Running events can be a fantastic way for tourism operators to attract new customers, engage existing ones, and diversify their offerings. However, managing registrations, payments, and attendee information can quickly become a significant task.
In this article
In this article, you'll learn practical strategies and actionable insights that you can implement immediately in your tourism business.
What is Humanitix and Why Should Tourism Operators Use It?
Humanitix is an Australian-born, not-for-profit ticketing platform that transforms every booking fee into a donation towards education programs for disadvantaged children. This means when your customers purchase tickets to your event, they're not just supporting your business, but also contributing to a greater cause – at no extra cost to you or them. For tourism operators, this offers:
- Low Fees: Competitive and transparent fee structures.
- Ease of Use: An intuitive platform for setting up and managing events.
- Social Impact: A powerful point of difference for your marketing and brand story.
- Local Support: An Australian-based team ready to assist.
Getting Started: Setting Up Your Event on Humanitix
Setting up an event on Humanitix is straightforward. Follow these steps to get your event live and selling tickets:
1. Create Your Organisation Account
If you haven't already, sign up for a free organiser account on the Humanitix website. This will be your hub for all your events.
- Visit Humanitix.
- Click 'Create Event' or 'Sign Up'.
- Follow the prompts to set up your organisation profile.
2. Craft Your Event Details
The more appealing and informative your event page, the more tickets you'll sell. Focus on clarity and compelling language.
- Event Name: Clear, concise, and engaging.
- Description: Highlight what attendees will experience. Use rich text formatting, images, and videos to tell your story.
- Date & Time: Be precise with start and end times, including time zones if applicable.
- Location: Provide a clear address, and consider linking to Google Maps for easy navigation.
- Event Image: Choose a high-quality, eye-catching image that represents your event.
3. Configure Ticket Types and Pricing
This is where you define how people can attend your event.
- Ticket Tiers: Create different ticket types (e.g., Early Bird, General Admission, VIP, Child, Adult).
- Pricing: Set your prices. Remember that Humanitix adds a small booking fee, which goes to charity.
- Availability: Define the number of tickets available for each type and when they go on sale and close.
- Optional Add-ons: Consider adding merchandise, extra activities, or packages to boost revenue.
4. Customise Your Event Page
Make your event truly yours by leveraging Humanitix's customisation options.
- Branding: Add your logo and brand colours to maintain consistency.
- Attendee Questions: Collect essential information from attendees (e.g., dietary requirements, emergency contacts, T-shirt size). Be mindful not to ask too many questions as this can deter purchasers.
- Confirmation Email: Customise the automated email attendees receive after purchasing tickets.
5. Publish and Promote Your Event
Once everything looks good, it's time to make your event live and get the word out.
- Publish: Hit the 'Publish' button. Your event is now live and ready to accept bookings.
- Share Directly: Humanitix provides a unique URL for your event page. Share this across your social media channels, email newsletters, and website.
- Embed Widget: Embed the ticket purchase widget directly onto your website for a smooth booking experience.
- Utilise Humanitix Tools: Explore promotional codes, waitlists, and social sharing features within the platform.
Maximising Your Reach and Impact
Beyond the initial setup, there are several ways to ensure your event's success with Humanitix:
- Integrate with Your Marketing: Ensure your Humanitix event link is prominently featured in all your digital marketing efforts – social media posts, email campaigns, blog articles, and paid ads.
- use Reporting: Use Humanitix's analytics to track ticket sales, attendee demographics, and other key metrics. This data is invaluable for future event planning.
- Tell the Social Impact Story: Don't forget to highlight that booking through Humanitix contributes to a greater cause. This resonates with conscious consumers and can be a powerful marketing tool.
By embracing Humanitix, Australian tourism operators can not only streamline their event management but also integrate a meaningful social purpose into their business operations, enhancing their brand and appeal to a broader audience.
