Start with a defined departure
Choose one tour and departure date. Record the guest count and revenue basis consistently. Decide how discounts, taxes and refunds are handled in the source data. A list of bookings is not yet a reliable profitability calculation if some amounts have been counted twice.
Separate costs that behave differently
Per-guest costs rise with participation. A fixed departure cost, such as a guide shift in a simple model, may stay the same across several group sizes. Some real costs move in steps: an extra vehicle or guide becomes necessary above a capacity threshold. Reflect those steps in the operating budget.
Work through an example
For illustration, 12 guests paying 120 each produce 1,440 in revenue. With 25 per guest in variable costs, 450 in fixed departure costs and a 10% revenue commission, contribution is 1,440 − 300 − 450 − 144 = 546. That is about 37.9% of revenue. All figures are illustrative currency units.
Know what the result excludes
Contribution is the amount left under the selected cost model before unallocated overhead, tax and other excluded items. It is not automatically net profit. Use the calculator to explore attendance and pricing assumptions, then reconcile actual results with your complete accounting records.
A concrete example
For an illustrative 12 guests at $120, revenue is $1,440. Guest costs of $300, departure costs of $450 and commission of $144 leave $546 contribution before unallocated overhead.
Put it to work this week
Put one recent departure into the calculator and list every cost it includes—and every cost still outside it.