familiarization trip” is a valuable marketing tool. As a host of a FAM trip, one benefit is that you can generate new leads and business for your company. By permitting these professionals to gain first-hand experience with your products, they will better understand and share the benefits of your travel offerings with their clients. When it comes to benefits from hosting media personnel is that you are enhancing your media coverage; travel writers and photographers take part in these trips to photograph your offerings and compose content. If you can impress and inspire your guests during a FAM trip, then you should be able to generate first-rate reviews and recommendations for your travel business. For example, one of our clients , Arizona, invited an Editor in Chief on a FAM trip to their destination. The Editor in Chief made a customized trip with a luxury angle and published over 20 full pages of material about the destination and included them in the cover. The clients were very thankful for these results and said that the benefits of these results were worth more than five times that than the overall cost of the FAM trip.

After conversing with some of our employees regarding their client’s FAM trip success stories, we have put together some things we think you should consider when planning your FAM trip: You must research and plan the trip and itinerary during the FAM trip planning stage according to your media personnel and travel agent’s profiles. Look at their previous publications and create activities that they will find appealing, craft experiences with multiple “wow factors” that they can share in their publications. Keep in mind that it is up to the criteria of your guest when it comes to what will get published; not everything that they experience will be incorporated. Provide thorough itineraries and trip information as soon as possible in the planning process; this will allow your FAM trip guests to raise any concerns or questions ahead of time and will enable you to customize their stay exceedingly well. When crafting a detailed itinerary for your guests, you must also be mindful of their time on your trip; you must provide a good balance of activities and educational events with free time to relax and take a breather. Lastly, put together a plan for contingencies; keep in mind that not everything will go to plan. It would be safest to prepare for anything from a last-minute guest cancellation up to flight cancelations, emergencies, or lockdowns. But, again, it is better to over plan.

Special thanks to our Connect Worldwide FAM trip experts Eduardo Peraza and Pedro Berruecos for contributing to this article. Contact us today if you are looking for a destination marketing partner or are interested in learning more about attending, planning or hosting a FAM trip.

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White Paper: Familiarization Trips

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• What are familiarisation trips?
• What are the benefits of Fam Trips?
• The future of Fam Trips
• How can FamTrips can create a successful destination?

1. Executive Summary

Familiarisation Trips, also known as Fam Trips, could be seen as an added value to Destinations & Marinas since it has many benefits. Here you can think of benefits such as first-hand experience, both valuable sales- & marketing tools, and your participants can expand their professional network. In addition, Fam Trips are not only popular these days but will become even more popular in the future. In order to get familiar with the impact of Fam Trips, you should first become aware of what the future and success of Fam Trips look like. After this, you can apply this to your own organisation and take advantage of all these benefits.

2. Introduction

Familiarisation Trips (Fam Trips) are an undervalued marketing tool that any destination can use. Nevertheless, Familiarisation Trips have become increasingly popular when it comes to destination marketing over the years. This white paper was written with the intention of answering the following research questions: “How can Fam Trips create additional value and a competitive advantage to your destination?”, and “Why should you have Familiarisation Trips as part of your marketing and sales proposition?”. In order to do so, an explanation of what Familiarisation Trips are will be done, followed by an explanation of the benefits. Next, the future of Fam Trips will be discussed, and finally, an overview of how Fam Trips can create a successful destination will be done. 

3. What are Familiarization Trips?

Familiarisation Trips are a marketing tool that highlights what your destination has to offer and can also be used to generate new leads. By definition, Fam Trips are exclusively organised educational trips that equip participants with sufficient knowledge of the destination to either sell clients or publish for media coverage. The purpose is to allow participants to experience the destination first hand (Alban, 2018). The participants of Fam Trips vary and are based on the organisation hosting the Fam Trips.

4. Benefits of Familiarization Trips

Fam Trips can have many benefits to your organisation, which will lead to new business opportunities. In the following section, we will elaborate further on these benefits and how they can help you to grow as an organisation in the yachting industry.

1. First-hand experience 

As it has been said in the previous section, Fam Trips will give a better view of the products and services your destination has to offer. Participants are going on Fam Trips to experience this first hand (Alban, 2018). According to Annie Brigham who is working as a digital marketing coordinator at Connect Worldwide, this involvement enables participants to better understand the several benefits that different kinds of trips and excursions offer to their guests (Brigham, 2021). As a result, they can better supply the perfect products and services to their guests based on their desires and needs and effectively inform their clients on what they can expect. Next to that, it will help participants to provide high-quality content, details, and photographs for their future publications. For example, the trip may introduce them to a chef who has a fascinating life story or recipe to share (Brigham, 2021). 

2. Valuable sales tool 

A further benefit of organising Fam Trips is that it can help your organisation to generate sales. According to the Good Tourism Institute, you have the potential to put your destination and your business on the map. The main aim of a Fam Trip is to network, build relationships and personally promote your products and services (Pohl, 2021).

3. Valuable marketing tool 

According to Annie Brigham, it will give a better understanding by permitting these professionals to gain first-hand experience with your product (Brigham, 2021). When it comes to benefits from hosting media personnel is that you are enhancing your media coverage; travel writers and photographers take part in these trips to photograph your offerings and compose content. If you can impress and inspire your guests during a Fam Trip, then you should be able to generate first-rate reviews and recommendations for your destination (Brigham, 2021). 

4. Expanding your network 

Another benefit is that Fam Trips guests can expand their professional network by building connections with other participants who will have different kinds of field expertise; most Fam Trips embrace downtime to relax with other professionals (Brigham, 2021). This schedule allows them time to get in touch with industry experts and exchange stories on what has worked for their organisations. By developing long-lasting relationships with other participants, they will also acquire better deals for themselves and their future clients. 

5. The future of Familiarization Trips

‘’Fam Trips are more important now than they ever were,’’ is what Natalie Browning said, owner of Insider Travel Planners in Danville, West Virginia. ‘’Given the circumstances, the general public is afraid to travel, or they have concerns. When they see someone they trust out travelling and experiencing new things, they are likely to follow suit. We need Fam Trips in order to show the world that we can travel and things are open.’’ (TravelAge West, 2020)

According to TravelAge West, the new world of Fam Trips is going to be very exclusive, focusing on changes in order to provide consumer confidence (TravelAge West, 2020). It will stay important to focus on what the traveller wants and anticipate this in the future. ‘’Moving forward, we will be hosting smaller and more personalised Fam Trips with a stronger focus on social media’’, said Carilis Felipe, the company’s director of field sales (TravelAge West, 2020). We want to encourage agents to document their experience on their social platforms for consumers to see and feel comfortable travelling to the destination. 

Regardless of how they take place, Fam Trips are likely to become an increasingly important educational source for travel advisors, according to Thomas Carpenter, owner of Huckleberry Travel (TravelAge West, 2020). 

6. How can Familiarization Trips create successful destinations?

People often believe that Fam Trips hold no value, but this is probably because things went wrong in the organisational process. Maybe the right people weren’t invited or the proper follow-up process did not take place. Therefore, carrying out Fam Trips the right way can be beneficial for any company (Lucht, 2015). 

According to Lucht (2015), the Taiwan Convention Bureau invited 12 corporate buyers from China for a six-day Fam Tour. On the last day, the Bureau presented 12 destination management companies and travel agencies to the corporate representatives, and they generated three corporate travel deals. This amounted to 1,500 MICE travellers heading to Taiwan. The Fam produced an ROI of 3000%. The cost of the Fam was $25,000 and Taiwan generated at least $750,000 from the MICE travellers for the destination (Lucht, 2015). 

Additionally, ACREW hosted a Fam Trip for a marina who received a ROI of 1000% based on the return visits for those who attended the Fam Trip. Another broker Fam Trip hosted by ACREW for a destination resulted in $3.4 million charters being brokered. This shows that Fam Trips can indeed create successful destinations once done right. Here are some tips on how to successfully run Fam Trips:

Set Expectations

Sending the participants their proposed itinerary in advance is a good way to manage their expectations (Alban, 2018). You can also organise a meeting a week in advance to go through the itinerary to discuss and give further details. Managing expectations is one way to ensure that the participants are not disappointed during the Fam Trip. 

Creating Connections

You would think that displaying your destination and tourism products should be your first priority during Fam Trips, but it shouldn’t be. Your top priority should be building connections with the participants of your fam trips. Only then would you fully connect them to your destination, and be able to show their uniqueness and potential (Pohl, 2021). 

