A tour quotation format that actually converts

Search "tour package quotation format" and every result on page one is a template mill. Template.net, Jotform, SampleTemplates, all built for nobody's tax regime and nobody's sales process. None show GST correctly. None mention TCS. None are built to win the booking when the client has three other quotes open in three other tabs.

That last part is not a guess: travellers typically visit close to 38 sites while planning a trip and enquire with more than one agent, research on lead response shows. Your quotation is competing on a screen against two or three others, right now, while the client scrolls.

The stakes are real: a directional industry benchmark puts quote-to-booking conversion at 20-40% of qualified enquiries, with 75-85% of enquiries receiving a quote at all. That gap between "sent a quote" and "won the booking" is where format, pricing structure and tax accuracy either work for you or against you. Here is a quotation format built for both, 2026 tax rules included.

Why your quotation is a sales document, not paperwork

Most agents send one price, one package, take it or leave it. That is a single yes/no decision, usually measured against whatever a rival agent quoted.

Give three options instead: good, better, best, and the decision changes shape. Now the client is choosing among your packages, not between you and someone else. That is a meaningfully easier sale.

Order matters. Lead with the premium option, not the budget one. Showing the ₹95,000 Dubai package first makes the ₹68,000 middle option look reasonable by comparison. The client's anchor is now your number, not a competitor's. Put the cheapest option last and keep it visibly thinner on inclusions (no excursions, shared transfers, lower hotel category) so it reads as a genuine trade-off, not a trick.

Three tiers is the sweet spot. One option invites a straight price comparison; five creates decision fatigue. Three (Comfort, Recommended, Premium) gives enough contrast without overwhelming a client who is also comparing quotes elsewhere.

The field-by-field anatomy

Whatever template you use, these fields need to be present, in this order. Skip any of them and the quote looks like the ones template mills produce.

Field	What goes in it	Why it matters
Package name & dates	Destination, duration, exact travel dates	Confirms you understood the brief; first trust signal
Inclusions	Hotel category (not name), meals, transfers, sightseeing, entry tickets	Sets expectations; controls leakage (more below)
Exclusions	Flights (if not bundled), visa fees, personal expenses, tips	Prevents disputes at departure
Price (per person and total)	Both, side by side	Different clients read differently; showing both removes ambiguity
Tax lines	GST, and TCS for outbound	Legally required to be visible; also a credibility signal
Validity date	"Valid till DD/MM"	Creates urgency and protects you from cost or currency movement
Payment schedule	Advance %, balance due date	Sets the commercial terms before the client asks
Cancellation grid	Refund % by days-before-departure	Answers the question every client eventually asks, upfront

Per-person or total, and where GST sits

Show both prices. A couple reads the total; a group of six reads per-person and multiplies in their head anyway. Showing both saves them the maths. It's also one less reason for them to come back three days later asking "so what's that for four of us?"

Whichever you lead with, the tax line sits directly under the pre-tax price, not buried in a footnote:

Example: Manali, 4N/5D, twin sharing, domestic package

• Package price (per person): ₹18,000
• GST @ 5% (no ITC): ₹900
• Total payable (per person): ₹18,900
• For 2 travellers: ₹37,800

That 5% figure is not optional or agent-discretion. As of July 2026, tour packages, both domestic and international, attract 5% GST without input tax credit, under the GST 2.0 rate regime effective 22 September 2025. A quote that shows 12% or 18% on a bundled tour package is simply wrong, and a client who has three quotes open will notice the mismatch even if they don't know why it's wrong.

Careful: "No ITC" means you cannot claim input tax credit on costs like hotel commissions or vehicle hire against this 5% output tax. It is not a discount you can pass on. It is a cost structure. Rules and rates move; confirm the current position with your CA before pricing a large group.

The tax line outbound quotes cannot get wrong

Domestic quotes need one tax line. Outbound quotes need two. The second is where most 2026 quotes are quietly broken, because the rate changed mid-year.

From 1 April 2026, TCS on overseas tour packages is a flat 2%, with no minimum threshold. That's a Budget/Finance Act 2026 change that replaced the older structure of 5% up to ₹10 lakh and 20% above it. If your quotation template still shows a threshold or a 5%/20% split, it is describing a rule that no longer exists.

A compliant 2026 quote must show both the 5% GST and the 2% TCS clearly. Getting either wrong in front of a client who is comparing quotes is a credibility killer, because it signals you haven't kept your paperwork current.

