Fixed departure tour operators

Know what the batch earns. Before it leaves.

The bus is a group cost. The meal is per person. The child fare and the Mumbai transfer change the numbers again. Tourify helps you plan the costs, price the seats and see where the margin goes.

See departure costingStart free

Bring one real costing sheet to your demo.

Cost plan · Kerala 5D · 14 Dec batch
16 travellers at ₹15,000 eachGroup costs split, per-person costs multiplied
Coach, 5 daysGroup cost₹42,000
Tour leaderGroup cost₹18,000
Hotels, twin sharePer person · 16 × ₹5,200₹83,200
Meals & activitiesPer person · 16 × ₹2,800₹44,800
Direct cost, 16 travellers₹1,88,000
Revenue ₹2,40,000 · surplus ₹52,000

Same tour. Same price. Very different result.

Suppose a departure costs ₹60,000 for the group plus ₹8,000 per paying traveller, and sells for ₹15,000 per person. Here is what happens before overheads, sales fees and taxes.

One departure · three group sizes
₹15,000 per traveller₹60,000 for the group + ₹8,000 per traveller
12 travellers₹1,80,000 in · ₹1,56,000 out₹24,00013.3%
16 travellers₹2,40,000 in · ₹1,88,000 out₹52,00021.7%
20 travellers₹3,00,000 in · ₹2,20,000 out₹80,00026.7%
✓Same tour, same priceOnly the number of paying travellers changed
Before overheads, sales fees and taxes
₹24,000 departure surplus 12 travellers
₹1,80,000 revenue less ₹1,56,000 direct costs. A 13.3% margin on this cost basis.
₹52,000 departure surplus 16 travellers
₹2,40,000 revenue less ₹1,88,000 direct costs. A 21.7% margin on this cost basis.
₹80,000 departure surplus 20 travellers
₹3,00,000 revenue less ₹2,20,000 direct costs. A 26.7% margin on this cost basis.

Illustrative calculation, not a market benchmark or earnings promise. Assumes identical paying travellers and the same vehicle cost at all three sizes. A vehicle upgrade, room change or different fare mix needs a new calculation.

Built around how group tours are priced.

Quote · Ladakh bike trip 9D · Iyer × 4
Motorcycles & fuel4 × ₹14,200₹56,800
Hotels & camps, twin share4 × ₹16,800₹67,200
Breakfast & dinner4 × ₹5,600₹22,400
Inner-line permits & fees4 × ₹1,350₹5,400
Road captain & backup vanshare of 16₹54,000
Your cost₹2,05,800
Quote, 4 × ₹62,000₹2,48,000
17.0% margin · only you see thisSend PDF
Sent on WhatsApp · 07:16 · seen

Cost the items behind the package

A single package price can contain hotel nights, a coach, guides, meals and activities from different suppliers. Keep those costs separate, with group or per-person scope, quantities and supplier details.

Coach · rates by group size
The supplier's quoted bracketsKerala 5D · Kochi, Munnar, Alleppey
Up to 12 travellers26-seat coach₹38,000
13 to 20 travellers35-seat coach₹42,000
21 to 30 travellers45-seat coach₹54,000
31 or moreNot quoted by the supplierCheck first
Margin compared at 12, 16 and 20 travellers

Compare the group sizes you actually sell

Set different rates for the same item at different group sizes. Compare departure costs and margins at your chosen headcounts before committing to a selling price.

Selling fares · Kerala 5D
AdultTwin share₹15,000
Child, 5 to 11With a bed₹11,500
Infant, under 2No seat, no bed₹2,000
Senior, 60 and over₹14,000
Single room supplement₹4,500
Houseboat nightOptional₹3,200
Supplier age rules checked separately

Handle fares beyond one adult price

Configure child, infant and senior selling rates, plus supplements and optional charges. Check room occupancy and supplier age rules separately: a discounted fare does not automatically mean a discounted supplier cost.

Kerala 5D · departure plans
One itinerary, three plansLand costs shared · city costs per traveller
Mumbai departureReturn flights to Kochi₹9,800
Delhi departureReturn flights to Kochi₹12,400
Bengaluru departureOvernight train both ways₹2,600
✓Inclusions listed per cityFlights shown only on the plans that include them
Shared land plan: ₹8,000 per traveller

Give each city departure its own plan

A Mumbai departure and a Delhi departure can share an itinerary but have different transfer or flight costs. Keep city-specific costs in separate departure plans and make the package inclusions clear.