Make Follow-Ups After The Trips

Don’t wait too long to follow up with the participants of the Fam Trip and get their feedback. See if there are any questions or suggestions. Keep the communication lines open and find out what worked and what didn’t. Their feedback can be crucial going forward (Alban, 2018).

Alban, M. C. (2018). What Are Fam Trips And How To Get The Most Out Of Them. Retrieved from https://www.wetravel.com/academy/fam-trips/

Brigham, A. (2021, July 06). https://cww.travel/blog/what-you-should-know-about-a-fam-trip. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from CWW: https://cww.travel/blog/what-you-should-know-about-a-fam-trip  

Lira Alban, M. C. (2018, September 22). What Are Fam Trips And How To Get The Most Out Of Them. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from We Travel Academy: https://www.wetravel.com/academy/fam-trips/  

Pohl, C. (2021, January 29). 3 tips to stand out with the most memorable Fam trips. Retrieved March 17, 2022, from Good Tourism Institute: https://goodtourisminstitute.com/library/fam-trips/  

TravelAge West. (2020, June 16). What Is the Future of Fam Trips? Retrieved March 17, 2022, from TravelAge West: https://www.travelagewest.com/Industry-Insight/Business-Features/What-Is-theFuture-of-Fam-Trips  

Lucht, J. (2015). The Value of FAM Trips. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/value-fam-trips-joern-lucht/

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The Value of Familiarisation Trips: A Win-Win for Travel Professionals and Destinations

Familiarisation trips, commonly known as ‘FAM’ trips, play a crucial role in the travel industry. These trips offer travel agents, media personnel, and travel influencers the opportunity to experience a destination or suppliers’ offerings first-hand. In this article, we will explore what familiarisation trips are and the benefits they offer for travel agents, media personnel, and the host travel provider. We will also highlight how the host can utilise the TripMapper for Business itinerary builder software to create comprehensive itineraries for their FAM trips, along with valuable tips for designing exceptional itineraries.

What are familiarisation trips?

FAM trips are carefully organised visits to a destination, typically sponsored by the host travel provider (destination management organisations ('DMOs'), tourism boards, tour operators, airlines or hotel chains) with the aim of providing its guests, usually travel agents, media personnel and travel influencers, with an immersive, educational experience. The purpose is for the host to educate their guests about their products, services or a destination and its offerings firsthand. The guests gain in-depth knowledge of the destination, which they can then share with their clients or audience.

Benefits of familiarisation trips for travel agents and media personnel

FAM trips provide first-hand experiences, deepen knowledge, strengthen industry relationships, and aim to generate positive publicity, benefitting both the host and the guests.

• Enhanced destination and product/service knowledge : FAM trips provide travel agents and media personnel with first-hand experiences and insights into a destination's and/or provider’s offerings. This deepens their knowledge, enabling them to better advise and inform their clients or readers. By experiencing the destination first-hand, travel agents can create more tailored and engaging itineraries and packages for their clients.
• Building travel industry connections : FAM trips facilitate face-to-face interactions between travel professionals and local suppliers, representatives, and other industry stakeholders. By engaging with industry partners during the trip, participants can establish relationships that can lead to future collaborations, exclusive partnerships, and better access to local resources.
• Storytelling opportunities : Media personnel on FAM trips have the chance to uncover unique stories, capture stunning visuals, and gather compelling content that can be shared with their audience. This first-hand experience allows professionals to convey genuine enthusiasm and lends authenticity to their storytelling, making it more engaging.

Benefits of familiarisation trips for destination management organisations, tour operators and travel providers

• Showcasing destination highlights : Arranging a FAM trip is a valuable marketing tool. FAM trips offer the host travel provider with the opportunity to showcase the best their service, product or destination has to offer.
• Networking and collaboration : FAM trips foster networking opportunities between destination management organisations, tour operators or travel providers and travel professionals. These connections can lead to partnerships, increased visibility, and a wider distribution network for the destination, product or service.
• Generating positive publicity : Hosting FAM trips for media personnel can generate valuable publicity and media coverage. Impressing and inspiring the guests during a FAM trip could lead to first-rate reviews and recommendations. Positive reviews, articles, and social media posts about the destination, product or service can significantly impact its reputation, attract more visitors, and increase sales.

Image by Mike Swigunski on Unsplash

Image by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash

Using TripMapper for Business for creating familiarisation trip Itineraries

TripMapper for Business is an itinerary builder software for tour operators and destination management organisations. By utilising the itinerary builder and carefully designing beautiful itineraries, the host can showcase the best they have to offer in a unique, engaging and inspiring way. Here's how:

• Curated itineraries : TripMapper for Business is the best tour operator software to use to curate visually stunning travel itineraries tailored to the specific goals of the FAM trip. Our tour operator software provides a user-friendly interface for organising activities, attractions, accommodations, and transportation options, ensuring a seamless planning process.
• Collaborative features : TripMapper for Business is also a great solution because tour operators and DMOs can collaborate with the guests. In addition to the planned items, the guests can add their own items to the itinerary if they have free time during the FAM trip. This collaboration enhances engagement, personalisation and builds excitement.
• Real-time updates : The platform enables the hosts to provide guests with important information and changes during the FAM trip. This ensures that guests have the most up-to-date details ensuring a smooth planning process.

Tips for creating exceptional familiarisation trip itineraries

• Understand guest objectives: Gather information about the interests and goals of the guests to ensure the itinerary aligns with their profile and expectations. If guests are media personnel, review their previous publications and craft experiences that they will find appealing and will want to share in their publications.
• Provide thorough itineraries as soon as possible in the planning process: This will allow your FAM trip guests to raise any questions ahead of time.
• Balance variety and depth: Provide a mix of popular attractions and lesser-known gems to showcase the destination's highlights while offering unique experiences.
• Engage with local experts: Collaborate with local guides, experts, and representatives who can provide insider knowledge and deliver authentic experiences.
• Be mindful of guests' time: When creating the itinerary, consider their time during the trip. Strive for a good mix of activities, educational events, and relaxation time.
• Collect feedback: Encourage guests to provide feedback after the trip, which can help refine future itineraries and improve the overall experience.

Image by The Anam on Unsplash

Familiarisation trips can serve as an invaluable tool for tour operators, tourism boards, and destination management organisations. By leveraging our tour operator system, TripMapper for Business, as an itinerary builder for their familiarisation trips, it will enhance the overall experience for guests and in turn, generate positive publicity and increased sales.

Tour operators, tourism boards and destination management organisations, book a demo of the TripMapper for Business platform or sign up for a FREE 10-day trial now!

What Are Fam Trips And How To Get The Most Out Of Them

• International Tour Operators
• Group & Multi-Day travel
• Customer Experience

Familiarisation Trips, better known as Fam Trips, are educational trips organized exclusively for media partners or travel agents and resellers, by travel businesses such as tour operators and accommodation establishments.

Fam Trips are designed to equip participants with adequate product knowledge to either sell onto clients or publish for media coverage. Travel businesses host Fam Trips to showcase their business and product to the people who resell or cover them in media.

Either way, the fundamentals of Fam Trips remain the same, you want to create memorable, fun, and personable experiences for the people who undertake them. They are essentially marketing tools that highlight your travel offering and are one of several ways to generate leads and new business for your travel company.

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Who Goes On Fam Trips?

Fam Trips are usually set up either as invitation-only sponsored learning trips or at discounted rates exclusively available for travel agents to book.

Travel agents and resellers go on Fam Trips to experience first hand a travel product or offering. This gives them insight into the finer details of the offering and lets them add a personal touch to their sales pitch.

Travelers are on the lookout for personalized travel experiences and something as simple as a travel agent knowing whether there is a packed breakfast available to take on a day hike excursion without needing to check details with the establishment saves time, conveys efficiency and will attract customers to your travel business .

Fam trips are not only for travel agents or resellers though, media partners also participate in them too. Travel writers or photographers join Fam Trips for media to write up articles and take beautiful images to post and share in their publications.

Tips On How To Run Successful Fam Trips

You want to apply the same basic principles to your Fam Trips regardless of whether you are hosting Media or Suppliers. In both cases, the trips should be experiential and relevant to your product.

Set Expectations

Email your suppliers and media partners their proposed itineraries a few weeks in advance so that they know what to expect from the Fam Trips and can raise any questions they may have to prepare for it.

When hosting Fam Trips for Media discuss your expectations for the press coverage before the trips begin so that you are all on the same page. Establish where the write-ups will be published, the length and frequency of the articles, expectations for social media posting etc.

