TourTask
FeaturesPricingDemo
Sign up
DocumentationContact

How to start a tour business in 10 steps

Ten steps take you from a tour idea to your first bookings, each one building on the one before.

The 10 steps

  1. 1

    Choose and test your first tour

    Find a gap your competitors leave, then run free test tours before you spend: Choose your first tour.

  2. 2

    Plan your budget

    One page: who books, what it costs to start, and how many guests a departure needs: Business plan and budget.

  3. 3

    Pick a name and claim it everywhere

    Short and easy to spell, with its .com and the same Facebook and Instagram handles, all registered on one day: Name and domain.

  4. 4

    Plan for safety

    Check each tour's risks, give every guide an emergency card, and decide when the weather calls a tour off: Safety plan.

  5. 5

    Design and price your tours

    A tour travellers can picture, a price that still pays after commission, and clear booking rules: Tours and prices.

  6. 6

    Set up bookings and payments

    One system for every booking, with card payments straight into your account: Bookings and payments.

  7. 7

    Build your website

    A website made for selling tours, easy to use on a phone, with booking and payment built in: Your website.

  8. 8

    Get on Viator and Tripadvisor

    Start with Viator, which also sells your tours on Tripadvisor, and claim your free Tripadvisor listing. Then add another online travel agency, such as GetYourGuide or Civitatis: Online travel agencies.

  9. 9

    Spread the word

    A Google Business Profile for Google Maps, posts on Facebook and Instagram, and hotel desks and tourist offices that earn a commission on your tours: Get bookings, Google Business Profile, Social media, Hotels, agents and groups.

  10. 10

    Care for your guests and your reputation

    Keep in touch before and after each tour, solve problems on the spot, and ask for a review at the end of a good tour: Guests and reviews.

If travellers can't find you on Google, Tripadvisor and Viator, you don't exist

Steps 7 to 9 put your tours where travellers look, and step 10 gives them a reason to choose you.

Once bookings come in, the work turns to running and growing: guides and staff, your numbers and cash flow, new tours and markets.

In TourTask

One account covers steps 6 to 8: bookings and online payments, a website built from your tours, and your connection to Viator, GetYourGuide and Civitatis. Getting started takes you from your first tour to a test booking.

Create your TourTask account when you are ready to sell; Pricing shows what it costs.

Was this page helpful?