THE SEASON STARTS
Traditionally April Fool's Day is the first day of the guiding season. That is when the guide fees go up and when many companies start their summer programme. In fact, I have been slightly busier in March this year because air fares tend to go up on that day as well andmany people slip in early to take advantage of cheaper fares and budget winter tours. Easter is really the time when you expect to be busy but sometimes there is a little dip afterwards. For extended touring the six month period from mid April to mid October is pretty hectic, the rest of the year erratic. This is one fo the things that appealed to me when I started guiding - having the winter off to travel myself. I did some pretty long trips in the January/February period, which is very dead in Britain, but now prefer to stay at home writing, seeing the children, working on the house (plasterer repairing downstairs as I write) and picking up the odd day job and short extended tour.
Tomorrow's tour is an eight day whizz through England, Scotland, northern and southern Ireland and Wales. It is an ingenious tour which requires a couple of early starts but fits in plenty of places by dint of missing out the west of Ireland and staying in Glasgow instead of Edinburgh - better hotel and situated for the ferry to Belfast. It also has three guided tours by local guides - Edinburgh, Blefast and Dublin - and walking tours of York, the Irish national stud (horses not he-men) and Waterford. There are several optional tours, a highlight dinner and a hectic last day that takes in Stonehenge, Bath and Cardiff. Sounds exhausting but it works and proves what I have been saying for years - that leisurely tours do not sell in this business.

This brings us to the gap between what people want and what they say they want. Ask a tourist before departure whether he wants to stay in traditional inns with lots of character and he will say 'Yes' even 'Youbetcha!' but he/she will be far more likely to complain about the size or state of his room and conditions of the hotel. Give him/her a modern box where all the rooms are identical and you are unlikely to hear a squeak. Likewise, ask them if they want a leisurely tour with lots of free time to explore and they will agree that it sounds good, but if you put such a tour in the brochure, then no-one buys it. It has been done. My company designed a ten day tour very similar to their one week highlights tour of Britain but with more two night stops and free time - it only ran once in the whole summer it was published before being dropped.

So fasten your seat belts (a big deal these days - in case we get sued) hold tight and enjoy the ride...
Eddie