What is more profitable to buy a tour or do it yourself? Independent trip or tour: which is better? Pros and cons of independent travel

Is it true that traveling through a travel agency is many times more expensive than traveling on your own? Is it always booking. Do com, agoda and other online services offer lower prices than tour operators? Are travel agencies necessary and is it profitable to use their services? What do travel agency managers know that cannot be found on the Internet? Who usually travels “at their own pace” and why?

I will try to answer your questions and, as usual, dispel some myths. I will also try to identify the winner in the duel between SELF-TRAVEL AGENT And PROFESSIONAL TRAVEL AGENT.

Since I am a travel agent, they expect me to start persuading all potential tourists without hesitation to run to a travel agency and buy a tour and scold everyone." independent travelers"But I won't do it. And here's why.

There are a number of objective arguments both in favor of organized tourism and in favor of vacationers from the #yourself_travel agent category.
There are certain categories of tourists for whom package tours are absolutely not suitable, as well as those to whom I would not recommend an independent holiday even at gunpoint.
Each tourist destination must be considered separately. Certain destinations are simply “tailored” to the tour operator’s product, and traveling there independently will be much more expensive and will not bring pleasure.

Who is there?

Let's start with the main thing: who are all these people who help organize vacations and other trips?

Tourism managers or travel agents are, as a rule, people who have a special education, have an excellent knowledge of not just geography, but also the peculiarities of organizing holidays in a particular country, who have studied the hotel base of most popular tourist destinations and have experience of their own travels.

For example, our company can boast of personal acquaintance with resorts, hotels and excursion routes in more than 30 countries (thirty!). Tourism managers know how to use all known reservation systems. All of them are specialists who have attended many seminars and trainings and inspected all the hotels that they are ready to offer you, and visited all the resorts where you want to go.

An experienced travel assistant (a fashionable word these days), as a rule, will not only help you choose a vacation destination that is right for you, but will also tell you how to make your trip not only the most comfortable, but also profitable. For example, he will advise you to change the departure date if he sees that the cost of travel during the selected period is unreasonably high. He will tell you how to get to the hotel by public transport if you do not want to pay for a transfer, advise on visa issues and help in preparing documents for obtaining visas. Will help you create an excursion program.

Who's there?

To travel independently, you also need to have certain qualities.

So, if you know how to use booking systems, speak a foreign language, are not afraid to take risks associated with various unforeseen situations, and do not guard the boundaries of your comfort zone, then WELCOME to the SELF_TRAVEL AGENT group. And one more thing: you must have free time. As one of our independent tourists, whom we help with advice from time to time, says, it takes her 2-3 hours every day for three to four weeks to organize a route.

As a rule, independent tourists include easy-going young people or experienced tourists who know what they want, can easily navigate the place, and those who are ready to sacrifice comfort, often buying cheap tickets on the Internet with several transfers. Here we also include those who do not like to become attached to groups, who calmly drive a car in a foreign country, get tired of having a guide nearby, prefer to read about everything on their own in guidebooks and not depend on anyone in making the decision “to be or not to be.” Organized tourism is not suitable for those who are used to changing their location every day, without bothering about where to live, who are not at all attached to comfort and want to explore the country more deeply, moving in the direction “wherever they look.”

Where is it cheaper?

"Travel agencies are more expensive!" - you say. “Not always,” I will answer.

Example 1. If we take the most popular destinations of mass tourism - such as Turkey, Egypt, the UAE and even Thailand and sightseeing tours in Europe - don’t even try to argue.

Tour operators charge colossal amounts. Hence, more favorable rates for hotels, transport and air travel. Prices charter flights will also be lower thanks to the organization of charter flights and the purchase of seats in large blocks in advance. And not only to the resorts of the Turkish Riviera, but also in almost any direction where the charter program is being built.

I do not rule out that if a tourist wants to go on his own, he will find a cheaper ticket, but I am 120% sure that this flight will have a transfer, or even two, while charter companies provide this opportunity DIRECT flight. Therefore, it would be incorrect to compare the cost of a flight in these two cases, since they are not comparable either in terms of comfort or in the length of time spent on the road.

Example 2. Many argue that in India, Thailand, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Indonesia, and most European countries, accommodation will be cheaper if you travel independently. I won't argue here. I’ll just make a remark: it will actually be cheaper if you choose a hostel, guest house, private apartment or simply rent an apartment as your place of residence.

But if we return to the coordinate system of hotel accommodation, then the travel agent will definitely not lose, and perhaps even win.

It is precisely because travel agencies do not work with hostels, guest houses and other private accommodation options that the opinion has become stronger that booking.com is always ready to offer more profitable options. Moreover, the policy of many large companies provides for the revision of tariffs for hotels and/or services if a similar product is found at a lower price. And these are not empty words (#tested for yourself).

