Post-tour activities can be the most important part of a faith-based tour. Initially after the trip, your group is excited and ready to spread the word of God. But as time separates the present from the travel experience, those initial feelings start to fade.

Activities after can help keep that feeling alive longer, and can initiate a boost of religious energy throughout your congregation. It can also give you insightful feedback about you as a tour planner.

Feedback from your Travelers

It is important to understand what went wrong on a trip, especially because you might have not even noticed something gone array. An easy tool for immediate feedback after a trip is to hand out a post-trip survey to all of your group members. Ask for their honest opinions of the trip itself, and the amenities that were included (such as hotel, meals etc.). Also, ask them they would have liked something added or deleted from the trip’s itinerary.

You can administer the survey on the ride home, or send it along with a thank you note for participating on the trip.

Trip Member Gatherings

Ask your trip members to meet with you a few weeks after the trip. In these meetings, you can discuss how your members are implementing what they experienced now that they have returned home.

These meetings can inspire ideas for other members to go out and share their experiences themselves. You can also share pictures and swap stories to renew the sense of enlightenment your members found on the trip to keep the religious energy flowing all year round.

These meetings are also good to spark up conversations about the next trip (which hopefully you’ve started planning already) to receive some new and fresh ideas.

Trips In Between Trips

Understandably, we cannot provide a large faith-based trip every few months. In most cases, we can only do that once a year.

But if the resources for smaller trips are available, it’s a good idea to plan one. Even a day trips or weekend retreats are great ideas for the down time between the bigger trips.

These smaller trips keep the excitement up about spreading the good word, and can be used to help out places in need closer to home. A weekend mission trip to a neighboring state or a day’s work at a sister congregation can provide your members with the excitement of a trip at a fraction of the cost. They’re also a great way to keep the religious energy flowing between the bigger trips.

The key with post-trip activities is to keep your travelers engaged with the church year-round, sparking the same kind of excitement they felt on the road while they’re home. After all the trips are designed for people to gain enlightenment to bring home to their community, but sometimes they need the guidance to help spread the good word.

For additional information on planning a religious trip, sign up for our e-newsletter at Instie.ReligiousTravelDirectory.com today!