ED HILL TOURS
A Pastors/Leaders Guide for Organizing a Successful Holy Land Tour
Use this step by step guide for tips on how to organize your tour
Step 1 - Deciding when to go - how far in advance should I begin planning a trip…
We generally suggest a minimum of 10 to 12 months before a tour departure…some churches can do it
more quickly. If you are new to hosting a travel group, one year to 14 months in advance should provide the
time you will need to prepare, promote, generate interest, and allow time for your church and friends to
prepare for the necessary vacation time and finances. The key is to plan far enough ahead so you can
accomplish your goals with tour deadlines and the departure date in mind, but not so far in advance that it is
difficult to maintain excitement and momentum. An overly long promotion period also allows more time for
changes in people’s lives such as sickness, moving, loss of job, etc.
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When is the best time to travel…
We can arrange for you to travel at any time of the year, however it’s really up to you. More than anyone,
you know your church, your church calendar, and your own personal schedule. Spring and fall are the
busiest seasons for Christian tours/pilgrim groups. We advise avoiding the major Jewish holidays as rates
are higher, many hotels may not be available and sites will be very busy. You may also want to consider the
weather. Late November through early March can be cool with some rain. Summers are hot and airfare and
hotel rates are higher. We’ll work with you to decide what time works best for you.
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Decide on an itinerary and budget considerations…
Our tours are highly customizable. The itinerary you decide on will be based on what kind of experience you
want to provide for your group. Do you want to focus on only Christian and biblical sites or do you wish to
include historical and recreational sites or museums, etc. You may select our Signature itinerary which is
designed for Holy Land Christian group travel and we do “study tours” and youth tours as well. We will help
customize a special itinerary for you and help you decide what price level best fits your church.
Step 2 – Get the word out! Promote your special Holy Land travel event…
There’s nothing more powerful than networking within your church body. It is essential to identify members
of your pastoral staff or ministry team as well as members of your congregation who will network and be
enthusiastic about the Holy Land trip.
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Promote and be creative…
In order to promote your tour to Israel, you will need effective marketing materials. We can provide an
excellent Leaders Kit with sample letters, examples of flyers, videos, etc. which can be used for promoting
the tour. Have regular informational meetings usually following Sunday services.
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Here are some ways you can get the word out…
1. Announce the tour in your Sunday church bulletin with a clear call to action such as: “Travel with us to the
Land of the Bible…contact Paul in the church office.” 2. Put out colorful posters and flyers in your church,
again with a clear call to action such as: “Join us for 11 glorious days in the Holy Land” or “Join Pastor Smith
and Walk in the Footsteps of Jesus.” Have an attended information table after Sunday services with flyers,
sign-up sheets and other tour information. 4. Use your church database to send out email blasts about the
tour. Encourage all members to join your email list. 5. Let congregants know that they may invite family and
friends from outside of the congregation and those who live in other areas of the country. 6. If you have a
website or a Facebook page, create an ad or a page dedicated to promoting the trip. Encourage everyone to
“Like” it and share it on their social media.
Step 3 – Be consistent and turn interested members into committed travelers
Keep the tour before your congregation…Have sign-up sheets to gather contact information including
phone and email. Compile a list of anyone interested in going and follow up immediately. Promotional
materials should include information on signing up for the tour. For example: “Sign up today. Call Ed Hill
Tours at 1-800-780-7801 or email tours@edhilltours.com and ask to join the First Church Holy Land tour.”
We’ll take care of the sign-up and reservation details with just one simple phone call or email from your
member.
Step 4 – Ask for commitment and retain participants…
A per/seat deposit must be sent to the airline to hold the group’s space. The number of seats held is based
on how many you believe will be going. When a member signs up for the tour and makes their deposit, you
will forward that to EHT or the passenger can send their deposit directly to us. Only a few passenger
deposits will usually cover the required airline deposit, but that is why passenger deposits are so important.
Some churches will use church funds for the airline deposit. This is refundable up to a certain date should
the trip cancel or we need to reduce space. We will inform participants of future deposit amounts and
deadlines. Retain travelers…This means that you do whatever you can to ensure that those who have
registered to go, will stay in the tour and actually travel. This is done by maintaining a level of excitement
about the tour: staying in communication regularly with new information on the trip, mentioning the trip
during announcements or including a reference to it during a sermon. The pastor’s level of enthusiasm is
the most important key to the success of any tour. We will also provide all travel details to your passengers
including itineraries, packing list, weather, etc. A few weeks from departure we will send a final travel packet
containing detailed information on every aspect of the tour including contact information, badges and
luggage tags.
Step 5 – Enjoy and experience the Land of the Bible
You will be walking where Jesus walked and we want you and your members to experience Israel to the
fullest: Spiritually – it can indeed be life-changing; Historically – there is so much to see and learn about this
ancient land; Fellowship - having a wonderful time of fellowship with you, their pastor, and friends old and
new. Take lots of photos, create your own video, send a live video message to your congregation during a
Sunday service, post pictures on Facebook or a blog. We also provide maps, hats, and a beautiful full color
journal for taking notes at all the sites.
Step 6 – Talk about your journey to the Holy Land
After you return form Israel, you will be poised to organize regular trips. You can even make it an integral
part of your ministry to share Israel with young ministers, staff pastors and as many of your congregants as
possible. Build on your successful trip; talk with enthusiasm about your experiences and what the trip meant
to you and your participants. Write about your journey in bulletins, newsletters, email broadcasts and social
media. Encourage those that went to do the same. Set up a post-trip meeting to share pictures and
highlights of the trip. Set a date for another trip to the Holy Land!
A final word...
If this seems like a lot of work, the answer is yes and no. Anything worth doing requires some
amount of effort and we’ve covered many ways to promote a tour. However, pastors should use
the promotional methods they are comfortable with and which best fit their congregation. There
are a number of proven methods that most pastors should use, but for example, if a church does
not have screens in front, they obviously will not be able to place tour announcements on it before
service. Again, the primary key to a successful tour is the enthusiasm of the pastor…there
is no way to have a successful tour by simply announcing it once or twice and assuming
that you will be overwhelmed by the response. Many members of your congregation may
be “interested” in going, however that does not interpret into tour members unless they
enroll in the tour and place their deposit.
ED HILL TOURS
760 U. S. HIGHWAY ONE – SUITE 205
NORTH PALM BEACH, FL 33408
Office: 561-624-3200 | Toll-free: 800-780-7801
Email: tours@edhilltours.com | Website: edhilltours.com