Try to combine

Well, a few more examples both in favor and against independent travel. This will help you figure out which option is best for you.

Tourists decided to go to the UAE. They bought a tour to a very expensive hotel on booking.com 3 months before the trip, and also bought tickets in advance... But they forgot to apply for a visa...
The tourist checked all the options that we offered him with booking.com. Our offers were more profitable. But the tourist was determined to travel independently and finally found a hotel that seemed cheaper to him. But after paying, it turned out that breakfast was not included in the price.
The tourist bought tickets on the airline’s website from Bishkek to Canada in transit through Europe. For transit passengers In such cases, a visa is not required. But there were two transit points. In this case, you must obtain a visa. And the tourist found out about this when, 2 days before departure, the airline called her to clarify whether she had the appropriate visa. She had to pay an extra $500 to buy new tickets.
Last winter we were unable to help a large group of friends rent a villa in Phuket. Our options were more expensive than those offered by airbnb.com.
Once we sent the guys to sightseeing tour to Italy. Lots of excursions, every day - new town, everything is very intense. About the third day they called us and asked us to “unlink from the group.” They were tired of following the schedule, they were late everywhere and everywhere, and, in general, they were not interested in excursions either. They "just wanted to go to Europe."

To summarize, I will say: you can describe all the ways of travel in a long and tedious way, you can give a thousand and one arguments in favor of travel agencies, but it would be stupid to deny the fact that traveling “at your own pace” takes place and is the only possible way to relax for a certain category of people... We are all different, and when we are going on a trip, we always draw pictures of a happy and serene pastime with people close and pleasant to us. And everyone paints pictures of an ideal vacation with their own colors. The main thing is that the picture remains bright, memorable and positive!

I remember we used to argue a lot about what was better and cheaper: going on vacation with a package or on your own. What is cheaper: a tour or on your own?
I'm even here.
Now, after the massive bankruptcy of travel agencies this year, these conversations have died down.

And this is understandable: there is a possibility that having bought a tour on this tour, you will not be able to fly away due to “valid” reasons for the seller’s bankruptcy.
The seller, who is simply an intermediary between the travel tool and you.
But the tool is not complicated, and it is easy to learn how to use it - therefore, a vacation organized independently is more flexible in relation to force majeure and can be easily rearranged if something happens.

“But what about the price?” an inquisitive, independent tourist will ask, “after all, a ticket is cheaper than traveling on your own!”
You are mistaken, dear...

I took Calculation of the cost of a holiday in Dubai, which was published on .
The cost calculation was taken by me at the Vinsky Forum:.

If you are interested in my review of a holiday in Dubai, here it is.

Family 4 adults.
Savages, on your own
Booked at the end of August.
Dubai from 03.11 for 14 nights. Emirates flight from Moscow.
Air tickets 16700*4=66800. The cost of one ticket was returned in miles from Tinkoff.
Insurance - one adult free of charge (TCS card), .
Accommodation :
7 nights - Doubletree by Hilton Dubai Jumeirah Beach, 2 bedroom apartment with a kitchen (they also have one without a kitchen, but a little cheaper) - 75,000 (including taxes) booked through booking.
7 nights - Damac Maison Dubai Mall, 2 bedroom apartment - 74,000 with a view of the BH, booked through airbnb.
Visas: 14000

On your own: 216,600 rubles for 4 people

From the tour operator(watched Biblio-Glubus) this tour for the same dates.
There, however, you cannot choose both hotels, but since they cost me the same, I looked at two options - Hilton for 14 nights and Damac for 14 nights.
Hilton is a little cheaper than Damac

Tour package: from 500,000 rubles for 4 people

Conclusion: if you organize your own holiday in Dubai, you can save money.
At the same time, you can save a decent amount - more than twice.
Here's the schedule.

Additionally to help:

Rent a Car

: choose where to pick up the car - at the airport or at the hotel.
Driving in Dubai is not difficult. The signs and junctions are clear. The choice of cars is such that you can take either a small car with an automatic transmission or a jeep for trips around the area

Here they will help and advise you at first during preparation. independent rest In Dubai

Lastly, I want to say this:
if you know the value of money, that is, it comes to you as payment for your work, and does not fall into your pocket from the sky, then I am sure that you will easily master the tools independent organization of your vacation.
In fact, this is a trivial matter and takes a little time.
For example, you can organize your vacation at sea for yourself in 30 minutes of time spent usefully on the Internet. I provided links, and there is more than enough information on this site...
In general, it’s up to you to decide how.

If you travel on your own, please like (buttons below). If you prefer to vacation with a package, share a link to this article on social networks with a hash tag#cheaptours

Who cares. Personally, I hate organized tours.

