Small group travel — who’s in charge?

In this edition of “Under the Microscope,” I will examine an important aspect of the greatly increasing trend toward small-group travel. In terms of who is in charge of leading groups, including solving any problems encountered along the way, how are these groups operated on the ground by tour companies?

Compare a recent issue of ITN with one from five years ago and the trend of more tour operators’ offering options for traveling in small groups is clear. This is in response to consumer preference and demand. The host of reasons most travelers prefer traveling with smaller groups does not require our attention here.

Defining small groups

For purposes of this discussion, I will classify a small group as one with four to 15 people, some or all of whom are not connected with each other, participating in a group itinerary.

Some small-group offerings are straightforward, stating a maximum group size of, say, 15 passengers each. Often, these groups are each led by a U.S. or foreign-based tour director who travels with the group throughout the itinerary if the group is full or nearly so. If the tour operator does not sign up enough passengers to make an acceptable profit, typically the operator will simply cancel the departure or perhaps try to combine it with another group on a different departure date or try to convert the passengers to independent itineraries.

Who’s in charge

Many companies operating tours in popular overseas destinations set up itineraries with a specific departure date so they can be operated regardless of how many passengers book.

If and when the group reaches a certain minimum size, it likely will be assigned a tour director who will travel with the tour members for the duration.

If the group does not reach that minimum size, it instead generally will be assigned, for each tour segment, a different local guide who will handle all touring and arrangements for that portion of the tour only.

Solving problems or not on tour

This works out fine the majority of the time, but it can definitely run into snags when problem situations develop either with travel arrangements or with or among tour members.

Typically, these local guides, who may be either freelance guides or company employee guides, are utilized by the inbound travel agency or tour company with whom the North American tour operator contracts for guide services and, in some cases also, tour director services. In the case of local guides and sometimes also foreign tour directors, they usually have no direct contact with or responsibility to the North American tour operator.

Officially, they are supposed to report problems to their local inbound employer, who will instruct them how to handle the situation. Usually, this does not happen. In many countries, the local tour company employers simply do not want to hear about problems, so guides are reluctant to report anything but severe problems lest they be deemed incompetent.

This is especially the case when there are personal problems with or among group members. In practice, there is often no one to sort out problems affecting the quality of the tour which may need sorting out. Depending on the nature of the problem, a common local guide response is to ignore the situation, pretending it does not exist and hoping it will somehow resolve itself or disappear without having to be acknowledged or dealt with.

In some cases, that type of response may actually be warranted. But what if it isn’t? Even if the situation becomes an emergency, problems may or may not be handled adequately. The above situation is particularly applicable, though certainly not exclusively, to tour leaders in Asian countries.

Questions to the source

What does all this mean for the prospective traveler? My answer is simple. Any and all travelers concerned about the quality of their small-group travel experience should exercise at least a small amount of basic due diligence. This should be in the form of investigation, usually including direct questions (preferably by telephone but alternatively by e-mail) to the tour company with whom one is contemplating traveling. Suggested questions should include the following:

• 1. “Is the tour departure guaranteed?” 

  2. “What are the minimum and maximum number of travelers that will be assigned to my specific departure?”

  3. “Will I be traveling with the same group throughout the tour or will others be added for certain portions?”

  4. “Will the group have a U.S.-based tour director, an overseas-based tour director or only local guides?” If the operator does not yet know, ask, “How soon before departure will you be able to tell me?”

What are the factors that determine whether there will be a tour director or only local guides? Generally, this is determined by the number of passengers in the group. Be advised that local guides often are not authorized to make any changes to the itinerary, even if the need seems to be clear and obvious to all passengers. While doing your destination research, try to gain some understanding of how problems tend to be solved in the local culture.

• 5. Ask the booking tour operator, “Will your tour company have direct contact with the tour leader during the tour?” 

  6. “If there are problems during the tour not being adequately handled by the foreign tour director or especially local guides, if they are in charge, who at the tour company do tour members contact to advise and seek resolution? This includes after-hours emergency contacts.”

In the final analysis

Most good tour operators will be willing to answer these questions, recognizing your right and need to be informed. If they are evasive, there may be cause for concern.

Make sure you speak to someone at the tour company who is authorized to answer your questions thoroughly. Do not be shy about asking to speak to a supervisor or manager.

Many travelers philosophically cast their fate to the winds, trusting that if there are problems of any sort, they will somehow be sorted out by others. That is a personal choice, albeit one that can potentially leave the uninformed with limited recourse if problems do occur.

Others recognize that a small effort in terms of advance education can only aid in preparation and understanding of options, in case problem situations develop during their travels. This isn’t being negative or looking for problems, it’s being smart and protecting your considerable investment.

At this point, it seems appropriate to refer readers to my July 2004 column, titled “Taking Control of Your Travel Life.” The entire article relates to communicating effectively with tour operators and other travel providers. Please especially note the part under the subhead “Traveling With a Balanced Perspective.” This column can be accessed on the ITN website, www.intltravelnews.com; click on the link at the bottom of the homepage.

Finally, all travelers should always read all of the fine print of the tour operator’s tour inclusions and terms & conditions, however laborious. Not only will this inform, it may well generate some important additional questions.

Happy prepared travels!