Take the 2-minute tour ×  So as a follow up to my question of
What is a trip kitty? How does it work exactly? I'm wondering:
why do tour operators do this as opposed to bundling the costs
into the tour price?  share|improve this question  2 Answers 2
up vote 6 down vote accepted  The answer you get will depend
entirely on who you ask...  If you ask the tour operator they
will claim they use a Kitty system as it makes it easier to get
the money to the tour operators and the passengers generally
give it to them directly on day one, often in local currency or
currency that can be used locally (such as US$). It also allows
them to change the Kitty amount after the trip has been booked
and paid for if local conditions change - ie, they are moving
some of the risk of price fluctuations from the tour company to
the passenger, even if the passenger did the right thing and
booked and paid early.  If you ask most tour passengers, it's
simply a way for them to make the trip look cheaper. Rather than
advertising a tour