Offer Authentic Experiences

While you do need to pull out the stops and offer the same experiences that full paying guests would get, you do not want to misrepresent your offering by including something not ordinarily part of your repertoire.

Clients will be disappointed if they read about a sundowner experience on the riverbank but discover on arrival at your lodge that it is not in fact on your activities list it.

Create Partnership Offerings

Contact surrounding travel businesses to see if they would be interested in creating partnership offerings to provide to the suppliers and media partners.

Approach restaurants who might be interested in hosting groups for some of their meals. Or contact a bicycle tour operator to ask if they would lead groups on a trail experience.

This will give the other businesses the opportunity to increase their visibility and get mentions in the media and it will help you to spread some of the costs involved in hosting Fam Trip groups.

Offer Alternative Itineraries

Where applicable, showcase a number of your most popular activities to the people on your Fam Trips. Not only will this highlight more aspects of your travel business, but it will also negate the possibility of accidentally excluding someone from partaking in particular activities.

Consider people’s varied interests and add one or two alternatives to your itineraries. The idea is for your suppliers and media partners to make the most of their Fam Trip experience so limiting your educational Fam Trip activity to a snorkeling trip might not work in your favor if you are hosting people who do not enjoy swimming for example.

Set A Manageable Schedule

Remember the people you host on your Fam Trips are working even if it may not always seem like it. With this in mind, remember to allocate a certain amount of downtime on your Fam Trips to allow your travel agents and media partners to check in with the office, organize the information they are putting together on your travel product, or have a quick catch up with the family at home.

Provide All Necessary Information

Your suppliers and media partners are going to need the details of all the accommodations they stay in, restaurants they dine at, and activity providers who guide them on their Fam Trips. As the organizer, you will have easy access to all of this information.

Compile a list of all the names, email addresses, contact numbers and social media handles of your partners onto a database and share it with the people on your trip. This way they will be able to accredit everyone accordingly.

You can include the brochure images and write-ups of your travel product in this informational package too. You might find that your suppliers need to update your product on their site and this will make sure that they have what they need.

Most of this information will likely be required in a digital format, so either email it or make it available to download from a limited access portal.

Make Follow Ups After The Trips

Do not leave it too long after your Fam Trips have finished to follow up with your travel agents and resellers to get their feedback.

See if they have any questions or suggestions for you and check that your media posts are published and all the information is optimized, correct, and up to date.

Keep the communication lines open and find out what worked and what didn’t and learn from each experience and Fam Trip.

Remember that your travel agents, suppliers, and media partners are key players in your business’ success and Fam Trips are a good way to nurture relationships with them. So consider the time and resources you spend hosting Fam Trips and nurturing relationships as an investment in marketing your business and promoting your travel offering.

In an industry where experience is everything, going the extra mile and working together to give clients the best possible service will translate into stellar reviews and glowing recommendations for all parties involved.

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Familiarization Tours – What are they?

• September 4, 2015
• wellsgraytours

You may have heard of Familiarization Tours (FAM Tour is the industry abbreviation) and wondered what they are, who provides them and who are they for.

FAM Tours are hosted by travel destinations, restaurants and attractions to familiarize travel professionals with products and services that they feel will help the travel professional sell their destinations or services. FAM tours can be as close as a local restaurant or B & B in your community inviting the local Information Center staff or local travel agents to enjoy a meal or overnight stay. First hand experiences are much easier to sell.

FAM Trips are not usually free, but offered to travel professionals at a reduced rate. This ensures that travel expert is truly invested in learning about the destination or product. While this may sound like an ideal way to take a vacation, it is far from it. Destination FAM tours are jammed packed with hotel rooms, quick overview stops at attractions, dining experiences packaged into a short trip with long, long days. FAM tours are designed to provide the travel professional with a “snap shot” of the destination. The upside is that your travel professional will meet face to face with service providers and begin to build relationships with those they will work with. When booking your next holiday or tour, they will be able to recommend safe local transportation as well a personal perspective into your next adventure.

Wells Gray Tours utilizes FAM opportunities whenever possible to research new destinations. These FAM tours provide great benefits for you as the traveller. When researching a new destination it is so much easier to plan the itinerary with input from staff that has had firsthand experience. Having someone on the ground in a destination allows for a personal glimpse into cultural expectations, safety issues and transportation availability. Recently our staff has been busy; Darlene from our Vernon office and Sema from Victoria cruised on the Ocean Endeavor to Baffin Island and Greenland, Stephanie from Kamloops and Kerrie from Kelowna spent time in Savannah, Georgia and the Golden Isles, while Fraser and Shane are busy exploring cruise opportunities with Norwegian Cruise Lines.

On the Ocean Endeavor to Baffin Island and Greenland

The Golden Isles, Georgia

Tallinn, Estonia with Norwegian Cruise Lines.

Wells Gray Tours not only takes advantage of FAM tour offerings, but offers FAM tours to its employees on our tours to destinations that we travel to frequently. This ensures that all our staff stays well informed on areas we go to repeatedly, understand how we operate when out on tour and have a chance to meet and mingle with our guests in a relaxed and fun atmosphere. Wells Gray Tours provides the staff with additional time off to take FAMS.

You know you will be in good hands when you travel with Wells Gray Tours due to on our going commit to making sure we are well educated about the destinations we travel to.

Written by: Joan Niemeier

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• deborahboyland
• Mar 18, 2019

8 Reasons FAM Trips Are Important to the Event Industry

Familiarisation (FAM) trips are a great part of being an event professional, but they’re also a necessary part. Viewing hotels, venues and locations in person gives the important opportunity to understand the experience you’re creating from the perspective of your attendees. Have you ever expected a holiday to be incredible and then found the location to be a bit disappointing when you get there? A FAM trip ensures that doesn’t happen at the worst possible moment, when it’s too late and 100 delegates are already on their way! Here’s our 10 reasons getting to go on familiarisation trips are an important part of being an event professional.

Story telling is a great way to market a product and create a memorable experience. Pitching to a potential client can include stories from the places you visited. This can help build a better image in the client’s mind, giving them more reason to go with it.

Immersing yourself is the best possible way to gain an insight into your clients’ perspective. For example, it’s good to get the feel of a hotel so you don’t end up putting your clients somewhere that looks beautiful online but ends up being secretly depressing in person.

You can develop a stronger relationship with your suppliers when you’re there.

Being there in person will better equip you to know what could potentially go wrong and having an informed plan will help prevent any mishaps.

Have you ever tried giving someone an opinion about a place and then they find out you’ve never been there? It may go wrong pretty quickly.

The free products and services venues and suppliers sometimes give you are the products you might be giving your clients in future. You’ll want to know how they work long term before investing in them.

You can’t taste food through the internet. Making sure your delegates get the best food experience isn’t achievable without a FAM trip.

You deal in experiences; shouldn’t you live in them too?

Moral of the story: FAM trips can be a fun part of working in the events industry, but they’re also an important and valuable one. They help improve the skills and knowledge of planners and give suppliers the best opportunity to showcase their products.

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How FAM trips and event strategy can elevate your brand

We’re all guilty of it. One minute you’re aimlessly scrolling through your Instagram feed, killing time before your kid’s soccer practice wraps up or your next appointment starts, when suddenly something catches your eye. Maybe it’s a post of someone using a power drill which reminds you that you need to get going on that bathroom reno, new running shoes that you’re positive will finally give you the motivation you need to start running twice a week, or a picture of that resort in Baja you’ve been dying to stay at, like, forever. Whatever it is, it’s enough to prompt you to click the ‘buy’ button–and that’s exactly why influencer marketing and media coverage is so effective.

Whether your company is launching a new product or looking to showcase a destination, proven ways to generate excitement and awareness are by hosting a FAM trip or planning a brand activation.

What is a FAM trip?

Traditionally, a familiarization trip–commonly called a FAM trip or FAM–is when a destination or tourism brand hosts media, travel agents or suppliers for an experience, This could be something as simple as an afternoon hike highlighting offerings from a few providers capped off with a farm-to-table dinner, to a weeklong, all-expenses paid trip to a luxury resort in Thailand. The idea is that the resulting media coverage leads to more bookings, while agents on the supplier side are more knowledgeable about the products they’re pushing which can increase sales.

“You don’t know what you don’t know, and attending FAM trips is a quick and easy way to get insider access to a destination,” explains travel writer Jody Robbins , who goes on hosted trips multiple times a year to research upcoming articles. “A good FAM trip will not only familiarize you with the destination, but will uncover a new perspective.” 