Example: Dubai, 5N/6D, land + flights bundled, outbound package

• Package price (per person): ₹85,000
• GST @ 5% (no ITC): ₹4,250
• Subtotal: ₹89,250
• TCS @ 2% (flat, no threshold): ₹1,785
• Total payable (per person): ₹91,035

TCS is not your revenue. It is collected from the client and deposited against their PAN, adjustable against their income tax liability. Most clients don't know that, and an unexplained TCS line on a quote reads as a hidden fee. It helps to send the client a plain-language explainer alongside the quote; this one is written for exactly that handoff. For the fuller mechanics of collecting, depositing and reconciling the 2% (including group bookings and part-payments), see the full TCS playbook.

Validity, payment schedule, and the cancellation grid

Every quote needs an expiry date. Without one, a client can hold your quote for six weeks, watch airfares or hotel rates move, and still expect your original number. "Valid till 25 July" also does quiet work as a soft deadline. It nudges a fence-sitter without you having to chase them.

State the payment schedule on the quote itself, not after they say yes: advance percentage, balance due date, and mode. A common structure is 25% advance to hold, balance 15-21 days before departure. Adjust to what your suppliers actually require from you.

The cancellation grid belongs on the quote, not in a separate terms document nobody reads until something goes wrong:

Cancellation window	Refund
30+ days before departure	75% of advance
15-29 days before departure	50% of advance
7-14 days before departure	25% of advance
Under 7 days	Nil

Set these numbers to match what your hotels and DMCs actually refund you, not a generic figure copied from a template. For how to build a grid that doesn't leave you underwater when a supplier's terms are stricter than yours, see this breakdown of cancellation policy economics.

Stopping quote leakage

Here is the problem nobody's template addresses: a well-formatted, fully-itemised PDF is also a perfectly forwardable one. Send a client a quote with the hotel name and your net rate visible, and there is nothing stopping them from sharing it with a rival agent who quotes the same hotel at ₹500 less and pockets a thinner margin on the booking.

Three habits fix this without sacrificing transparency:

1. Name the category, not the property. "4-star, city centre, breakfast included" tells the client what they're getting. Reveal the specific hotel name and net rate only once a deposit is on hold.
2. Always show a validity date. A quote with no expiry is evergreen and endlessly re-shareable. One with "valid till Friday" has a shelf life that discourages someone from sitting on it while shopping it around.
3. Personalise enough that a forward is useless. Reference the client's actual dates, party size and one detail from your conversation ("as discussed, the anniversary dinner is built into Day 3"). A generic quote copies cleanly into a WhatsApp forward. A personalised one looks obviously second-hand to whoever receives it.

PDF or link: the trackability decision

This is really a question about what happens after you hit send. A PDF disappears into the client's downloads folder with zero visibility. You don't know if they opened it, forwarded it, or it's still sitting unread. A web link (even a simple hosted page) tells you when it was opened, and sometimes how long they stayed on the price section, the same kind of visibility a WhatsApp CRM for travel agents gives you automatically on every quote you send.

That single data point changes your entire follow-up. "Opened twice, sat on the pricing page for a while, hasn't replied in two days" is a warmer lead than a client who hasn't opened your quote at all. It also tells you exactly which message to send next, rather than a generic "following up on my last email". For the actual message library once you know a quote has been opened and gone quiet, these follow-up scripts are built for that exact moment.

If you only have PDF as an option, at minimum note the send date and set a personal reminder to check in. Don't rely on the client to come back first.

The short version

• Offer three pricing tiers (Comfort, Recommended, Premium), lead with the premium option so it anchors the client's sense of value.
• Every quote needs: inclusions, exclusions, per-person and total price, tax lines, validity date, payment schedule, and a cancellation grid, in that order.
• Domestic and outbound packages both carry 5% GST with no ITC; outbound packages add a flat 2% TCS with no threshold, effective from 1 April 2026.
• Never show hotel names or net rates on a first quote: category only, until a deposit is on hold.
• Always date-stamp validity; an expiry date protects your costing and limits how long a forwarded quote stays a threat.
• Prefer a trackable web link over a static PDF. Knowing when a client opened the quote tells you exactly when and how to follow up.
• Rates and thresholds move; confirm current GST and TCS treatment with your CA before quoting large or unusual bookings.