Tools & Resources
Eventbrite
Eventbrite is a global self-service ticketing and event management platform designed to empower event creators of all sizes. It provides a comprehensive suite of tools to manage the entire event lifecycle, from initial planning and promotion to ticket sales, attendee management, and post-event analysis. Eventbrite simplifies the often complex processes associated with hosting events, allowing organisers to focus on delivering memorable experiences. By offering a user-friendly interface, robust marketing features, and secure payment processing, Eventbrite provides a valuable resource for businesses and individuals looking to maximise event success. Eventbrite operates through a tiered platform, allowing organisers to select the features that are appropriate for their needs. The platform includes features such as customisable event pages, automated email marketing, social media integration, and real-time sales reporting. Eventbrite allows organisers to create various ticket types, set pricing, manage capacities, and offer promotions. Attendees can easily browse and purchase tickets online through a seamless and secure checkout process. Eventbrite also offers a mobile app for on-site check-in and attendee management, streamlining the event day experience. Eventbrite integrates with a range of third-party applications and services, including marketing automation platforms (such as Mailchimp and Constant Contact), CRM systems (like Salesforce), and social media platforms (Facebook and Instagram). These integrations allow event organisers to synchronise data, automate marketing efforts, and reach a wider audience. Eventbrite's API also allows developers to create custom integrations and extensions, further enhancing the platform's functionality and scalability. As events grow in size and complexity, Eventbrite can handle the increased demand, providing reliable and scalable solutions for both small gatherings and large-scale festivals. Eventbrite is particularly useful for small to medium-sized businesses, community organisations, and individual event organisers. Australian businesses can utilise Eventbrite for a wide array of events, including conferences, workshops, concerts, festivals, sporting events, and classes. For example, a local winery could use Eventbrite to manage bookings for its wine tasting events, or a yoga studio could use it to sell tickets for its workshops and retreats.
Nowbookit
NowBookIt is a comprehensive booking and business management platform designed specifically to empower Australian tourism operators. It offers a centralised system to streamline online bookings, manage schedules, process payments, and enhance customer engagement, all within a user-friendly interface. The core value proposition is to free up tourism businesses from administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on delivering exceptional experiences to their customers.\n\nNowBookIt provides a suite of powerful features including online booking widgets for websites and social media, real-time availability management, automated email confirmations and reminders, point-of-sale (POS) functionality, customer relationship management (CRM) tools, and detailed reporting dashboards. It works by integrating seamlessly with a business's existing website or providing a custom-built booking page. Customers can easily browse services, select dates and times, make secure online payments, and receive instant booking confirmations. On the backend, operators can manage bookings, staff schedules, resources, and pricing, all from a single dashboard. \n\nNowBookIt boasts robust integration capabilities, connecting with popular accounting software like Xero and MYOB, as well as payment gateways like Stripe and PayPal. This allows for automated financial reporting and seamless payment processing. Furthermore, it integrates with major social media platforms and marketing automation tools, enabling businesses to promote their services and engage with customers effectively. Scalability is a key focus, with flexible pricing plans designed to accommodate businesses of all sizes, from small family-run tours to larger multi-location operators.\n\nTarget users include tour operators, accommodation providers, activity providers, and any tourism business that relies on online bookings and efficient business management. A small whale watching tour operator in Hervey Bay could use NowBookIt to manage bookings, send automated reminders, and process payments, while a farmstay in the Hunter Valley could manage their accommodation inventory, track guest preferences, and upsell additional services. The platform's versatility makes it suitable for a wide range of tourism businesses across Australia.
Bookeasy
Bookeasy is a comprehensive tourism booking and management system designed specifically for Australian tourism operators. It offers a centralised platform for managing bookings, inventory, and customer relationships, aiming to streamline operations and maximise revenue. The system provides a wide range of features tailored to the unique needs of the Australian tourism industry, including integration with various online travel agents (OTAs), local tourism websites, and payment gateways. Bookeasy functions as a complete end-to-end solution. It allows operators to manage their accommodation, tours, activities, and event bookings from a single dashboard. The system supports real-time availability updates, ensuring accurate information is displayed to potential customers. Operators can create custom booking rules, set pricing strategies, and manage promotions to optimise yield. Customer data is centralised for easy access and management, enabling personalised communication and targeted marketing campaigns. Bookeasy integrates seamlessly with a variety of third-party systems, including Xero for accounting, Mailchimp for email marketing, and popular OTAs like Booking.com and Expedia. This allows for automated data transfer and reduced manual effort. The platform is designed to be highly scalable, accommodating businesses of all sizes, from small family-run operations to large tourism organisations. Bookeasy also offers API access for developers who want to build custom integrations or extensions. Bookeasy is ideally suited for a wide range of Australian tourism businesses, including accommodation providers (hotels, motels, caravan parks), tour operators, activity providers (adventure tours, whale watching), and visitor information centres. It helps these businesses to effectively manage their online presence, streamline booking processes, and improve customer satisfaction. Use cases include managing seasonal booking fluctuations in popular tourist destinations, coordinating complex multi-day tours, and tracking the availability of various room types and facilities at accommodation properties.