Disadvantages of organized tours:

often they include unnecessary sponsored excursions to a jewelry or fur coat store (came across it in Paris and Turkey);

you are partially dependent on other tourists in your group (they need to pee, souvenirs, they have a crying baby on the bus);

on tours usually the most popular places for excursions for which you have already paid. And if you want to go to a non-tourist place, but you are going to Versailles by bus, you’d be sorry to refuse, you’ve already paid.

Advantages of organized tours:

you don’t have to think about anything: what to do with yourself, how to get to the museum, where to eat, what to see. True, it is not a fact that all places will be good.

usually it is cheaper due to a travel agency, hotels on the outskirts or those where travel agencies have special prices, sponsors, whose store you will be taken to on an excursion, etc. Also Bus tours, like 7 countries in 5 days, very cheap.

There are very cool tours that are not for everyone, but especially for you. For example, in Ukraine there are guys who take designers and architects on tours. They plan well and with them you can get, for example, into the workshops of famous architects, where you would never get to yourself. Or there are photo tours. In short, highly specialized tours that will interest you. Or very expensive and rare tours, such as a cruise near Antarctica.

That is, you can have fun on a tour if the planning makes you hysterical and if you don’t worry too much about what you’ll see on the trip. Paris and okay, it doesn’t matter what exactly you see (you will see 100% the Eiffel Tower and the Louvre). Or if you find a unique tour.

If independence and quality are still important to you, it is better to do everything yourself.

Pros of self-guided tours:

you do whatever you want - visit the places you want, plane or bus - you choose yourself, you choose the hotel yourself, everything is up to you.

websites for selecting tickets, hotels, restaurants, establishments and entertainment give complete freedom (tickets.ua, tripadviser.com, hotels.com, anywayanyday and other hundreds of sites).

a guidebook (book) often tells everything you need, and if you choose it wisely, you can do without a guide on a bus, as on an organized tour. The Internet, again, knows everything.

you can get into tourist places, which you will learn about on some local website, and not in tourist consumer places, where the quality is designed so that you will never return, and others will come tomorrow.

many interesting routes are not subject to organized tours. If only we could see the Scottish northern castles, climb the most high point Great Britain, would visit Glasgow, Edinburgh, Oberdeen, Inverness, Loch Ness, Isle of Skye in one organized tour. And on your own it is quite possible.

Disadvantages of self-guided tours:

you have to plan a lot and rely on yourself. Often this means buying museum tickets online, otherwise there will be a huge line waiting for you (Uffizi, Louvre);

you can end up in a bad hotel with bedbugs (Paris:)), travel agencies usually choose proven hotels, because of reputation and all that matters;

some places can only be reached with a group, or it is easier to get with a group or an organized tour (in some collections, group-only excursions, cruises, etc. are most often organized tour).

It’s a little more difficult to find a guide. I don’t know, somehow we have never had the practice of ordering a city guide from the Internet without recommendations. It’s always either a blogger-tour guide whom I read long before the trip (London, Stockholm), or on the recommendation of friends (Tallinn).

In short, it is usually easier and more pleasant to organize an independent trip to simple places (cities and countries in Europe and the USA). It’s easier and quieter to take a tour to exotic countries, as I understand it

It's not the same for everybody. Last year, my friend and I were looking for a place to relax, looking for options where we could surf (I’ve been dreaming of trying it for many years). The newbies themselves didn’t know how to do anything. First we wanted to get there ourselves, find board rentals and try it ourselves, but in the end we decided to choose a paid surf tour. And you know, we haven’t regretted it at all! We chose surfvan camp at our own risk - thank God. everything went very cool))))

Answer

It's better to travel on your own. Get out of your comfort zone, improve your languages, take local public transport, rent accommodation from locals, eat with locals, go somewhere different from everyone else, watch what group guides don’t show, find yourself in stories that will be interesting to tell. Take risks and discover new things. And you will be happy!

Independent travel is definitely better, and here's why:

Planning your own is a way to travel on any budget. No one in the chain between you and the computer has their own margin for food, flights, housing and all that.

Self-organization is zen. No one but you is responsible for mistakes, delays and failures. And since there is no point in blaming yourself, all you have to do is accept the universe with all its surprises.

Complete freedom of movement. Nowhere and never will you feel so many emotions as at a Bangkok station without boards and signs.

Go for it, friends.

Better water or beer?
It's the same here. You need to ask yourself several questions, in the spirit of “what do I want to get from the trip? What resources do I have (time, money, etc.)?”, and accordingly, based on the answers, it will be clear what is better in this case.