Now that bloggers and influencers have developed so much klout and loyal audiences, FAMs are expanding to include this type of new media and trips are no longer just tourism focused. Forward-thinking companies are putting together customized brand activations which give influencers an opportunity to connect with and use their products, creating content they can then share organically with their followers.

“In the past, most companies would launch new products at trade shows and through press releases, which is somewhat effective but not very exciting,” says Aaron Sales, co-founder of Global Sessions which has worked with brands like Nike to support their brand influencer programs. “Today, consumers and media desire authentic experiences that allow them to fully understand and appreciate the product. When you feel a product in your own hands and can have a direct conversation with the designer or someone knowledgeable and passionate about the product, you immediately become an ambassador. It’s one thing to read a one-pager on the latest and greatest, but it’s completely different when you get to cast the rod from shore and hook into a 12 pound trout with the owner of the company.”

Nike brought in Global Sessions to develop the event strategy for a product launch , where they presented new apparel to a group of fashion bloggers, photographers and media from high-profile outlets like Vogue , HYPEBEAST and Gear Patrol. Global Sessions sourced a venue to put Nike’s ACG React Terra Gobe shoe to the test and provide an incredible backdrop to create content, as well as arrange transportation, meals, lodging and experiences. 

How to make a familiarization trip successful

Many companies that host FAM trips or influencer marketing events bring in a third-party agency to assist with things like the run of show and venue finding services, and benefit from their insider knowledge.

“Logistics and timing are hugely important factors in running a successful FAM tour,” says Kieron Weidner from First Nature Tours , which is a longtime partner of Global Sessions. His company works with destination marketing organizations (DMOs) like Travel Oregon and Brand USA by providing professional guides, luxury transportation and expert insight into each area. 

“Things often take longer than anticipated, and it’s important to know the destinations and attractions well enough to plan accordingly. Also, having relationships in place with key partners can assist in hosting the group, and providing the kind of experience that will really sell the participants on the destination.”

On the media side, journalists appreciate a bit of flexibility and free time built into schedules to give them time to properly explore based on their interests.

“One of the best FAM trips I was on offered two different half-day blocks we could choose from,” Robbins recalls. “One block was culinary, the other family travel, another outdoor adventure, etcetera. Everyone split into different groups and got the [story] angles they needed.”

She adds that including a unique experience is also appreciated, as well as getting an opportunity to meet the locals.

“One example is when I did a UK FAM that took us into Oxfordshire and Highclere House, AKA Downton Abbey. Anyone can tour Highclere House, but this was memorable for a few reasons: it was timely because the movie was coming out in a few months, and it was bucket list-worthy. Sure, you can do it on your own, but that takes some effort and our FAM timed it just right with not only a tour and tea, but an evening performance where we could wander through the castle at will. 

“Our FAM had organized a tea with Lady Carnarvon, the mistress of the house. Having unhurried time with her was not only invaluable for my story, but is something I’ll never forget.” 

What to avoid when planning FAM tours

The most important thing to remember when planning a media visit or influencer marketing event is that one size does not fit all . Many organizers are guilty of cramming in too many different activities to try and showcase everything, which means participants barely have enough time to properly experience it, never mind actually create content. It’s almost always better to spend more time at fewer places.

“It’s important to balance the learning and site inspections with time to truly relax and enjoy the destination, and [travel advisors] won’t want to return with a group if they don’t enjoy their overall experience,” Weidner says. 

He suggests setting accurate expectations for the participants well in advance, and always calling ahead to keep partners updated with arrival time and group size to ensure the experience moves smoothly, Most importantly, be informed.

“Know the answers to the questions that your participants need to know.”

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Written on 11 th December 2018 by Nancy Brown

Why are FAM trips important to event agencies?

FAM (familiarisation) trips are a vital learning tool for TAG's Events team. Our event managers are focused on delivering the best possible experience for our clients – and these inspections ensure that we have first-hand product knowledge and can advise on exactly what to expect. Read on to learn more.

What is a FAM trip anyway? 

A FAM trip (or familiarisation trip) is where events planners (and/or potential clients) are invited by a supplier to experience a hotel or an activity first-hand. The supplier shows off what they can offer, so the events manager can develop a better understanding of their services and envision how the event would work before proposing the idea to the client. 

How does this benefit our clients? 

1. FAM trips play an important role in scouting out the very best locations for our clients . We only want to work with the best suppliers – and our events managers are hard to impress – so it’s important that we experience venues and services for ourselves. The events team attend FAM trips in locations that are relevant to their work or clients, whether it be a city that regularly comes up in event briefs, or whether it could be a “wildcard” destination in a proposal.

2. Our event managers are always in the know. They strive to develop their product knowledge, so you can be certain that the advice you receive on hotels, venues and any other suppliers is accurate and up to date. This enables our clients to make informed decisions because we have seen the quality of the bedrooms, the standard of the food and drink, and the level of customer service you would receive on-site. 

3. It’s about strengthening the relationships between TAG, our suppliers and key contacts. This brings huge benefits to our clients because it ensures a smooth booking process and means we can negotiate excellent rates for you. 

4. We keep our clients in mind. When our event managers attend FAM events, they keep our clients in mind. For example, if they’re exploring a new venue, they’ll keep an eye out for the specific features and characteristics that clients would appreciate. We will always be thinking about new opportunities for you. 

What TAG Events say…

 “I recently attended a FAM trip with a hotel supplier in Paris and I found it very worthwhile. I experienced first-hand the hotel’s excellent customer service and high-end décor, so I felt confident when proposing the venue for a corporate summer party enquiry. We ultimately booked the accommodation and event space at the hotel, and I liaised with the supplier contact I made on the FAM trip.”

Sammi Wratten, Events Manager at TAG, London team

21 st December 2018

TAG announces expansion of Events division to Los Angeles and promotion of Bethany Chamberlain as Events Director

6 th August 2018

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How to Design a Successful FAM Tour

There are many more critical factors of a successful FAM tour than most people realize. Many of these are not widely known and/or acknowledged by destinations and their participating hospitals clinics hotels government agencies and other organizations. As a result hosts spend money for FAM tours and get no return on their expenditure. In fact a FAM tour is an investment and should provide a return on its expense.

So what are these aspects that make a FAM tour effective and how does the host make a profit? First lets look at the generally accepted medical tourism industry standard and then we will examine the actual success factors themselves.

What constitutes a successful FAM tour?

A FAM tour is industry slang for Familiarization Tour. As its name suggests the tour is intended to familiarize the attendees with the host destination. Medical tourism industry FAM tours are currently made up of trips of six to 12 people to a particular destination.

During the tour the attendees visit the destination hospitals and clinics stay at select hotels and engage in some tourism activities. There is also the customary exchange of contact information with the intention of future business being conducted between the attendees and the participating destination FAM tour organizations.

Some of the better-planned FAM tour hosts do some screening of the attendees to make sure that they carry the right amount of influence in the relevant industries. Destinations are often looking for buyers as they are usually called. Buyers are decision makers in the health insurance or employment areas both of which are considered to be sources of potentially large numbers of patients for the destination countries and the participating organizations.

Some of these better planned tours also schedule some business meeting time for the attendees and the host organizations to kick start their business relationships. Often times visits can end without serious business being discussed but rather a promise is made to discuss business in subsequent phone or other meetings.

Both these activities  the screening and the business meetings  are designed to increase the success of the FAM tour.In short the host destinations are attempting to ensure that the expense brings them some return.

However while these are excellent activities they do not guarantee a successful FAM tour. In order for it to be successful the following items must be considered and addressed during the planning stage. (Note that examples of the critical success factors are presented at the end of the article). ‍

Factors for success

1. Build a relationship:- Both destination hosts and FAM tour attendees must understand and agree with the FAM tour objective(s) which is usually to create an event that will trigger a relationship or that will enhance an existing relationship.

Most FAM tours are designed to either create business for the destination host hospitals clinics and participating organizations or to expose the destination host hospitals to the FAM tour attendees in the hope of generating future business. ‍

It's important to note that without the relationship factor the FAM tour is most likely to generate only business transactions at best. Many hospitals complain that after spending money to host a FAM tour they received little to no patients from their efforts.

Usually this is because the attendees are busy sending patients to destinations with which they have a relationship in addition to a business agreement. By introducing the relationship factor FAM tour destination hosts and attendees start building the foundation for a long and fruitful relationship.

