If you were to check your favorite search engine online such as Google or Yahoo for the term F.I.T. travel, believe it or not the results may vary.
In a travel agent’s perspective, this means opportunity for the vacationer that is searching for a more unique holiday experience that goes above and beyond the average all-inclusive package or pre-designed vacation tour!
No denying F.I.T. can be a term that stands for so many things. However, allow me to explain to you what it means to me as a travel agent!
F + I + T = Fully Independent Tours!
Fully Independent Tours are like a buffet, and our vacation suppliers allow us to pick and choose the travel components that will best meet our vacation client’s needs.
Let’s look at an example of an African Jungle Tour. You want to take a Safari tour in South Africa, however, you don’t want to be a part of a prepackaged tour that departs on a specific date, has a set itinerary, and a group too large for that intimate experience.
Plus add the fact that you want the wild safari experience, but at the end of the day, you want to relax and sleep in a luxurious resort style hotel, not a tent.
What we do after listening to you, is approach one of our Adventure Tour suppliers that provide all the vacation components that you’re wanting, and they help us piece them all together to make your African Safari the way you like.
From the flights and airline of your choice, to the date you want to leave and return, plus the exact tour itinerary that follows with each stop at a luxurious exotic resort hotel where you can unwind with your small intimate group!
How does that sound to you as the perfect vacation? I’m sure you’re dreaming of it right now. Oh, you’re not into safaris and wild animals, okay, no worries, because we can offer you so much more.
F.I.T. Vacations Can Range From All-Inclusive Resorts To Specialty Eco-Tours!
Many of us have been seasoned by the traditional All-Inclusive vacation package, and may think that there are no other options. This is far from the truth, because we have access to so many F.I.T. Suppliers that are willing to put your dream vacation package together, and provide you everything you’re looking for in a unique holiday.
However, there are a couple things you need to know, and the first being that you will have to expect most Independent Tours to be a bit more in cost than standard prepackages. But if you plan your trip in far in advance, the supplier may have access to airline, resort, and tour discounts that can bring this cost down!
Think Bulk Vacation Sales Versus A One Time Specialty Holiday Order…
No question a pre-packaged vacation or tour is going to be less expensive, because it’s sold in volumes to the public. The package price is a set cost, and you will find very little flexibility in these packages.
They have preselected travel components, such as a charter flight, property, and transfers that will pick you up at the airport and return you after your trip. You must fly out on a specific day and select time, and there is no negotiation with the supplier if the resort is only offering one type of room category in the package offered. You may be able to upgrade when you get to your resort property though.
With a F.I.T. Vacation, you will pay more, but you’re paying for quality and flexibility, so if this is important to you, this style of vacation is the way to go! The tour company you go with will take care in selecting the exact individual travel components you want, and then piece them all together for you. So you are pretty much paying for the vacation experience that you want, and always have dreamed of having, and many vacationers are starting to prefer it that way.
Let’s Recap The Benefits Of Traveling On A Fully Independent Tour?
- You can choose the flight date, time, and airline.
- You can select the duration of stay. Unlike prepackaged vacations that normally have 7 or 14 day durations, your F.I.T. vacation can be as long or as short as you like.
- You can select any type of accommodation that fits your style and comfort needs, and you can even combine different hotels, resorts and other properties to make your stay completely unique.
- Tour components such as the example above where you can be a part of an intimate safari tour that spends more time with the animals and with less people on your tour, versus the traditional safari tours that are on a set itinerary.
There’s no question that if you don’t have a set budget, you can create your dream vacation, and many independent vacation suppliers out there today can make this happen.
But also keep in mind that we have access to many other tour suppliers that cater to travelers who enjoy the off-the-beaten path holiday, and can provide you the best of both worlds, and this is a set package, with a la carte offerings. Which means by adding additional vacation components, you can make your vacation unique, but still take advantage of the great semi-packaged savings.
In the end the choice is yours, and you may have so many more options at your fingertips that you might not have been aware of until now!