If you want to lie on the beach for a week in Turkey because your budget is limited, you’re too lazy to organize things, and besides, you don’t know languages and are afraid that they are needed (in fact, they are not) - then why not buy a tour.

But if you are interested in walking around Venice, then on the contrary - there is no point in contacting a company - you will overpay for the tour, and the hotel will most likely be offered who knows where.

1)If this European city, then, of course, travel on your own. Book a hotel on one of the many sites, upon arrival buy a “city name_card” (many European cities sell such cards for a period of one to 3 days, they usually give free travel on public transport and free or partially discounted passes to museums), until suburbs travels public transport, you can take an audio guide there, and if you arrive before the opening, you can walk around the attraction in front of all the tourist crowds. The nice things about such a trip: you don’t depend on anyone, you walk wherever you want, eat wherever you want, you blend in with the city, and not with the guide’s herd. But for this: you need to plan in advance what you will visit tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, etc., not to spare your legs, because there is a lot of walking, it is advisable to know English.

2) If this is a trip around the country, then the question is the budget. Everyone writes about tours as huge buses filled with time-oblivious women, sober men and their screaming offspring (hello, typical Turkey). Of course, such a journey is comparable to a descent into Hell. Another case: a driver-guide in a good car for a small company or family (assuming that you don’t drive/are afraid of getting confused in maps/not being able to control the controls on unusual terrain/take a break from the wheel and calmly look out the window) - this, believe me, is very good and helps to get to know the country from the inside. However, this is a tour and not an independent trip.

3) There are concept tours, but that’s a completely different story.

4) Destination: the difference between East and West is great, if you are not going to experiment with yourself by placing yourself in the condition of a newly hatched chick, then it is better to use a tour operator.

Agreeing with everyone who wrote back, I will add that if you are just starting to travel abroad, are not very fluent in the local language (where you are going) and are not yet very familiar with where to learn, buy, live, be, I would advise going with a group a couple of times. You take a closer look, learn basic things about travel, etc. And then you can reach an independent level. I traveled with groups for several years, and then it so happened that I went to Ireland as a “savage” - with a drawn up plan, a hotel reservation, a paid excursion to the cliffs. After this trip, I realized that I wouldn’t go with the group again))) This is such freedom! But it requires at least minimal traveler preparation :)

For me, independent travel is preferable. Sometimes you start preparing six months in advance, and this is already a great pleasure. I buy a bunch of books, a map, watch historical films, read reviews of other travelers. Finding housing is a special pleasure. When traveling around Europe, we ignore hotels and book accommodation on airbnb.com. We always take country houses close to the area we want to explore. Having a good kitchen is so important! You can live in a real medieval house very inexpensively! But regarding the cost of independent travel, I do not agree with those who write that you can save money on this. Traveling in a rented car around Europe will still cost at least 2 times more than a package tour, although it is worth it.

Depends on what you want from this trip. I will write about excursion trips, since I am not a fan of beach holidays.

When buying a trip through a travel agency, you, of course, overpay, but you don’t bother with the route (you just pre-select from several presented), accommodation, excursions, guidebooks, and mode of transportation. Sometimes you don’t even bother with food. They simply pick you up at the airport, put you on a bus and take you to wherever they have planned. All you have to do is relax, listen to the guide's stories and buy souvenirs. And another bonus: groups often get into museums faster than individual visitors.

When you plan your trip yourself, you take care of it all. You need to dig through a lot of information about the city or country you are going to in order to find out where and why you should go there :) You buy air tickets, look for accommodation, find out how to get to this accommodation. If you plan to travel, you will also need to buy train/bus tickets. But there are some advantages here: you go wherever you want, you don’t have to listen to the rantings of the guides (if this depresses you) and make sure that you don’t fall behind the group; you are the king and god of your journey, everything completely depends on you; you can go to super-interesting, non-pop places; you lie down and get up whenever you feel comfortable. And it's also much cheaper!

Personally, I went on both tours and independent travel. I love both. Mostly I travel on my own, but when I have extra money and don’t have the energy to explore the country on my own (waiting to plan a trip in advance), but want to go on vacation, I go to a travel agency

There is no clear answer to this question. Depends on the direction and what you want.

Usually an organized tour, especially if it covers several countries or cities, allows you to free your head from organizational issues and put all your energy into perceiving and mastering what you see. For relative comfort and efficiency in terms of time, you pay here with standardization and a somewhat incubator approach.

Traveling on your own is more interesting because you can completely tailor it to your needs, interests, budget and pace of learning. However, this requires a lot of time, emotional and physical investment, which is rewarded interesting discoveries and adventures.