Ladakh bike trip · 14 Jun · plan vs actual
PlannedActual
Motorcycles & fuel₹2,27,200₹2,27,200
Hotels & camps₹2,68,800₹2,74,400+₹5,600
Meals & permits₹1,11,200₹1,11,200
Vans & road captain₹2,16,000₹2,16,000
Oxygen cylindersnot planned₹6,500+₹6,500
Profit, planned₹1,68,800
Profit, actual₹1,56,700
Suppliers: 4 of 6 paid · ₹1,12,000 due

Keep the budget beside the actual bill

Follow costs from estimates to invoices and payments. Record unplanned spend and compare it with the departure budget, so the next batch starts with better information.

Departures · June
Ladakh bike trip14 Jun
14/16
Spiti Valley21 Jun
9/12
Kashmir Great Lakes28 Jun
11/14
Masai Mara02 Aug
14/14
Balances due in June₹6,84,000
Rooming updated · Iyer family, 2 twins

Run the departure from the same system

Connect the commercial plan to bookings, capacity, traveller details, rooming lists and payments. The numbers belong to the departure your operations team is running.

From your first cost sheet to your next season.

Practical guides for new operators, teams building their own benchmarks, and experienced businesses evaluating software. Start with costing and margins, then work through supplier sourcing, traveller pricing and departure operations.

Starting your first departure

2 minHow much margin should you add to a fixed departure?Learn margin versus markup, calculate a target selling price, and stress-test commissions, discounts and occupancy before choosing your fixed departure fare.2 minHow to cost your first fixed departure before selling a seatBuild your first fixed departure cost plan with group costs, per-person costs, realistic headcounts and a worked example you can reuse for your own batch.2 minWhere to source suppliers for your fixed departure toursCompare hotels, transporters, activity providers and DMCs using the same brief, complete landed costs and booking terms before committing to your next group.2 minFind the minimum group size for a fixed departureCalculate direct-cost break-even, test capacity jumps and set a confirmation decision date before promising that a fixed departure is guaranteed to run.2 minThe fixed departure launch checklist: from supplier quotes to salePrepare costs, fare rules, minimum group decisions, supplier deadlines and booking ownership before putting a new fixed departure on sale.2 minA profitable departure can still run short of cashMap customer collections against hotel, transport and DMC payment dates so a profitable fixed departure does not create an unexpected funding gap.

Improving pricing and benchmarks

2 minFixed departure pricing benchmarks: compare the right numbersBuild useful tour pricing benchmarks from comparable departures, supplier quotes and actual costs without mistaking advertised fares for industry profit margins.2 minRoom occupancy and single supplements for fixed departuresCalculate room counts, odd group sizes and single supplements from actual accommodation costs so your twin-sharing fare holds up when the rooming list changes.2 minOne tour, different departure cities: build prices that make senseSeparate the shared land package from city-specific flights, feeder transfers and hotel nights to explain different departure fares without losing the margin.2 minHow to price the same tour item for different group sizesModel coach upgrades, hotel brackets and guide costs by group size so a growing departure does not quietly cross into a lower-margin pricing tier.2 minEarly-bird discounts and agent commissions without losing tour marginSet discount limits using contribution, supplier thresholds and channel costs so early-bird offers and agent commissions do not erase your departure margin.2 minChild, infant and senior fares: cost each service before discountingBuild age-based tour fares from hotel, transport and activity rules instead of applying one blanket child discount to every item in a fixed departure.

Choosing software and reviewing actuals

2 minHow to evaluate fixed departure software with one real costing sheetTest tour operator software on supplier cost lines, group-size thresholds, age fares, city options and actual bills using a real departure before choosing it.2 minWhere did the tour margin go? Review planned versus actual costsSeparate headcount changes, supplier rate increases and unplanned expenses when comparing a fixed departure budget with its final supplier bills.2 minFixed departure cost planning in Tourify: from supplier quote to actualsSee how Tourify connects item-level supplier costs, group-size pricing, traveller fares and actual expenses through the life of one fixed departure.
Browse all operator guides

Questions operators ask

Can the same item have different prices at different group sizes?
Yes. Tourify supports group-size tiers for cost and selling lines, plus margin comparisons at selected headcounts. Enter the supplier's quoted brackets and check any size the supplier has not quoted before selling it.
Does Tourify decide the right margin for my tour?
You choose the selling price and commercial assumptions. Tourify helps make costs and margins visible. A target margin still needs to account for your overheads, sales costs, risk and customer demand.
Can I compare planned costs with actual supplier spend?
Yes. Departure cost lines keep budget, actual cost and payment information together. Unplanned costs can be recorded separately so they remain visible as variance.
Can I use different child and city departure prices?
Age-banded selling lines support child, infant and senior fares. Separate departure plans can hold city-specific costs. Supplier age cutoffs, room rules and the actual traveller mix still need to be checked when configuring the quote.

Put your next departure through the numbers.

Bring your supplier quotes, group sizes and fare options. Walk through the cost plan and see how it connects to actual spend in Tourify.

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