The communication becomes more open and both parties work together to achieve success. Trust begins to develop and barriers are broken down. This sort of relationship usually grows to include other business in addition to medical tourism business. ‍

‍ 2. Define the host:- FAM tours generally experience some disarray and confusion during the implementation stage when it is unclear to the attendees who exactly the hosts are. Are the hosts the government agencies the hospitals and clinics the funding organizations or a combination?

It should be absolutely clear and transparent.Also the relationship between the host(s) and the other participating organizations should be abundantly clear. Of course there is an optimal arrangement that will benefit all parties concerned and the host(s) should consult with someone who has experience in the industry and who can help them leverage their host position to achieve successful results. ‍

‍ 3. Identify the tour attendees The host needs to figure out whom to invite to the FAM tour. Remember the objective of the tour is to create an event that will trigger a relationship or that will enhance an existing relationship.

Knowing that this relationship is primarily between the host(s) and the attendees it becomes apparent that the attendees should be people who represent organizations that will benefit the host(s). However the attendees should also be people who represent organizations that the host(s) can benefit.

A relationship is between two parties for the tour to be successful both parties must benefit.

‍ 4. Assign a facilitator and create a schedule:- Now that the host(s) attendees and objectives have been identified the FAM tour needs a schedule and facilitator(s). A facilitator is the person who will actually implement the tour. The person should be fluent in the visitors language but the tour can still be effective if one of the attendees is an interpreter.

The facilitator should be widely available and have no time conflicts for the duration of the tour. The person should also be savvy in the business ways of the destination host country. FAM tour attendees always have many questions and the lack of answers can quickly render a FAM tour ineffective.

An effective FAM tour schedule is one that contains hospital and clinic visits some government agency visits opportunity for business discussions and some social activity usually with a tourism component associated with it. The length of the tour depends on a number of factors. See the table below for an example of a three-day tour.

‍ 5. Secure appropriate housing:- The lodging is central to the FAM tour and should be absolutely first class. First the travel time between the host hotel and the hospitals and clinics to be visited should be minimized.

Second the host hotel should have some examples of the types of rooms that will be available to future patients including fully accessible rooms and fitness facilities. The cuisine should be international in flavor and availability and room service should be 24/7.

Remember that the attendees will be conducting business with their countries while visiting and this may involve a time difference. Therefore they should be able to access all the hotel services round the clock.

‍ 6. Narrow your marketing/hospital selection:- Destination countries should focus on the one or two procedures that they have world-class reputations in and the lowest prices. It is not good marketing to advertise all the hospital and clinic procedures because it demonstrates a lack of understanding of the metrics that make medical tourism viable. Patients and buyers look for quality equal to or better than what is available in their home country and at the best price possible. ‍

‍ 7. Include tourism activities:- There are two reasons to included tourism activities in a FAM tour. The first is because most patients will be accompanied by a companion and the companion may need to re-energize themselves during the patient visit.The second reason is to advertise the destination country.

The most popular and effective form of marketing is word-of-mouth. There is no better way to encourage repeat visits whether for healthcare purposes or for tourism purposes than to make sure that the visitors see what the destination country has to offer.

‍ 8. Plan efficient and effective business meetings:- Of course the main reason for the FAM tour to begin with is to motivate business and to do this via a relationship approach. This approach is not only a smart way to do business but it also is an excellent marketing approach for the destination country and its hospitals and clinics.

Some time has to be dedicated toward business and business activities. Careful consideration and planning should be undertaken. FAM tour participants should be given a schedule that clearly shows what all the activities are well in advance of them leaving their countries to start the tour.

They should be clearly instructed on what business activities are going to take place how to prepare for them and what their role is going to be. This will ensure a smooth business discussion.

‍ 9. Appoint a business meeting facilitator:- In addition to the above recommendations a business meeting facilitator has to be appointed. This person does not have to be the same person that facilitates the whole tour.

This person should be trained and should know who the attendees are their titles and responsibilities the objectives of the FAM tour and the objectives of the business discussions. This will ensure an error-free business environment.

‍ 10. Follow up:- Follow-up is essential to the eventual success of any FAM tour. Follow-up is the ultimate responsibility of the hosts. They are the ones that have made the financial outlay in order to achieve an objective and therefore they are the most invested in the outcome.

At the business meetings and other FAM tour meetings milestones for certain activities would have been established. These milestones should be the focus of all follow-up activities.

Buyers beware

Always prescreen your buyers and evaluate their position in the industry. There has been a growing trend of Fake Buyers on Fam Trips. They may be consultants and marketing companies that use the Fam Trip as a fully paid trip to market their services directly to the hospitals. If disclosed in advance and if the host finds value in it then the consultant may provide value to the host. ‍

A FAM tour is a one-time opportunity for a host country and its hospitals and clinics to impress the tour attendees. This is a cant fail proposition. In other words everything must go well during a FAM tour otherwise word-of-mouth communication will certainly cause future problems for the host country.

All efforts must be made to ensure that the FAM tour is most impressive and that the attendees are supremely confident that the host country offers a viable short- and long-term solution for their healthcare issues. If all the above factors are addressed successfully a FAM tour will provide just the jump start that a host country needs in the medical tourism industry. ‍

About the Author:

Alex Piper is the President of OneWorld Global Healthcare Solutions a consulting company committed to creating a worldwide healthcare solution.With over 17 years experience in Insurance Marketing and Employee Benefits Management Alex Piper possesses extensive knowledge of the U.S. Healthcare Market and the influence that Insurance Carriers U.S.

Employers Hospitals Physicians Physician Groups Healthcare Professional Organizations and Government will have on the next generation of global healthcare.As an insurance executive at a top Fortune 50 U.S. company he spent eight years designing employee and customer benefits programs including healthcare programs for the large supplier and distribution partner companies of his employer.

He was responsible for creating a benefits program that had over U.S.$140 million in assets and had over 1300 companies enrolled. His latest program grew from zero to $40 million in insurance premiums in less than two years!

Unveiling the Power of Social Media Marketing in Medical Tourism

Korea: turning the focus to an emerging global leader in medical tourism, exploring the surge of cosmetic tourism: trends and considerations in aesthetic procedures abroad, holistic healing: exploring integrative medicine and wellness retreats, meeting the surge: the growing demand for knee replacement surgeries and advances in the field, in pursuit of excellence: ceo spotlight with ms. artirat charukitpipat, south korea, a medical tourism leader pioneering the future of medicine  , surgical solutions for obesity and weight management ~ a team effort, south korea ~ stepping into the spotlight in global healthcare, continue reading, informed decision-making in medical tourism: the significance of clinical outcome reports, avoiding pitfalls: top 5 mistakes medical tourism startups should steer clear of, reshaping cataract surgery with advanced technology, featured reading, guide to choosing korea for medical travel, medical tourism magazine.

The Medical Tourism Magazine (MTM), known as the “voice” of the medical tourism industry, provides members and key industry experts with the opportunity to share important developments, initiatives, themes, topics and trends that make the medical tourism industry the booming market it is today.

Why familiarization trips (FAMs)?

Why does Destination BC host familiarization trips (also known as FAMs) and what are the outcomes of trips like this? Destination BC and key partners often host journalists, editors, travel agents, product managers, marketing managers or reservations staff from tour operator partners.    The intent of these trips to provide attendees with a level of understanding about what BC has to offer as well as inspire them to sell or write about the destination more knowledgably (when they often sell or write about hundreds of destinations around the world). Learn more about FAMs in BC.

UK trade education

The Destination BC UK team held an educational quiz for Trailfinders, consistently one of the biggest tour operator partners and producers into British Columbia from the UK, which shared BC facts to attending staff in London.

German documentary filming

A German documentary team filmed in the Kootenay Rockies in rare boreal forest from 2016-2017, and the subsequent film “Black Forest” is being released.  The dark woods in British Columbia’s Kootenay Rockies is a 55,000 hectare sized remote area that was owned for many years by the German Carl, Duke of Württemberg who managed it with sustainability in mind. He named it Darkwoods after his home mountain range Schwarzwald. Home to the very rare boreal woodland cariboo, wolves, and grizzlies, the area is owned by the Nature Conservancy Canada (NCC).

Australia Winter FAMs

November and December 2018 saw many FAM trips from Australia, sharing the idea of experiencing Winter in BC/pre-Christmas and non-ski activities. The team hosted: 10 retail travel agents from Flight Centre stores in New South Wales, who visited Whistler and Vancouver on their FAM; 10 retail travel agents who were part of the Canada Specialist Program from across Australia, visiting Victoria, Vancouver and the Kootenay Rockies; and 8 top travel trade clients in Vancouver, Whistler, Victoria, and Field at Emerald Lake Lodge.    Feedback from the trips included the following: “If you’ve been to Canada in summer you’ll know the scenery is spectacular, but to visit in winter is truly magical” .