Some companies offer a combination of these two approaches, and this is probably the most advantageous option. Last year I had the opportunity to go on a two-week trip to Vietnam with the world famous company Intrepid. We had basic things organized, such as travel between cities and overnight stays in hotels. Everything else was optional - additional excursions, entertainment, going out, dinners, and so on. And we put together the most interesting and relevant program for ourselves, as if out of Legos, while we had enough time and opportunity to explore the area on our own.

I am always in favor of independent travel, since it assumes that unforeseen circumstances will arise that need to be resolved, you may run into some adventures, and so on, in general, everything will not be monotonous.

I see a lot of opponents of the organized tour, and I’ll add my two cents in defense of the tours. Firstly, an organized tour is often cheaper, this applies, of course, to known destinations. Let’s say the flight is direct, accommodation, transfer and insurance are cheaper than if you put everything together yourself, all thanks to charters from the operator, and by the way, a big plus is often a direct flight. Secondly, no one will keep you in the hotel, they will bring you, they will tell you what’s what and then do what you want, travel around the country yourself, this is already like an independent trip. In essence, the operator does not organize your journey he just comfortably takes you to your place and picks you up, and then you are free to do whatever you want.

Where is it cheaper to go on a tour, and where is it cheaper to book a vacation on your own? On what dates can you get tickets cheaper than a round trip flight? And why are tours no longer mainstream?

It is very difficult to dissuade a person. If we once accepted a certain statement as truth, then try to attack this fact with a portion of healthy argumentation. For example, if one day we decided that independently selecting a trip with booking plane tickets and hotel rooms separately is much more cheaper than buying tour, then all is lost. More precisely, our finances will be lost, which could be used more efficiently.

Since Russia has only one seashore on which you can bask - the Black Sea, our time for swimming is limited to only three months. Only in July, August and September and partly in June does the Black Sea warm up to a comfortable temperature for a full-fledged beach holiday. Yes and ours southern resorts not rubber and often “please” with unpredictable weather. Therefore, “our man” always strives to warm up somewhere, preferably away from home. And definitely - for a reasonable price.

Package tours have existed and been popular for many years, especially beach holiday. Regulated by a market economy, they have undergone many changes during their existence - in pricing policy, trends, and the degree of reliability of tour operators. And during this time they have acquired many myths. Here are a few of the most important ones that it's time to stop believing in if you want to have a good rest.

Myth 1 (the most important!)

Tours are always more expensive than independent travel

In fact, the benefits of purchasing in one way or another - with a voucher or with self-booking- depends on the direction. If you want to go to Tunisia on an “all inclusive” basis, then naturally it is better for you to choose a full tour package. If you would like to visit wineries in French Provence, then it is better to organize such a trip yourself.

However, you should not limit the range of package tours only to Bulgaria, Greece and other top sellers in the summer. Often on a tour you can fly to Spain very profitably and stay with sandy beach Costa del Maresme and visit Barcelona every day, which is half an hour’s drive from the resort.

It happens that at the turn of the seasons or due to a sudden promotion you can buy a tour to Thailand - most often, for the most popular resorts- to Pattaya, Bangkok and the island of Phuket - cheaper than flying. For example, you can fly to Phuket on Qatar Airlines with a transfer in Doha. Here the advantage will be the quality of the airlines - comfortable seats, good food, TV, and the disadvantage is the flight up to 18 hours. At the beginning of June, the price of a flight with transfers costs 26,000 rubles, a direct Aeroflot flight costs 28,000 rubles (the journey takes 10 hours), or you can buy the entire tour with a direct charter flight, 10 nights’ accommodation, transfer, insurance and breakfast at the hotel for 25,000 per person (based on double occupancy). An example is the 3-star Tuana M Narina Hotel in Patong.It is not even necessary to live in the chosen hotel - you can move to any other place on the spot (you will only have to return to the hotel for the transfer).

Myth 2

Tours are boring for retirees too

Any tour can always be customized to suit you. For example, go to Ayia Napa, rent a car and drive around the island. No rights? Sign up for any excursions or meet the locals, and they will give you a tour of the territories that you cannot even imagine. And in the evening, have fun at discos, meet tourists from all over the world, and practice English.

Pensioners sit in the hotel and go down to the beach. You can arrange any adventures for yourself, and no guide limits you in this. In addition, the price of the tour in the vast majority of cases is a really decisive factor. Even if the entire hotel is filled with old people, this will not stop you from going out on adventures every day. And it doesn’t matter what your friends think if your flight was really cheap and safe.

Myth 3

No guarantees!

Many people believe that in the process of buying a tour and during the vacation itself, you go through many intermediaries, which means no one is responsible if something goes wrong. In fact, everything is different.

