Tour operator booking agreement template
A tour operator agreement is the booking contract between you and the people on your tour: what they're buying, when they pay, and what happens if either side cancels. This one is written for small operators running guided day trips and multi-day tours, with the lead traveler signing for their group. Read it below, then open it in SignMaster and send it with your next confirmation.
Updated November 5, 2026 · 4 min read
The contract
Gray blanks are yours to fill in before you send. Each signer fills in the blanks in their color.
- You, before sending
- Lead traveler
- Tour operator
Tour Booking Agreement
This Tour Booking Agreement (the "Agreement") is made on Agreement date between Operator business name (the "Operator") and Lead traveler name (the "Lead Traveler"), who books for themselves and the other travelers named in section 2 (together, the "Travelers").
1. The tour
- Tour: Tour name
- Dates: from Tour start date to Tour end date
- Meeting point and time: Meeting point and time
- Itinerary: Itinerary summary, as described in more detail in any itinerary attached to this Agreement.
2. The travelers
This booking is for Number of travelers travelers: Names of all travelers. The Lead Traveler confirms that they may accept this Agreement for each traveler named, will share it with them before departure, and is responsible for the whole group's payments.
3. What the price includes
Included: Price includes. Not included: Price excludes. Anything not listed as included, such as flights to the starting point, travel insurance, tips and personal expenses, is the Travelers' own cost.
4. Price and payment
The tour price is Price per traveler per traveler, Total tour price in total. A deposit of Deposit is due when this Agreement is signed, and the balance by Balance due date. If the balance isn't paid on time, the Operator may treat the booking as canceled by the Travelers under section 6 after giving written notice. Accepted payment methods: Payment methods.
5. Changes by the Travelers
A traveler may be replaced by another person, or the booking moved to another departure with space, if the Lead Traveler asks in writing at least Change notice days days before the start date. Each change costs Change fee plus any charge a hotel, airline or other supplier makes for it.
6. Cancellation by the Travelers
The Lead Traveler may cancel for one or all travelers by written notice. The Operator keeps:
- the deposit, if notice arrives more than First cutoff days days before the start date;
- Percent kept percent of the canceled travelers' tour price, if notice arrives between that day and Second cutoff days days before the start date;
- the full tour price, if notice arrives later, or a traveler doesn't show up or leaves the tour early.
The Operator strongly recommends that every traveler buys travel insurance that covers cancellation, medical care and evacuation.
7. Changes and cancellation by the Operator
The Operator may change the route, the order of activities, a hotel or a vehicle for safety, weather or supplier reasons, and will substitute something of similar standard. If the Operator has to make a major change before departure, such as new dates or dropping a main destination, the Lead Traveler may accept it or cancel for a full refund.
The tour needs at least Minimum group size travelers to run. If it doesn't reach that number, the Operator may cancel it up to Low numbers cutoff days days before the start date and will refund everything paid under this Agreement. The Operator isn't responsible for the Travelers' other costs, such as non-refundable flights.
8. Health, fitness and conduct
Activity level: Activity level. Each traveler confirms they are fit for it and will tell the Operator before departure about any medical condition, mobility need or diet that affects the tour: Medical or dietary needs. A guide may remove from the tour, without a refund, a traveler whose behavior puts others at risk or seriously disrupts the group.
9. Travel documents
Each traveler is responsible for having a valid passport, any visa, vaccination or entry document the destinations require, and for arriving at the meeting point on time. Costs caused by missing documents are the traveler's own.
10. Risks and responsibility
Travel carries risks, including road travel, uneven ground, weather, wildlife and illness, and the Travelers accept them. Hotels, airlines, transport companies and other suppliers are independent businesses, and the Operator is not responsible for their acts. The Operator is responsible for its own negligence and that of its staff, to the extent the law requires.
11. Photos
Guides may take photos during the tour and the Operator may use them in its marketing. Tick here if the group prefers not to appear in them: .
12. Governing law and the whole agreement
This Agreement is governed by the laws of State or country. With its itinerary, it is the whole agreement between the parties and can only be changed in writing. Electronic signatures count as original signatures.