Photo: Product Managers snow shoeing Grouse Mountain.

Recent travel media coverage

Here are just a few of the media outlets Destination BC recently assisted or hosted:

Outside Online, National Geographic Traveler, Orbitz, Robb Report, LA Travel Magazine, BC Living, Globe and Mail, Ski Canada Magazine, Matador Network, Today (Australia)

Examples of recent coverage:

USA Today https://www.10best.com/interests/explore/why-you-should-visit-canadas-thompson-okanagan/?geo=eu

Iconic Life https://iconiclife.com/experiential-gift-ideas/

Outside https://www.outsideonline.com/2375486/5-road-trips-you-need-take-winter

OpenTable https://blog.opentable.com/page/3/

OpenTable https://blog.opentable.com/2018/neighborhood-gems-restaurants-for-a-hip-casual-new-years-eve-celebration-with-friends/

SkiCanada.org https://www.skicanada.org/christmas-carving-part-2/

Sharp Magazine https://sharpmagazine.com/2018/10/12/why-vancouver-is-the-best-place-in-the-world-for-upscale-chinese-food/

Divergent Travelers https://www.divergenttravelers.com/things-to-do-in-squamish-bc/

justBobbi https://www.justbobbi.com/diary/9-wellness-resorts-to-help-you-reset-and-recharge

The Globe and Mail https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/article-the-best-new-things-to-see-and-do-in-canada-in-2019/

Ski Magazine https://www.skimag.com/adventure/bc-ale-trail-tour-de-suds

Ski Magazine https://www.skimag.com/adventure/coming-of-age-in-the-valkyr-range

Scout Magazine https://scoutmagazine.ca/2018/12/07/exploring-the-pacific-marine-circle-route/ ​

Road Stories https://roadstories.ca/okanagan-valley-vineyard-eats-and-bicycle-seats/

Miss 604 https://miss604.com/2018/12/places-to-storm-watch-in-ucluelet-and-tofino.html

Lonely Planet https://www.lonelyplanet.com/canada/british-columbia/travel-tips-and-articles/connect-to-culture-experience-first-nations-traditions-in-british-columbia/40625c8c-8a11-5710-a052-1479d2757815

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3 tips to stand out with the most memorable fam trips.

• January 29, 2021

• Fam trips as sales opportunity

In the tourism industry, a Fam trip is one of the biggest sales opportunities. As a tour operator, you have the potential to put your destination and your business on the map. The main aim of a Fam trip is to network, build relationships and to personally promote your tourism products.

Definition of a Fam trip

Fam is short for Familiarisation. A Fam trip is a complimentary or reduced-rate travel program for travel agents, tour operators and travel media. It’s designed to familiarise themselves with a specific destination or business. All this to experience the tourism product first-hand and to stimulate sale of travel.

Make a positive impression

Many destinations and tourism experiences are fantastic, but if the Fam trip experience is weak, the entire destination and experience will appear weak in the eyes of your guests. Always keep in mind that your Fam trip guests are well travelled, have high expectations and are requesting good hospitality. It will not be their first Fam trip. The Fam trip is your time to be memorable, so make sure to make a positive impression!

In this article

• Tip 1: Connection
• Tip 2: Curiosity
• Tip 3: Stand out

Virtual Fam trips

Top 3 tips for an epic fam trip.

To find out what makes the perfect Fam trip, we have conducted a survey with key industry leaders. We have found the top three things that are game changers in your fam trip experience.

1. Connection

The number one answer our surveyed leaders saw as a changemaker in a Fam trip is the “Who?”. Meaning who is conducting the Fam trip and can this person deliver and create real connections? Can they read verbal and non-verbal cues? Can they invoke excitement curiosity adding value to the overall experience?

“I felt the Fam trip was about me” – someone shared. Displaying your destination and tourism products is first priority, but should it be? This may sound strange, but your top priority should be building a connection with your Fam-guests. Only then you will be able to fully connect them to your destination and tourism products. Only then are you able to show its uniqueness and its potential!

2. Curiosity

When developing your Fam trip, ask yourself the following questions:

• What do we have in our destination that can spark curiosity?
• What can I teach my Fam-guests about our destination and tourism products?

Personal experience

Personally, I have travelled to many destinations. Many places stand out, but some places piqued my curiosity! When I was in Guatemala visiting a Mayan site, I looked down to the ground and saw an object wondering what it was. I thought: What’s that? What’s inside?

The guide quickly noticed my curiosity and picked up the nut, and asked: “Claudine, do you know what’s inside?” I replied, “some sort of nut?” He then shared that it was an almond. “Let’s see what’s inside.”, he said. He took a rock and hit the nut 3 times. He then said: “take a look”. He gave me the nut and asked me to open it up carefully. And there it was, an almond. My almond which I got to see, touch, smell, and taste. It was a full moment of discovery, and this story stays with me!

My curiosity was sparked, and I learned something new and delicious. What’s an everyday moment for you is a unique experience for a visitor. Always stay connected, looking for any opportunity to add value. Invoking moments of curiosity and surprise. You want your Fam-guests to be excited and share their experience passionately with their clients, your potential customers!

3. Stand out

What will you do differently to stand out and be remembered? My best example of a destination standing out is Grenada, an island in the Caribbean Sea. Having travelled extensively, I will never forget the way Grenadian culture and people stood out. I was invited to a local home to join in a traditional local meal called an “oil down”. A meal prepared with care with ingredients from their own garden. It was hands down the most epic dish around.

The experience was not just going to a home and eating a traditional meal. It was a discovery. An insight to their family, culture and lifestyle. For that time, I became part of the family and the island. Every single part of this experience drew me closer to the local culture. Creating a strong bond not only to the family and the experience, but to the destination. Grenada stood out!

In times of Covid-19 , physical Fam trips have been cancelled until further notice. As alternative, the Virtual Fam trip gained more interest. Virtual Fam trips allow invitees to learn more about the destination from their own homes via video. It’s a great temporary alternative for an actual Fam trip. It allows tour operators and destinations to stay in touch with their re-sellers while receiving feedback on their tourism products.

Top 3 tips for Virtual Fam trips

1. Bring the experience alive. You are behind a screen so the body language, the smile and the experience needs to be a bit more animated!

2. Communicate in an inclusive manner. Say things like “We are going to the museum” instead of ‘I will show you the museum”. Key words can make someone feel part of the journey, as if they are there with you!

3. Study your audience. Know what they like, dislike and what their interests are. Doing your homework will help you connect better!

Remember the top three game changers

Decide what kind of Fam trip you want to host and don’t forget the three game changers. Keep looking for opportunities to put your destination on the map and get ready. Before your next Fam trip, remember to focus on personal connections, creating curiosity and to stand out!

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Wow, these are great ideas! This could really ensure an amazing travel experience. How do I get connected with these types of providers?

Wow! Thanks for the message! Where are you located Amy? Reach out, I’m on LinkedIn: Claudine Pohl

Keep Shining, Claudine

Claudine Pohl

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Familiarization tours: See it to sell it

From twisting a pretzel in Pennsylvania to learning how to lasso in Colorado, convention and visitors bureaus are addressing a universal challenge with familiarization tours — how to make them distinctive and how to expose more local attractions to group leaders, tour operators and travel writers on the fams.

“The Pennsylvania Dutch Convention and Visitors Bureau has conducted various forms of fams over the years, from organized group fams to a fam on your own format,” said Audrey Bialas, director of tourism sales.

“We asked [ourselves] how do we make it different and also find a way to incorporate more members they might not have time to visit.

“We found out recently that a Hands on Marketplace that we developed was a great format that worked for us.”

The CVB invited its members to a central location and encouraged them to work together in teams of three to come up with a hands-on activity. Each team was given a table, and tour operators visited each table.

“At each location, they actually participated in some kind of activity,” said Bialas. “Some examples were twisting a pretzel, sewing a quilt square, decorating a cookie, making a Christmas decoration.

“It provided a more memorable experience for the tour operator than the typical ‘shopping cart’ format, and it was a lot of fun for everyone. And it was something they could take home and be a reminder, rather than a brochure they would never look at.

“We took a lot of pictures and then shared them with the participants after the fam,” she said. The Colorado Springs Convention and Visitors Bureau faced the same dilemma. “Their schedule is so packed, it is often hard to get in-depth visits,” said Chelsy Murphy, public relations director for the CVB. “We want to show as much as possible, but it is quite a challenge to provide the opportunity for them to experience multiple attractions.