For example, a travel agency that works with several tour operators on the same terms, although it is an intermediary, takes responsibility for organizing your vacation. You are guaranteed to receive a visa, as there is an agreement with the consulates. If you have problems at the airport, immediately contact representatives of tour operators on the spot and solve them. If you are late for a flight, they help you find and buy the best cheap ticket on the next flight and contact the hotel, warning about being late. Moreover, if you are not satisfied with the hotel, you are required to be moved to another hotel of a similar category. Independent travel agencies even help you write a claim against the tour operator and demand a refund! To request assistance in organizing a service or compensation for losses, you can always contact your travel agent by direct phone or email.

However, there is always the possibility that the tour operator (not the travel agency) will go bankrupt, and then you will lose everything. To avoid such risks, contact only trusted tour operators that are registered in the public register of tour operators.

When purchasing a plane ticket and booking a hotel room, either the airline or the hotelier is responsible for each item directly. A hotel is unlikely to close, and airlines rarely go bankrupt. If a regular flight is cancelled, you must be transferred to another flight or compensated for the cost of the ticket. And hotels are afraid of negative reviews and do everything possible to ensure that you are satisfied with your vacation. In addition, they take great care of those clients who book rooms directly.

Why is it so cheap?

Tourists often miss profitable tours, because they don’t believe that they are really that cheap. They expect surcharges and other fees and do not even try to purchase this tour. Well, who will believe that after May holidays could you fly to Greece for 7 nights and half board for 18 thousand rubles for two for the entire tour? In fact, there is always a rational explanation for such cheapness.

Tour operators buy tickets for regular and charter flights across popular destinations in advance, planning the entire season. That is, they have every right to significantly reduce ticket prices if they were not sold out before departure. There are no last-minute offers on scheduled flights that you purchase yourself. If the plane is not full, any seat will be sold at a pre-fixed price. But there may be airline promotions that need to be closely monitored.

In addition, tour operators often organize promotions for certain destinations with discounts of up to 50-60% - when there is an urgent need to sell tours to this resort according to the tour operator’s internal plan. Typically, such a promotion lasts no more than 3 days - it is convenient to follow offers on the social networks of a travel agency you trust and not miss a profitable offer.

It is also always profitable to travel immediately after the holidays - when Russian tourists return from vacation, and the resorts are empty and the planes are not full. For example, towards the end of the January or May holidays. And also with a return date that coincides with the beginning of the holidays - for example, in the last week of April with a return on May 1.

As for the aforementioned Greece, the offer was so cheap (up to 70% discount!), since the flight was planned 5-7 days after the purchase. During this time you would not have time to obtain a visa. But if you already have Schengen, you can always travel to European resorts on very last-minute tours - buying a tour a few days before the departure date.

There is also a system called “ Early booking" Using it you can save up to 40% on the purchase of a tour to a specific hotel (usually a very popular one). The main principle is the purchase of the tour or its partial payment with arrival during the peak period (summer or New Year), but always in advance - several months in advance. It is important for hoteliers to know how many tourists will check in, and it is convenient to receive money as early as possible.

When traveling on your own, it is always beneficial to buy a plane ticket six months in advance, or more precisely at least 29 weeks before the departure date. In addition, in European countries they often run promotions, especially if you are flying for only 2-3 nights. And there is no point in buying a tour.

So what are the pros and cons?

And a few more points to compare and make the right decision for this summer:

Vacation by tour

Fast, easy: no need to look for anything yourself

Constant Russian-language support for your travel agent

Visa support

Possibility to fly on last minute offers

The tour includes everything you need: flight (charter or regular), hotel accommodation, meals, transfer, insurance, support of a Russian-speaking guide

Individual support of a travel agent at the stage of selecting a tour - extensive experience, knowledge of hotels and tourist reviews, to advise or dissuade

The tour operator may go bankrupt and you will not get your money back

It is not profitable to buy a tour to unpopular destinations

Often used charter flights with poor food and uncomfortable chairs

The travel agency must provide you with freevisa support. This service is necessary for obtaining a visa yourself. As a rule, documents for a tour - voucher, insurance and air tickets - are sent to the tourist a few days before departure. When applying for a visa, the travel agency will advise you on what documents will be required to obtain a visa, and will also send you a full package of documents confirming that you have booked the tour.

Self-guided tours:

Absolute freedom in organizing your holiday - happiness for introverts!

If you are planning your vacation in advance, then it is much cheaper to buy plane tickets 29 weeks before departure (according to the Skyscanner service).

