Watch the cycle
The tourism business is cyclical in nature. This is pleasant because it is predictable. The price curve rises and falls depending on demand. Demand, in turn, is influenced by calendar factors - ours and theirs. Dates of mass departures coinciding with public holidays, school and student vacations are approaching - expect price increases of 20-50%. Then come periods of calm. People have had their fill - airplane seats and hotel rooms go unsold. To reduce losses, tour operators release special offers or "burning" tours onto the market. Sometimes their cost is even cheaper than the airfare included in the package. A classic example: "Egypt for $99" with an average ticket price of $130. On mass destinations (Turkey, Egypt, Cyprus, etc.), where competition is very high, working with "specials" is common practice. Tourists have gotten used to this and now try to buy specifically "burning" tours.
The downside of saving: while you wait for "burning" deals to appear, your chances of going on the trip may burn out. Especially on peak dates. The logic is simple: places sell like hot cakes, so there is simply nothing left to burn. Moreover, during such periods the cost of a tour may even rise - mainly due to markups on scarce airline seats.
Plan sensibly
The change of seasons at beach and sightseeing destinations (usually in April and October), the start of the pilgrimage to ski resorts (with the appearance of a steady snow cover), periods of major exhibitions and championships, celebrations of royal birthdays, festivals, harvest holidays - all these factors not only affect the increase in tour prices, but also increase the density of traffic in the chosen direction. If you have definitely decided to fly in the height of the season, take care of it in advance. It is both calmer (your tour purchased in advance will not be snatched up by anyone else) and... cheaper. After all, a discount is often given for early booking. The technology is as follows: the tour operator, encouraging agencies to fill seats months in advance, gives them an increased commission (up to 17% versus the usual 10-12%). The agent, encouraging regular and just nice clients, gives them a discount. Thus the market becomes stable and tourists are satisfied.
The downside of saving: early booking bonuses are just a marketing ploy by some companies. And it is used only on the most popular destinations. Therefore, you cannot demand a discount from the agent. But it is worth politely asking.
By the way, a practical course in travel saving can be relevant not only for clients, but also for travel companies themselves. Those of them that managed to orient themselves in time and ordered creation of an online store are now reaping the fruits of their foresight. Indeed, as is known, thanks to the development of modern technologies, more and more potential clients now come from the virtual Internet.
Get your bearings
Recently, as statistics show, more and more tourists prefer to book hotels independently via the Internet. However, few tourists realize that they overpay from 15% to 30% for such independence. This is how rack rates differ from confidential tour operator rates. Trust a travel agent, they will suggest the most favorable options. Ask, for example, whether it is worth taking four- and five-star hotels in Europe. If you hear the answer "not worth it" - you can trust them. And rightly so, you only need to put your suitcase in the room and spend the night. You didn't come to sit in a hotel. Once in a country where you would like to move around on your own, find out which transport is more profitable to use. Sometimes it is better to rent a car than to use taxi services. For example, in Germany an inexpensive car will cost from 40 euros per day, and a transfer from the airport to the hotel - from 40 to 60 euros. Moreover, with a rented car there is freedom of movement. If you don't have a license or don't want to bother, look at train fares. Occasionally you can also find very tempting special offers for groups or certain age categories of citizens. Welcome cards (or their analogues) help to save seriously when moving around cities. Not only do they give discounts on museum visits, but they also cover the cost of city transport - partially or fully. You can get them at tourist information centers.
Choose your wings
Air travel is the main and in most cases the most expensive component of a tour package. Depending on what type of transportation (charter or regular, on domestic or foreign airlines) you choose, your costs vary. On mass destinations, you will most likely be offered charter options: more or less expensive depending on the class and configuration of the aircraft. Economy class is already included in the package price. Business and first class will require an additional payment - from $100 to $200 and from $300 to $450, respectively.
The downside of saving: you can buy a charter ticket without ground services, but it is difficult. At the height of the season, they most likely will not sell them separately. In addition, charter tickets are non-refundable. If you cancel the tour, the cost of transportation is not returned. Changing surnames usually incurs a fine of $20.
Frequent flyers will find it useful to learn about the existence of special bonus cards with a mileage accumulation system. You can get one at check-in from an airline employee or from a flight attendant on board. Such a card, if used correctly, will in the future provide free tickets even to the owner's friends and relatives.
And one more important point: if you are planning a trip not one-way but round-trip, stay loyal to one airline. This will count in your favor as considerable cost savings. If there are no seats on direct flights of the same carrier, check which airlines have fare relationships. For example, when flying to London: you can fly there with Lufthansa via Frankfurt, and back via Vienna with Austrian Airlines.
But on individual routes and on those destinations where only scheduled service is used (for example, to European capitals), you can play with airline rules and various fares (within economy class there are five or six options, and another two each in business and first class). That is why the ticket price is often excluded from price offers. The cheapest are group fares. It is difficult for a solo traveler to use them, since they are at the disposal of tour operators who put together groups. But if you are planning, say, a trip to Paris with a group of six or more people, inquire about such an option.
The flip side of savings: group fares have a lot of restrictions. For the most part, tickets are non-refundable.
If you are going somewhere for just a few days, take into account such quirks in airline rules as the Sunday rule (typical for most destinations), as well as maximum stay (from 14 days to a year) and minimum stay (from three to six nights). Fulfilling the requirement to spend Saturday night in the country will help you save from 30% to 50% on your ticket. So it is better to go on weekends. Although this is not very convenient for business travelers and businessmen, it is beneficial for vacationers. On many routes, early booking is encouraged. For example, it is more profitable to purchase tickets for domestic flights in the USA 5-21 days in advance. Do not discount special airline offers either. For example, some airlines have repeatedly carried passengers to Europe for $99. Other carriers, interested in systematically filling airplane cabins during the low season, are not inferior to them.
The flip side of savings: under a special offer, tickets are most often sold with restrictions on flight number, departure time (for example, evening and night flights), and day of the week. You will have to choose between cheap and convenient.