One of the most important responsibilities for any tour organizer is keeping track of tour members. The last thing you want is to leave somebody behind at your destination, especially if the tour is a school field trip.

Here are some tips for simplifying the task of keeping track of your tour.

Head Counts

Start with a comprehensive, accurate list of everybody on your tour. Conduct a roll call before you embark to make sure everybody listed on your manifest is present and accounted for then count the total number of people on the list.

Then, at various stages during the tour, conduct a headcount to makes sure you aren’t missing anybody. A good rule of thumb is to conduct a headcount at least every time the group is boarding the bus. If the count is off, conduct another roll call to determine who is missing.

Tips for Keeping Track of Your Tour Group – Dress Similarly

An effective way of tracking your tour group is to have everybody dress alike. If the budget allows for it, you can distribute t-shirts or inexpensive windbreakers that are uniquely colored so that you can spot your tour members even if they are in a large crowd.

A high tech way to do the same thing is to get everybody’s smartphone number then ask them to add your phone to their Find My Friends app. Then you can use GPS to literally track everybody’s exact location at any moment during the tour. The app can be turned off once everybody safely arrives home.

When you have everybody’s smartphone contacts, you also can use text messages and even phone calls to inform the entire group when it’s time to leave, where t0 find the bus, how to gather as a group, and other critical information.

Keeping tabs on everybody in your tour group doesn’t have to be complicated. Use these tips to make sure nobody ever gets left behind.