Independence from other group members (in transfers or on excursions)

Many airline and hotel websites are in English

No transfer and insurance

Good command required English language, sometimes not only English (for example, in China a very small part of the population speaks English)

In total, it is always cheaper to buy a tour for popular destinations, especially a last-minute offer. And this cheapness often covers all the possible disadvantages of a holiday package. And for some, even the search itself becomes the beginning of a vacation adventure - many are even ready to overpay, but organize their vacation completely on their own! Remember all the pros and cons that we have told you about in this article and make the right decision! 😉

The share of Russians who independently organize their tourist trips abroad, is still small. According to various estimates, it amounts to 10-13% of the volume of tourist traffic. Despite the fact that the market for independent travel is growing, more hotel and ticket booking systems are appearing, they compete more with each other than with sellers of package tours. Adherents of the organized retreat tourism among Russians there are still significantly more. However, underestimate the growth prospects of the segment independent travel not worth it. In order to stay afloat, many Russian travel companies will have to not only increase offline sales, but also offer a gentleman’s “savage” set: hotel reservations, air tickets and excursion programs. The losers will have to leave.

"Savages" and gentlemen

The market for online purchases of travel services grew by 33% in 2013 compared to 2012. According to statistics from an online travel agency Biletix, the total volume of the tourism segment of chain trade amounted to $8.3 billion in 2013. Of this, 57% came from the sale of airline tickets, 29% from the sale of hotels, 10% from Railway tickets and only 4% for online sales of ready-made tour packages. It would seem that the aggressive segment of independent tourism has incredible prospects in Russia. However, everything is not so simple. As it turned out, independent tourism is not only troublesome, but also expensive.

Independent tourists are usually understood as those who draw up their travel itinerary, book hotel accommodations, flights, transfers or a car, and also apply for visas and health insurance. “There is an opinion that people become independent tourists because they want to save money. This is not entirely true. The majority of Russians who organize their own tourist trips do so due to the lack or small number of package offers for countries that are unpopular with mass tourists,” says Andrey Borodin, founder and CEO service Online Tour. ru. It is also worth considering that separate booking of all segments of a future trip to popular destinations, according to expert estimates, costs on average 30% more. At the same time, the price at which “self-tourists” make reservations includes a commission for booking systems, no less than that included in the cost of package tours for travel agencies. In this case, saving is not about independent travel at all.

According to Borodin, the growth of independent tourism is primarily due to the fact that our tourists strive to conquer more and more new destinations. If we are talking about holidays in popular countries, such as Türkiye, Egypt, Thailand, then it is more profitable to buy package tours to these countries. This is what the majority of Russian “organized tourists” do - first of all, families with children, adherents of the all-inclusive system, people who want to save their time on booking individual services and get a full service for their money and save money.

According to Borodin, domestic tourism operators “suffered the most” of all – after all, it is not so difficult for a Russian to book a hotel in his homeland and he does not need a tour package. In the outbound market, only niche tour operators - operating in countries such as France, Italy, England, Portugal - felt competition from independent tourists. To a lesser extent - Spain and Greece.

Preference Map

The conclusions made by Andrei Borodin are confirmed in practice by other participants in the tourism market. So, Alexandra Vyal, owner of a travel agency "Barcelona", I decided to help our compatriots save money at the travel planning stage. She came up with and created in practice an interesting tool for testing the estimated cost of a future trip.

“We have compiled a special map, highlighting the most popular ones in different colors. tourist destinations, which are cheaper for Russian travelers to go on their own or with the help of a tour. Everything is very simple and clear,” says Vyal. According to her, the development team has identified six types of countries for potential travelers.

Source: Barceloner.com

Countries of the first type, where traveling on your own is much cheaper than with a tour package, include Cambodia, China, Singapore, Germany, Luxembourg, Ireland and Switzerland. The difference between the cost of a tour package or paid tickets and a hotel can range from 45% (Cambodia, Singapore) to 70% (China, Switzerland, Ireland).

A trip to countries of the second type: Italy, Lithuania, Slovakia, Thailand, the Philippines with a package tour will be about 10-20% more expensive than a wild one.

The cost of a trip to Finland, Montenegro, the Czech Republic, the Maldives or Israel is the same for both a self-tourist and a package traveler.

It is worth buying a tour to Turkey, Croatia, Latvia, and the UAE; it will be 15-25% cheaper than an independent trip.

It is much more profitable to travel as part of a tour group to Malaysia, the savings are 65%, to Greece - 60%, Sweden and Tunisia - 30%.

But it’s easier to go to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Nepal or Serbia on your own, because ordinary tour operators do not offer such tours.

“Spain is special. According to our calculations, by going on a trip on your own, you will save 10-20% of money. Despite the fact that this destination is very popular among tour operators (you can easily find dozens of tours of different durations for any wallet),” says Alexandra Vyal.

