Tourpreneur Tour Business Podcast

Robert sat down with Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley, and shares more with us about how Bindlestiff Tours create truly immersive experiences on their multi-day tours. We also talk about the major differences selling multi-day tours online, how the booking window is different and the challenge of selling multi-day tours online because of the higher price point. I also ask Robert how he reckons the to...

TourismTiger's Matt Newton is one of the most experienced and knowledgable people I know when it comes to marketing tours and in today's episode, he shares some top website tips for tour operators. His book Sell More Tours (2015) is crammed with online marketing and web site tips for Tour Operators, it was one of the first books I read when I made the transition from hotels to the tour industry. I...

Georgette Blau is the founder of On Location Tours offering TV and Movie Tours in NYC. From Sex in the City tours to The Sopranos Tours and now even Superhero tours. Georgette sat down with Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley, and shares with us how she got started offering TV and movie tours in NYC. Georgette's story is inspirational.

In this candid interview, Ellen of Breakers Boat Trips Punta Cana shares their lessons on not just setting up a tour business, but being a tour operator in a foreign country. We also talk about boat trips marketing, how Ellen sells tours through hotels and how most of her OTA bookings for her tours are coming via Bookit.  

Annalise Smith is the founder of Key West Food Tours, rated #1 for food tours in Key West on Tripadvisor. Annalise sat down with Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley, and shared the origin story and mission of Key West Food Tours with us. Key West Food Tours was founded in 2014 to offer visitors of Key West a taste of authentic local culinary experiences while providing historical anecdotes Initially, An...

What exactly is the 'B side' of tours? Pedro DeMarche, of Spanish tour operator, Sixthrills sat down with Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley, and shared more about the mission of their company.

In this inspirational episode, Paul Melhus, the founder of Toursbylocals sat down with Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley, and shared more about the mission of Toursbylocals. Paul tells us how he was inspired to start Toursbylocals following a visit to the Great Wall of China where he enjoyed a tour by locals (who then tried selling them keepsakes in exchange.) Paul Melhus takes us on a journey from th...

In this episode, we talk all about digital marketing tips for tour operators. At Arival Orlando. Digital Marketing expert Jaden Cymaluk of IWerx Connect sat down with Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley. Jaden generously shares digital marketing tips for tour operators including how tourpreneurs should vet a digital marketing agency, why it is always important to work with a marketing company that under...

Carrie Burns is a movie buff who built a tour operator business around films. She sat down with Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley and explained how Atlanta Movie Tours started, how they market their movie tours, some of the challenges they face and much more. Carries generously shares advice on how to get started creating your own movie tours in your city.

Mina Okpi is a tour operator on a mission. She sat down with Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley and explained why she feels the outdoors industry is not marketing to people of color and what her tour business is doing about it. 'I noticed that a lot of people of color and black people weren't outdoors and taking advantage of the healing that I thought nature was able to bring to people. And that really...

Shawn Teasley sat down with Tourpreneur Podcast Host Shane Whaley and shared three social media tips for tour operators. I was excited to chat with Shawn, as she is a social media expert with vast experience of working within the tours and hospitality industry. She is also very generous with her time and knowledge because she is passionate about social media and tours. In this quick chat, I asked...

Nicole Will sat down with Tourpreneur Podcast Host Shane Whaley and shared why she decided to start her own tour business having worked as a tour guide for many years. We also discuss some of the challenges she has faced since launching her Asheville Wellness tours business which includes working with 50+ partners. Nicole also reveals why she picked Xola as her booking software partner and we lear...

Miranda Peterson sat down with Tourpreneur Podcast Host Shane Whaley and told us how she gave up her corporate job, went on sabbatical around the world and came home to build a yoga tours business in Asheville. Miranda walks us through how she tested her idea to see if there was a demand for yoga tours in Asheville. We also discuss some of the challenges she has faced since launching her yoga tour...

10 minutes with Linda Denbrock of Secret Food Tours. Secret Food Tours offers delicious food tours in over 55 cities in Europe, the Americas, and Asia. Linda sat down with Tourpreneur Podcast Host Shane Whaley and revealed the mission of Secret Food Tours including how they strive to deliver an authentic, immersive experience for their food tour guests plus how they market their tours to travelers...

David Naczycz of NYC Urban Adventures sat down with Tourpreneur Podcast Host Shane Whaley and revealed how built his tour company and why he decided to work with Urban Adventures.

10 mins with Arnaud Azoulay of Babylon Tours. Arnaud sat down with Tourpreneur Podcast Host Shane Whaley and revealed how built his tour company, Babylon Tours. He also shares with us insights and tips for other tour operators including which booking platform they work with and how they work remotely and how they hire tour guides

10 mins with Bryan Bou of Spotin Tours. He shares with us how they moved from being an app to a tour operator. He shares with us their success strategies, insights, and tips for other tour operators including which booking platform they work with.

Shane announces a new format and series of episodes for the next month on Tourpreneur. For the next four weeks, Tourpreneur will deliver you a daily dose of inspiration as we distill tips and strategies of fellow tourpreneurs in 10 min episodes.

Let’s face it: The In-destination industry has been the hottest sector of travel over the past few years. Venture capital keeps pouring in, M&A is accelerating, technology is (finally) taking hold and operators across the region and around the world are investing in tech. Where does this all lead? Will OTAs own the day? Do operators have a voice? What will these changes mean to creators and seller...

On Episode 34 of Tourpreneur, the podcast for tour operators, we sat down with Checkfront who provide reservation software for tour operators, to find out more about the company and specifically how they can help tour businesses. An important element of selecting a booking platform for your tour business is getting a feel for the company, its mission and of course its employees. We can all take an...

Raj Gyawali, Founding Director of the leading Nepal tour operator socialtours (and Asia’s first Travelife-certified brand), speaks to building a company culture with responsible practices baked into day-to-day operations. He shares how every tour and attraction operator can embed sustainable habits into the daily routine of its staff, tours and the experience of their customers.

Destination marketing organizations (DMOs) play a pivotal role in driving tourism and advancing the interests of local tours, activities and attractions. This session assembles leaders from some of Asia’s most important tourism bodies to discuss key trends in travel across Asia, the role of DMOs.

As Arival Orlando drew to a close, Tourpreneur Host Shane Whaley hit the network lounge and lobbies to ask Arival attendees what they thought of Arival Orlando and what were some of their major take aways.

From full-time student and part-time tour guide to full-time-plus as entrepreneur, Founder and CEO of I Love Asia Tour Lien Nguyen is on a mission to empower women across Vietnam and beyond to step up, and out, as tour guides and independent entrepreneurs in their own right.

Most tour and activity operators start their business with a passion. But once that passion turns into profit, every entrepreneur faces the same questions: What’s next? How do we grow? More tours? New destinations? And how do create processes and build the right team to make it all happen? In this talk, Hello! Tours founder Laura Blackhall shares her journey to answer these tough questions and bui...