Make Profits From Literary and On Location UK Tours | Travel Research Online

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Make Profits From Literary and On Location UK Tours

If you’re a regular reader of these Agent’s Perspectives (and there are many of you out there) you’ll be aware of my longstanding commitment to helping you identify and profitably develop some of the untapped niche markets close to where you live. It’s why my website is divided into separate sections for GARDEN, FAITH, VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS, GIRLS GETAWAYS, etc.

Many of your anglophile clients will be interested in themes with a LITERARY/ON LOCATION slant, and with 15 conversation starting itinerary outlines on the Literary Tours page, you can take a look at some of the potential sources ON YOUR DOORSTEP. The list includes:

  • Fans of Masterpiece Theatre: Murder Mystery Book clubs/stores
  • Reading Circles: Bookstores and antiquarian book dealers
  • Teachers and lecturers in English literature at schools, colleges, universities and continuing education colleges: Literary Festivals
  • Dickens Faires looking for a fund raiser: The American Library Association which is home to United For Libraries where you will find a large number of Friends groups, many with an interest in travel.

Give this careful thought because the people you can think of might already be clients. If not, between us, we can make them your customers!

Harry, Alice, Paddington Bear and Mathilda

This tour will start a conversation with a family visiting London. In addition to all the standard must-sees (and there are plenty), in this fun-packed 6-nighter, Platform 9 ¾ and Paddington Bear join forces with Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland while costumed interpreters bring to life Elizabethan England at the Shakespeare Houses. Roald Dahl, the Warner Brothers Making of Harry Potter and a performance of Mathilda complete the sequence.

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The Bard And The Bulldog

The Bard (Shakespeare and Stratford upon Avon) and The Bulldog (Churchill and Blenheim Palace) are the foundations for a tour that includes some of the Cotswolds’ most famous villages and market towns. The final choice of stately homes and gardens will be determined by your date of travel so that you’ll see the best when at their peak for colour and fragrance. I can also recommend a number of personally vetted pubs with impressive menus and a wide variety of real ales all served at the correct temperature!

A Really Good Read

This 8-night travel less, see more tour centres on the cities of Salisbury and Bath with 3 nights in the Cotswolds as a base for Stratford upon Avon. The featured writers include Jane Austen, Laurie Lee (Cider with Rosie) and William Shakespeare living history experiences. Heading into London, Inspector Morse, Harry Potter and Alice in Wonderland are added to the cast with a London tour that follows in the footsteps of Sherlock Holmes.

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It’s as Easy as ABC

A is for Austen, B is for the Bard and C is for the Cotswolds. Served up with flair and imagination (and at the right price) you have a commission-generating ABC tour of England.  Also included is a journey through time at Stonehenge and Old Sarum, some ancient coaching inns and Elizabethan England, brought to life at the Shakespeare Houses. This tour doubles up nicely as a pre or post cruise extension for Southampton cruise arrivals or departures. This tour works extremely well as a pre or post cruise sailing in or out of Southampton.

Murder Mystery

Use Endeavour, Inspector Morse, Lewis, Father Brown, Agatha Raisin as the starting point for a customised UK On Location tour. Add the unflappable DCI Barnaby, the star of the corpse strewn TV series Midsomer Murders. I can add a couple of nights in Cambridge for a Dick Francis-themed walking tour of Newmarket and an On-Location Grantchester visit. Finish in London and follow in Sherlock Holmes footsteps as the grand finale.

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Beatrix Potter, James Herriot, Dracula and the Brontës

With the increased number of non-stop, Manchester-bound flights, there’s now much better direct access to the sources of inspiration for the popular novels and poetry of Beatrix Potter, William Wordsworth, Bram Stoker (Dracula), the Brontës and James Herriot. To add further interest, I can add the Roman city of Chester, the Viking City of York, the great treasures houses of Chatsworth, Castle Howard and Harewood and even a dash of the Beatles in Liverpool.

Paull Tickner, owner of U.K.-based Custom GB, is known for his expertise in creating and operating imaginative, value-added tours of Great Britain and Ireland. Visit his website at www.customgb.co.uk or email him at ptickner@customgb.co.uk

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