Well, it may not be for much longer, certainly not if Touristlink.com has their way. Touristlink is a social marketplace that links travelers directly with small and reputable local tour operators and hotels, allowing them to get to know who they’re dealing with and find dozens of great new experiences they would otherwise miss out on.
Touristlink has been around for a while, but its recently added new features that enable travel industry providers to promote their tour offerings alongside their social profiles, meaning they can now show off in great detail exactly what they have to offer tourists.
Even better than this however, is the opportunity for engagement that Touristlink provides. Tourists can interact directly with any of the tour companies and hotels listed on Touristlink, in order to make bookings, ask questions, and customize their tour packages, allowing them to create a truly unique experience, well off-the-beaten path.
David Urmann, founder of Touristlink, stressed that the opportunity to create unique experiences puts the service one step ahead of its rivals:
“One thing we have noticed while interacting with members on Touristlink is that they both want something different then the generic tour offerings they find on the web and that they want more personal interaction especially when booking complex products like a multi-day trip.”
The social profiles of tour operators and hotels are the core element of Touristlink, as they list vital information about each provider, such as their areas of expertise, languages spoken, types of client they cater to, as well as images from previous trips.
Profile of a tour guide on Touristlink
In addition, the social profiles help to ensure that tourists know they are getting value for money. Ask any experienced traveler and they will have dozens of horror stories they can recount – about how they ended up being packed into a minivan with 30 other travellers like sardines in a can, or how their supposedly ‘idyllic’ resort was in fact short-time hotel!
With Touristlink, these kinds of nightmares are unlikely to happen, as tourists are free to post reviews and recommendations directly onto the tour operator’s profiles.
All in all, Touristlink, which is also packed with essential information and images for thousands of popular destinations across the world, promises to be an invaluable tool – not just for tourists, but also for the providers themselves, and most especially smaller operators who otherwise struggle to get noticed.