“We combat this issue with hosted dinners. We invite the attractions to the dinner and provide space for them to showcase something special.”

For a recent fam of tour operators from the United Kingdom, the CVB’s dinner featured roping lessons from the Pikes Peak or Bust Rodeo, a fencing demonstration by pentathlon athletes from the U.S. Olympic Training Center, a traveling animal exhibit from the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo and a performance by the Flying W Ranch Wranglers.

“This is a unique way for operators and journalists to get a snapshot of the area in a short amount of time,” said Murphy. “You have to be very creative with the limited amount of time you have.”

Another option the CVB recently offered was a helicopter tour over area attractions such as the Garden of the Gods, the U.S. Air Force Academy, Seven Falls and the Broadmoor. Everyone likes to eat The Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau in Delaware also uses a dining format to expose more members to fam participants.

“My job is to promote attractions and restaurants,” said Esther Lovlie, director of marketing and sales for the CVB. “Sometimes the restaurants don’t get as much focus.”

The CVB’s annual FAM/Dine Around combines tours of area attractions with a progressive dining experience, either at different restaurants or catered by the restaurants.

“The goal of the FAM/Dine Around is to introduce group tour operators and meeting planners to our area in a very personalized way,” said Lovlie.

The fam begins with a cocktail reception and marketplace for CVB members not involved in the fam. Participants are then transported to an area attraction for dinner and then shuttled to another attraction for dessert, wine pairings and coffee.

The second day of the weekend fam begins with Sunday breakfast at an area restaurant and then continues with a visit to an area attraction and hotel and lunch at another hotel.

The fifth annual FAM/Dine Around in February will, for the first time, combine tour operators and meeting planners and include an educational component.

The tour will feature restaurants and museums that also have meeting space. “If someone knows they can have a private lunch or dinner at a museum, it works as well for group operators,” said Lovlie. Local cuisine is the star Food is a key element of distinctive fams operated by the Beaumont, Texas, Convention and Visitors Bureau.

“One of the main things that sells our area is our unique food,” said Ashley White, communications specialist for the CVB. “The most current thing we have done is our Keepsake Recipe Card.

“We designed a photo keepsake 5×7 post card that would further promote our Gators, Gardens, Gushers and Great Food itinerary and send our visitors home with a recipe they saw prepared in Beaumont.”

Upon their arrival, the CVB takes a group photo of the fam participants in front of a local attraction such as the Dalmatian spotted fire hydrant, St. Anthony Cathedral Basilica or Spindletop Museum.

“We then upload the pictures and drop them into a predesigned post card template,” said White. “It is designed to look like a regular post card from Beaumont.”

The fam includes a cooking demonstration, and the chef or caterer who does the demonstration provides a recipe of what they cooked that is put on the back of the post card.

“We also offer a list of local ingredients and how to buy them,” said White. “We send it as a follow up. Our goal is that this inexpensive gesture will offer the lasting impression to generate return visitors and additional overnight stays.

“We have had great feedback from this and really feel we have taken the idea of a keepsake a step further by reinforcing it with a recipe from their trip. This allows them to take home a piece of Beaumont, our local flavor. It’s all about the personal touch,” said White. Mardi Gras spreads the word Participants in the annual Mardi Gras Bash fam for group leaders in Shreveport, La., get to savor the local culture and atmosphere by giving things away.

“Mardi Gras is zany, exciting and just plain fun,” said Pat Gill, public relations manger for the Shreveport-Bossier Convention and Tourist Bureau. “Participants get up close and personal at Mardi Gras parades and load up on beads, trinkets, doubloons and more. It just a big party; we all have a blast.”

Those goodies don’t last long, as participants get to ride on a Mardi Gras float and toss them to spectators along the parade route.

There are two weekend fams next year, Feb. 24-27 and March 4-7.

“On tour No. 1, we’ll have a blast at the Krewe of Centaur’s float-loading party and at their parade, one of the largest in the state,” said Gill. “On tour No. 2, you’ll dance the night away at the Krewe of Highlands’ Mardi Gras ball and rake in the loot at the Krewe of Gemini parade. On Sunday, you’ll get to toss trinkets from a float in the Krewe of Highlands parade.

“Both weekends will include lots of delicious traditional Louisiana foods, including king cake and a variety of Cajun dishes,” she said. “We’ll cruise the Red River while you learn about the river’s history and wildlife and soak up the beauty of the river.”

The fam also showcases local attractions such as the Robinson Film Center, the Multicultural Center of the South, and Artspace at the West Edge, and shopping at the Louisiana Boardwalk and the Main Street Shops at Villaggio.

Yuma gives a yell back YUMA, Ariz. — Sometimes the idea for a distinctive fam tour can come from unexpected sources, such as a nationwide query by The Group Travel Leader through the United States Travel Association for recommendations of such tours.

“Your inquiry sparked our thinking about creative ways to jazz up our fam tours for travel group leaders and tour operators,” said Ann Walker, media relations specialist with the Yuma Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Here’s a great opportunity. What should we be doing that is fun and exciting, partly to catch attention and partly to have some legs to it?”

Because the Arizona city has been a favorite film location since the days of Rudolph Valentino, the bureau came up with an idea. “We want to make you a star,” said Walker.

“Our talented videographer, Wes Williamson of Fourth Dimension Productions, will accompany your group as you explore the many attractions of our area, then create a movie detailing your visit to share with your group or potential customers.

“We think that Yuma’s affordable and authentic attractions sell themselves, but just imagine how much easier it will be with a full-color movie starring you,” she said.

“And instead of some standard DVD, if the folks on the fam are also in the movie, they are not going to take it home and throw it in a desk drawer and never look at it again.

“We haven’t actually done this yet, but we are rarin’ to go — maybe some of your readers could be our first stars,” she said.

In a tongue-in-cheek e-mail reply, Walker also put on her best movie-promoter tone: “Have your people call our people, and we’’ll talk. BTW, we promise to do our best to keep the paparazzi away during your visit, but you’re on your own with the autograph-seekers once you get home.” Customize me! ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Although fams are supposed to be informative, they should also be enjoyable to be most effective.

“Fam tours are supposed to be informative, but another important purpose is to show the travel professional as good a time as their clients will have at a destination,” Jeanette Anderson Moores, vice president of communications for the Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau, said in an e-mail.

“The best sales pitch comes from genuine enthusiasm generated through personal experience. Excellent fam hosting, diverse and unique itineraries and a custom fit are all important factors to achieving this end.

“Accordingly, Anchorage Convention and Visitors Bureau’s Tourism Development and Sales (TDS) Department strives to deliver a customized fam experience to visiting travel trade by taking into account the client’s business type and time availability, as well as personal attributes such as culture, fitness and special interests.

TDS delivers several different styles of fams developed with this criteria in mind: group tours with unique experiences such as behind-the-scenes tours at major attractions, one-on-one fam tours for VIP clients, and self-fam tours, for which TDS provides clients with passes and information to new attractions of interest.

“This method is particularly helpful for tour operators who already have their own product and are limited on time, but are still interested in checking out possible new additions to their itineraries.”

“With guided fam tours, we’ve found that a warm and knowledgeable fam host is key to a memorable and therefore productive experience,” said David Kasser, TDS vice president. “Pairing the right guide to a group is as important as matching itineraries to their interests and abilities.

“In the end, the client will remember how the trip made them feel over the specific details of the attractions they visited, and a professional fam host can fill in the details later with followup or being available for support as needed.”

Fams hit the blogosphere GALENA, Ill. — The Galena/Jo Daviess County Convention and Visitors Bureau found a way to combine a fam trip with innovative marketing that provided immediate exposure for the Mississippi River town.

“Earlier this year, the CVB hosted a fam tour for mom bloggers. We spent a quick yet fulfilling 36 hours with them in an effort to promote family-friendly leisure travel to our destination,” said Celestino Ruffini, director of sales and marketing.

He said the eight women on the tour are “all highly regarded in the blogospheres for their recommendations on travel, parenting tips, cooking, etc. They are savvy with technology, manage their own blogs and write reviews for large corporations.

“If you live in Chicago and are a mom and looking for parenting tips, these are the women you go to to see what they are doing.”

Although most of the participants wrote about the trip when they returned, answering questions from readers and developing Twitter streams, “while they were here, they were promoting the destination for us,” said Ruffini. “They were not only talking on blogs while here, but posting photos to Twitter and Facebook and taking videos.