Contact details
Lead Traveler phone: Lead traveler phone Email: Lead traveler email
Emergency contact who is not traveling: Emergency contact
Operator registration or license number, if any: Operator registration number
I have read this Agreement, including the cancellation terms in section 6, and I accept it for every traveler named in section 2.
Lead traveler
For the tour operator
Opens it in SignMaster as a template you can edit and send.
A starting point, not legal advice. Have a lawyer review it for your state and situation.
On this page
Why your website terms aren't enough
Most operators have booking terms buried in a website footer. When a traveler cancels nine days out and asks for their money back, the first question is whether they ever saw those terms. A signed agreement answers it: the lead traveler read the cancellation scale, ticked that they accept it for the whole group, and signed on a date you can prove.
Send it for every multi-day tour, private tour and group booking that takes a deposit. For short day trips, a booking confirmation plus a liability waiver for each participant is often enough.
What the template covers
- The tour: its name, dates, meeting point and an itinerary summary, with room to attach the full day-by-day.
- The travelers: how many, their names, and the lead traveler's promise that they can accept for the group and will pay.
- Inclusions: what the price covers and what it doesn't, from flights to tips.
- Price and payment: price per traveler, the total, a deposit and a balance date, and what happens if the balance is late.
- Changes and cancellations: name and date changes, a three-step cancellation scale, and a push to buy travel insurance.
- Your right to adjust: substitutions for safety, weather or supplier reasons, a refund option for major changes, and a minimum group size.
- Fitness and conduct: the activity level, medical and dietary needs, and a guide's right to remove someone who endangers the group.
- Documents, risks and photos: passports and visas are the traveler's job, suppliers are independent, and the group can opt out of marketing photos.
Mistakes tour operators make
- Promising a named hotel or boat with no substitution clause. When the supplier overbooks, you need the right to swap in something of the same standard.
- Running a half-empty departure because the contract has no minimum group size. Set the number and how many days out you'll decide.
- Letting only the lead traveler know the terms. The agreement asks them to share it, and for adventurous activities each adult should sign their own waiver.
- Mentioning travel insurance only in conversation. Put the recommendation in writing, so a traveler who skipped it can't say nobody told them.
- Forgetting who to call. An emergency contact who isn't on the trip is the first thing a guide needs when something goes wrong.
Package travel rules
If you bundle transport and lodging, consumer travel laws may apply: some US states require sellers of travel to register, and the EU and UK have package travel rules for travelers booking from there. The template has a blank for a registration number; check which of these rules reach the tours you sell before you fill it in.
How to send it with SignMaster
- 1
Open the template
Choose Use this template above. It opens in your account with the lead traveler and the tour operator set up as signers.
- 2
Set up each departure
Fill the gray blanks for the tour: name, dates, meeting point, inclusions, price and cancellation days. Save a copy per tour you run, so only the group details change.
- 3
Send it to the lead traveler
Add their name and email. They list the travelers, add medical or dietary needs and an emergency contact, choose the photo opt-out if they want it, and sign.
- 4
Countersign and confirm
You sign last. Both sides get the signed PDF with its certificate of completion, and the deposit request can go out with it.
Travelers from other countries
Your guests may not read English as their first language. SignMaster shows the signing page, the emails and the e-signature consent in 6 languages, including Spanish, French and Brazilian Portuguese, and you can pick each signer's language before you send. The agreement itself stays in the words you wrote, so if you sell heavily in one market, keep a translated copy as its own template. Signers need no account and sign on whatever phone they have with them, even from a hotel lobby the night before.
Questions? Answers.
Does every traveler need to sign?
This agreement is signed by the lead traveler for the group. For activities with real physical risk, also have each adult sign their own waiver, and a parent or guardian sign for each child.
Can I change the cancellation scale?
Yes. Section 6 has blanks for the number of days in each step and the percentage you keep. For a different structure, cover the list with White-out in the editor's Markup tools and type your scale in a Text box.
What if I have to cancel the tour?
Section 7 lets you cancel for low numbers up to the day you choose, with a full refund of what the group paid you. For other major changes, the lead traveler can accept or cancel for a refund.
Is this the right document for working with a travel agency?
No, this is your contract with travelers. A travel agency books on behalf of its clients; see the travel agency agreement for the agency's side.