subject: Expert Advice for Planning a Sports Tour [print this page] An annual sports tour provides many people with their best sporting memories, which is why tours are the highlight of the year for many teams, clubs and individuals. However, organising a tour is a big job which requires a high level of commitment and planning: in order to get everything done with the minimum of hassle and stress for the organisers, it's crucial to begin the planning process early.
Before you begin to contact tour operators, it's important to consult your team and think carefully about where you want to go: the destination you choose should be determined not only by practical factors like budget and distance, but also by your sporting requirement. For example, football tours are almost unlimited in their choice of destinations but cricket tours will need more careful selection due to the lesser number of countries involved with the sport. Multi-sports tours and sporting festivals are also becoming more popular as a way of interacting with a wide range of teams and individuals, so it's equally important to consider the format of your tour.
Once your team has a good idea of their desired destination, duration and budget, the next step is to find a travel partner who can turn these basics into the perfect sporting package. This is without a doubt the most important aspect of planning a sports tour; finding a company who can offer expertise, support and personal commitment throughout the planning process will transform a good tour into a great one, as well as making the organiser's job as easy as possible.
The best way to guarantee all this is to look for a tour operator that specialises in sports tours (remember that they are a very different beast from any other kind of trip with their own specific itineraries, requirements and activities).A good example is Burleigh Tours, a UK tour operator with a wealth of sports tour experience and a very satisfied client list. This experience, combined with an in-depth knowledge of both the sports they offer and the demographic they cater to (from schools to universities to amateur local clubs), allows them to tailor every tour they offer around the specific requests of their clients. They can also offer advice on locations, itineraries and accommodation based on the recommendations of previous clients as well as their own expertise.
With the right travel partner, plenty of early thinking and a dedicated team of organisers, a sports tour should be almost as enjoyable to plan as it is to attend, and choosing an expert like Burleigh Sports is by far the best way to make sure your tour runs exactly as you want it to.