Tribute to tradition

According to Irina Tyurina, press secretary of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (RST), although the bankruptcies of tour operators have spurred the interest of the general public in organizing travel independently - many think that this is more reliable and cheaper. However, this is not always the case. “Travel on your own or through a travel agency is everyone’s personal choice. There will always be people who sew for themselves, but this does not stop them from buying ready-made clothes. Everyone knows how to cook, but at the same time they willingly visit restaurants,” says Irina Tyurina and gives several arguments in favor of traditional tours.

According to Tyurina, not all resorts fly regular flights, but buying charter tickets is not so easy: they are sold only on a residual basis, and whether or not they remain is the question. “A hotel in the booking system does not mean it is cheaper. Because, as experience shows, many, for example, do not notice that the price shown is without breakfast. Or they don’t pay attention to the conditions for canceling the reservation, and they can be very harsh. In addition, the picture of a hotel on the Internet may differ greatly from reality,” continues the PCT representative.

And the most important argument, according to Tyurina, is that an independent tourist must understand that he takes full responsibility for organizing the tour, and if something happens, he will be left to his own devices. “In 2010, after the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano, which interrupted flights over Europe for a long time, a reverse independent tourism trend,” the expert summarizes. – Independent tourists We found ourselves face to face with a force majeure situation that no one could have foreseen in advance. Tourists traveling on tour packages were looked after by their agents: they provided hotel rooms at their own expense, and organized other possible ways movement and so on. This trend intensified when the Italian company went bankrupt in August 2012 Wind Jet. Tourists have realized that they have to pay for independence, and a tour package ends up being cheaper.” And this, according to Tyurina, is the main reason for the reverse trend: some tourists who went on an independent voyage return to travel agencies. Global Business Travel Association, having surveyed several thousand business tourists from all over the world, states: 35% of respondents return to traditional travel patterns because they do not know who to turn to for a solution to any unforeseen problem during their trip.

Jump to the network

“Traditional travel agencies should not be afraid of the growth of online sales. As global experience shows, a significant part of consumers will remain faithful to the traditional scheme: buying a tour in an offline office. Our tourists will continue to move online for some time, but the sale of tour packages will slow down significantly due to mental characteristics and other reasons,” said Sergey Agafonov, CEO management company "Chains of last-minute travel stores", speaking at a special section of the largest Russian tourism summit - MITT, organized with the support of the PCT.

According to Agafonov, even in such a developed market as the United States, network sales do not have an advantage. Rather, there is a stable equality here: 50% of sales are online and 50% offline. This is the largest network sales figure in the world. At the same time, 80% of Americans travel domestically and only 20% travel abroad. The vast majority of them do not experience language problems while traveling.

“In Europe the business model is different. The share of online sales to offline sales is only 30% to 70%. A large share of “real” sales is due to the fact that a European tourist, picky about service, when coming on vacation, wants representatives of the host country to speak the same language with him,” said Agafonov.

“The mentality of Russians pushes them to the point that they “need to talk.” They need attention and communication. People can spend weeks studying the offers of companies on websites, but they most often come to buy a tour in a regular office. That is, they use the Internet only for information purposes. Such clients are welcome guests for any travel agency. They know what they want and come to the office to make the final choice and buy a ticket,” says the head of the IGP.

In his opinion, Russia is still closer to the European than American version. Currently, sales of tour packages on the RuNet account for only 5-7% of the total volume. Online will not win anytime soon, although the share of online bookings will grow every year.

Reason for communication

According to Agafonov, the use of convenient online services will allow agencies to retain clients. “If you don’t limit it only to offline, the client will remain and be loyal. Even if a tiny number of transactions take place through the website of a tour operator or agency, it is very important that the agent declares this service. It is in trend and gives the client additional opportunities,” says Agafonov. In his opinion, it is very important to use the power of the Internet for the benefit of online business. Including the possibilities of new media, social networks, which tourists themselves use more and more every year to search for information and reviews about trips. Today the share of such tourists has reached 70%.

“In its development, the tourism market today must rely on technological advantages and the development of online booking services. Most likely, these advantages will become the main factor in travel companies achieving leadership positions in their industry in the coming years,” says Borodin.

Independent travel	Package tours
Unlimited travel geography	The best prices for tours to popular tourist countries
Possibility to create your own difficult routes(visiting several countries within one trip, accommodation in different hotels, departure from a place other than the country of arrival)	No need to independently obtain visas, insurance, transfers
More favorable prices than those offered by tour operators are possible for individually developed routes	Support from the tour operator, his responsibility for the tourist
A large selection of non-standard accommodation options - for large companies, historical buildings, campsites and so on	Extreme ease of booking for tourists
Big choice online services for booking travel services	Assistance from a travel agency in organizing a trip (consultations, tour selection, reception and paperwork)

Comparison according to OnlineTur.ru

Photo:pixabay.com

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