6 Tourist Guide Business Success Stories [2024]
There's no denying the profitability of a tourism business. If you know the state and cities well, starting a tour guide business can be a very lucrative idea. All you need is a license, and you can soon start working as a tour guide.
Listed are the steps on how to start a tour guide business.
- Register your tour guide name business
- Obtain necessary licenses
- Open a bank account for business transactions
- Organize your business operations
- Start to promote and get clients
Here are some real life success stories of starting a tourist guide business:
1. SmartGuide ($360K/year)
Jan Doležal, founder of SmartGuide, came up with the idea for his business while traveling with his family. Frustrated by the lack of quality digital guides available, he saw an opportunity to create an app that would provide travelers with personalized tour guides. Since its founding, SmartGuide has exceeded 500 destinations and is approaching half a million users, with top travel brands including the city of Prague and UNESCO sites utilizing the app as their official guide.
How much they make: $360K/year
How much did it cost to start: $600K
Current team size: 15
SmartGuide, a digital tour guide platform that turns every phone into a personal tour guide using audio, geolocation, and Augmented Reality, has exceeded 500 destinations and is approaching half a million users in just three years since founding.
2. No Code Map App ($2.4K/year)
Nan, the founder of No Code Map App, came up with the idea while working on Pebblar, a collaborative trip planner. Recognizing the importance of visualization, they received inquiries from businesses wanting to utilize their map interface. This led to the creation of No Code Map App, a no-code platform for building custom interactive maps.
How much they make: $2.4K/year
How much did it cost to start: $200
Current team size: 0
No Code Map App is a no code builder that allows businesses to create custom interactive maps with dynamic filters automatically based on their dataset, generating >$400 in the first full month of monetization.
Learn more about starting a tourist guide business:
Where to start?
-> How much does it cost to start a tourist guide business?
-> Pros and cons of a tourist guide business
Need inspiration?
-> Examples of established tourist guide business
-> Marketing ideas for a tourist guide business
Other resources
3. ToursByLocals ($97.3M/year)
How much they make: $97.3M/year
Current team size: 290
ToursByLocals offers customized private tours in over 190 countries with 1700 handpicked tour guides, serving more than 220,000 customers worldwide.
4. Augustine Tours ($648K/year)
Augustin Ndikuriyo, the founder of Augustine Tours, came up with the idea for his business when a client at the hotel where he worked asked for recommendations on travel companies in Burundi. Unable to find any options, Augustin saw the opportunity to fill the gap in the market and launched Augustine Tours in 2010. Since then, the company has grown to generate an impressive monthly average of €50K, offering unique safari experiences in East Africa that go beyond traditional tourism.
How much they make: $648K/year
How much did it cost to start: $1.5K
Current team size: 3
Augustin Ndikuriyo founded Augustine Tours, a travel company that offers wildlife safari and cultural tour experiences around East Africa, which makes a monthly average of €50K/Month and focuses on transformative tourism that benefits visitors and the local communities.
- 4,818 founder case studies
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- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
- 4,818 founder case studies
- Access to our founder directory
- Live events, courses and recordings
- 8,628 business ideas
- $1M in software savings
