Routing

Routing is the process of planning the geographic path a tour takes — which cities, in what order, on what dates. Good routing minimizes travel distances, avoids unnecessary backtracking, and accounts for venue availability, market demand, and days off. Bad routing burns money, exhausts crew, and leaves gaps in the schedule that don't make geographic sense.

How routing works

Routing typically starts with the booking agent, who maps out available dates and markets. The tour manager and management then refine the route based on logistics: can the bus make the drive overnight? Are there too many consecutive show days without a break? Does the route require fly dates that blow up the budget? Are there visa considerations for international legs?

What makes a good route

A good route keeps consecutive shows within reasonable driving distance (roughly 300-500 miles for overnight bus travel), clusters fly dates to minimize airport days, builds in days off at regular intervals (crew need rest), avoids unnecessary backtracking, and sequences markets to match ticket demand and promotional timing.

Routing affects everything

A poorly routed tour costs more (extra fuel, extra fly dates, extra hotel nights), exhausts the crew faster, and can hurt ticket sales if market sequencing doesn't align with promotional rollout. Tour managers and agents who route well save the tour thousands of dollars and keep crew morale intact.