How to Get Travel Agents to Sell Your Tours: Partnerships That Work

In today’s competitive tourism industry, partnering with travel agents can be one of the most effective ways to increase bookings and grow your business. If you are a tour operator or travel company, learning how to get travel agents to sell your tours is essential for scaling your reach and building strong distribution channels. Travel agents already have loyal clients, industry expertise, and the ability to sell experiences that fit customer needs. With the right strategy, they can become your most valuable sales partners.

Why Work with Travel Agents?

Before diving into how to get travel agents to sell your tours, it’s important to understand why they matter:

Established networks: Travel agents already have a trusted client base.
Personalized service: Many travelers rely on agents for curated recommendations.
Upselling opportunities: Agents can bundle your tours with flights, hotels, or extras.
Credibility boost: Being recommended by an agent builds trust in your brand.

By building partnerships with travel agents, tour operators can tap into ready-made markets and attract clients who might never have found them otherwise.

Step 1: Research and Identify the Right Travel Agents

The first step in how to get travel agents to sell your tours is choosing the right partners. Not every agent is suitable for your tours, so focus on those who match your niche:

Adventure and safari agents for wildlife or outdoor tours.
Luxury travel agents for high-end, exclusive packages.
Family and group travel specialists if your tours are group-friendly.
Destination-focused agents who sell trips specifically to your region.

Creating a list of potential partners ensures that your efforts target agents most likely to promote and sell your tours effectively.

Step 2: Create Attractive Commission Structures

Travel agents are motivated by earnings, so offering a clear and competitive commission plan is critical. Here’s how to get agents excited to sell your tours:

Offer fair commissions (typically 10–20% depending on your market).
Provide bonus incentives for hitting sales targets.
Consider tiered rewards where high-performing agents earn more.

When travel agents see the financial benefits, they’ll prioritize your tours over competitors.

Step 3: Provide High-Quality Marketing Materials

To make it easy for agents to sell your tours, provide them with everything they need:

Professional brochures and digital flyers.
Stunning images and videos of your destinations.
Detailed itineraries, inclusions, and exclusions.
Testimonials and reviews from past clients.

Equipping agents with strong promotional tools helps them confidently sell your tours to their customers.

Step 4: Build Strong Relationships

Partnerships thrive on trust and communication. To truly succeed in getting travel agents to sell your tours, focus on building long-term relationships:

Communicate regularly with updates on availability or new packages.
Offer exclusive deals or early access to new tours.
Show appreciation with thank-you notes or special perks for loyal agents.

A strong relationship ensures that agents feel valued and are more likely to push your tours.

Step 5: Train and Educate Your Agents

Agents sell best when they understand your product. Hosting regular training sessions can help:

Webinars and online workshops about your tours.
Familiarization (FAM) trips where agents experience the tours themselves.
Clear FAQs and product guides for quick reference.

Educated agents are more persuasive and confident when recommending your tours to travelers.

Step 6: Use Technology to Streamline Sales

Modern travel agents prefer seamless systems. To increase your chances of getting agents to sell your tours:

Provide easy online booking options.
Integrate with global distribution systems (GDS) if possible.
Offer instant confirmations and automated invoices.

The easier it is for agents to book your tours, the more likely they’ll promote them to clients.

Step 7: Attend Travel Trade Shows and Networking Events

Industry events are great for meeting travel agents face-to-face. Consider attending:

International travel trade fairs (e.g., ITB Berlin, WTM London).
Regional tourism expos and B2B networking events.
Online networking platforms and travel agent directories.

Networking allows you to present your tours directly to agents and establish trust.

Step 8: Track Results and Improve

Finally, track how your partnerships are performing:

Which agents bring in the most bookings?
Which tours are selling best through agents?
Are commissions motivating enough?

Use this data to refine your approach and strengthen your travel agent partnerships.

Conclusion

Learning how to get travel agents to sell your tours comes down to building strong partnerships, offering fair incentives, and making it easy for them to sell. By identifying the right agents, providing tools and training, and nurturing relationships, tour operators can dramatically increase their bookings and expand their reach.

When done right, travel agents don’t just sell your tours: they become ambassadors for your brand.