Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Rotarians Hear About Tours

There is a difference between riding a bus and traveling in a motor coach, according to Mary Frances.

Frances is the owner of Frances' Custom Tours, one of the largest such businesses in Arkansas. She specializes in coach tours.

While this type of vacationing is growing in popularity, she said, there are some restrictions people should know about.

Tobacco products are forbidden. There is no smoking or chewing on the tour bus.

The tour buses aren't like a regular passenger bus where the travelers are forced to follow the company's schedule and are crammed in the vehicle like sardines.

Seats on the tour buses, she said, are larger and recline. They also have armrests because comfort is a top priority for those on board.

At this time tourism is the largest business in the nation and world generating more than $300 billion annually. Of this, she said, about $35 billion is spent on escorting tours.

These days, she added, one in five traveling for leisure does so in a group, with this number increasing.

Currently some 15 million take coach tours a year.

While these tours also operate on a schedule, it isn't as inflexible as a regular bus schedule. In fact, she said, the escort tours do take side trips if the passengers want to and time allows.

Perhaps the best thing about such tours, she said, is meeting new people and making new friends. Additionally the passengers are pampered and catered to.

The seats, she said, are larger than those on planes and the passengers are free to get up and move about the coach.

Escort tours, she said, take the worry and decision making out of traveling. The travelers don't have to worry about reading maps or getting lost.

The tourists also get to sit back and enjoy the scenery they're traveling through.

Most of those traveling in this manner, she said, are retired, though more and more younger people are starting to take them as well.

Frances Custom Tours also does group cruises. There is more freedom on cruises than the bus tours, she said, because of the activities offered on a ship.

Prices for taking cruises are also cheaper in groups than individuals can get.

One of the most popular trips, she said, is a mystery tour. Those taking them have no idea where they will be going, but these trips are always sold out.

"We're constantly on the lookout for new places to go," Frances said, "and things to do. We do think about the safety of our clients."

She is planning a three-day antique tour for the spring. On this tour, stops will be made whenever the travelers want so they can get out and shop.