“We agree that traditional advertising has its place, but as dollars are scaled back and we progress further into the 21st century, we must rethink our entire methodology of destination marketing,” he said. “Continually, we search for new, innovative ways of advertising. “For a smaller destination like us, it is definitely stepping out of the box.”

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Hosting the Perfect Familiarization Trip

• May 16, 2019
• Sales and Service

(this post was originally posted February 2018; this is the revised post here)

Some of your meeting planner prospects may be quite savvy on the FAM circuit, or this may be their first opportunity to be hosted.  Regardless of where your client is in their career and journey, there are some things you can keep in mind as host when planning a FAM trip.

Why are FAMs important?

For meeting planners, familiarization trips work because they provide a holistic view of what their program would look like in a destination – from ease of access, hotels and offsites, local beauty and amenities, and ease of doing business.  All factors contribute to a meeting planner’s decision to use a destination.  For site selection professionals, many of their clients lean on these industry experts to advise them on destination that make sense for their program’s goals. FAMs are education-based opportunities , not vacations.

As a host destination and/or event host, here are some things to keep in mind when you host your next FAM:

• One point of contact- while your FAM trip requires lots of partners in order to make it a success, designate one point of contact for both suppliers and the attendees. This will save on confusion during execution.
• Timing – it works best if you can offer FAMS at varying times of the year, so planners can somewhat “pick and choose” when they can come. If you can only host one FAM a year, you may benefit from moving the FAM around to different weeks or seasons to accommodate planner’s schedules.  There is one destination that I’m dying to go see on behalf of my clients, but they hold their FAM during the same week, every year, during my busiest month of the year.  For 10 years now, I’ve had to decline the opportunity to go see the destination.  Ironically, I haven’t booked a lot of business in this destination either.
• Vetting process – FAMs can be seen as “free vacays” by some inexperienced planners. By vetting the potential delegate, you may be able to qualify your delegates and ensure your fam is full of planners who truly have business aspirations for your destination.
• Pre-fam survey – conduct and execute a pre-fam survey with your delegates. Ask them key questions about their program(s), including size and demographics of delegates.  This will help your suppliers customize their talking points specifically for certain individuals.
• Work collaboratively – regardless of how you feel your particular service is the “best game in town”, ensure you work in tandem with the other hotels and offsite venues in your destination.  The first and foremost goal should be to get the planner to buy into the destination, not your particular service.
• Showcase unique local qualities – showing what’s unique to your destination may seem like a no-brainer, but ensure your offerings truly stand out as original. Are you a museum town?  How are you different from the other museum towns in the country?  Do you have a thriving wine region?  How do you set yourself apart from other wine regions?
• Agenda and timing
• Contact information for each facility, and for the hosts
• Social media handles for each facility
• Dress code for each day of the trip
• Average weather for the season
• Communication between partners – every stop on the tour wants to showcase their best, and they should be encouraged to do so. Have the partners communicate with one another (or use your “one point of contact”) about the plan for the day, especially menus.  While its great that all your partners are known for their fried chicken, the delegates likely do not want to eat fried chicken at three different places in one day.
• Downtime – many of your attendees are busy meeting planning professionals. Their life at the office doesn’t stop just because they took 3 days out of their schedule to see your destination.  Ensure you build in a few hours each day for delegates to catch up on email (or jet lag).
• Post-fam debrief – Conclude the familiarization trip experience by sending both a post-fam survey to your delegates, as well as your suppliers, to see what was impactful about the FAM, and what leaves room for improvement for the next one

Leanne’s Note – I recently attended a FAM during the destination’s most popular festiva l – it was an incredible experience and it really showcased the energy of the city.  Ensure your FAM participants understand the booking implications of booking their meetings around the festival time as opposed to other times of the year.

Some of the above tips may not work for your destination given the logistics, but many of these are achievable regardless of the duration of the familiarization trip or destination.  By employing many of these tips, you’ve set yourself up for a great return on your FAM investment.  Good luck with your FAMs this season!

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What are you looking for?

Presenting your business or destination to the travel trade.

VisitBritain/Getty Images

Introduction

In order to work successfully with the international travel trade, your product must be ‘trade-ready’. This translates into being able to welcome international travellers, offering net or commissionable rates, and providing information on whether you support the fully independent traveller (FIT) or offer group rates.

The travel trade is a complex global network, so first ensure that you are targeting the right people or organisations. Our guide to   Understanding the travel trade  is a good starting point, and our advice on Making the most of trade shows and missions  can help maximise your productivity when meeting face-to-face.

Before you begin presenting your product to the travel trade, it is essential to consolidate your product identity, decide which message you want to convey, and establish exactly what trade partners can book with you.

Educational ‘fam trips’

Educational trips or familiarisation (fam) trips enable domestic and incoming tour operators, travel agents and other members of the travel trade to experience your product first-hand. This type of trip can also be extended to the international press and media.

Whether it’s securing targeted media exposure for your product or promoting your business to the people who’ll ultimately be selling it to consumers, hosting these visits is a valuable way of spreading the word about your business to a global market.

VisitBritain/VisitEngland organises travel trade educational visits linked to our   Showcase Britain event, and to coincide with our marketing campaigns. For information on how to take part, please contact your accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnership or Growth Hub, or access support from VisitScotland , Visit Wales or Tourism NI .

Top tips for hosting a successful educational trip

To get the maximum benefit from hosting a fam trip, it is essential to plan ahead:

In the run up

• Research who’ll be attending, where they are from, their company, position, which markets they operate in and whether they sell competitors’ products or complementary products.
• Ensure your staff are well-briefed and aware of the visit. It can be helpful for them to watch our  market webinars and training tools .
• Prepare information on your business and product, ideally tailored for each participant – or more broadly bespoke to the market and audience of the buyers or media attending.

During the visit

Offer a warm welcome and a clear agenda.

Show them around your hotel or allow them to experience your attraction first-hand. Tailor this to your audience.

Provide information packs for participants and any collateral that might help them learn more about your product after your meeting (digital or printed).

Ask the group to provide feedback on your product and their experience during the fam trip. If you have delivered it in cooperation with VisitBritain, we will do our best to collect feedback on your behalf.

Following up

• Add participants’ contact details to your database. (Ensure you are compliant with the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR): see the  ICO website  for details.)
• Send thank you emails, and fulfil any requests for further information.
• Follow up on any sales leads generated by the trip.
• Keep participants up-to-date with any relevant changes to your product.
• Add the relevant contacts to your press release, including the VisitBritain press team.

Making the most of trade shows and missions

Trade shows, missions and other events are valuable opportunities to meet key industry buyers and media from across the globe. Learn how to maximise your results, build strong relationships and make each event a success with our free guide and checklist.

Sales calls

Use our check-list for planning your sales calls:

• Try to ensure that you call at a convenient time for your contact, especially if you’re making international calls. Avoid calling during busy holiday times, and be aware of potential clashes with events such as major trade shows.
• Cold calling is rarely appreciated, so plan your sales calls well in advance. Diarise the appointment, and as a courtesy confirm your call before it takes place.
• Carefully consider what form your call should take: on the phone, online conference (with or without video?), or via an app such as FaceTime or WhatsApp. Ensure that the format is clear, that you and the client have any required software and, if applicable, that the meeting link is shared in advance.
• If you set a time to call, ensure that you keep to it.
• Do your homework. If you are well versed about the distributor you’re calling, it makes a good impression. Similarly, have the figures to-hand of your recent and past business with the person you’re calling: this is essential when negotiating for new business.
• Research cultural customs: respecting those small cultural differences can make all the difference.
• Make a written record of everything discussed, and ensure you fulfil your side of the deal. Communicate your agreements after the call to ensure there’s a record, and that you share the same understanding of what you’ve agreed.
• Follow up to the call with clear actions and responsibilities, and set a preferred timeline for future engagement.

Our training and events

Widen your network, sharpen your skills and access new markets with our wide range of events and training for UK businesses. Including the free ‘Taking England to the World’ course, to help you reach new international customers.

Product training

Keep the content as simple and interesting as possible, and communicate all of the key details about your product.

Understand your audience and the information that they require for their jobs. If you fulfil their needs, they’ll be more likely to remember what you tell them.

Let participants know where your product is featured, whether it’s part of a broader campaign, or in a brochure.

Schedule your training for times that are likely to appeal to participants. As with sales calls, avoid national holidays and busy trade events.

Consider the practicalities: ensure you have enough materials for all of the people you’re going to train. That includes biscuits, tea and coffee.

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