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Where to start with a tour company?

by JohnJames
8 replies
Since this is not a marketing question, I'm posting it here.

One of my wife's relatives in China wants to invest in a Chinese tour company in Hawaii, and he wants my wife and I to run it. He currently owns multiple businesses in China and has great relationships with local tour agencies which could set us up with clients from the get-go. Therefore we don't need to market.

The reason why he wants us in charge is because we are American citizens, and therefore he wants us to operate the business on the US side.

While we have an idea of what we'll be doing (driving groups of 10 or less Chinese around the island for different activities for the week), we've never actually started a business before, much less a tour business.

Besides getting a business license, insurance, tour van, building relationships with local activity businesses; is there anything else to it? What startup costs are we looking at?

We don't want to mess this up, as our investor is willing to fund whatever the amount in order to get this running smoothly.
#company #start #tour
  • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
    You will need a different kind of license to be driving people around.

    So You Want to Be a Tour Guide – Intelligent Travel

    Hey! there is a school for the "guide" part.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
      I'd go find a company in another area that is already doing tours and see if you can make a new friend who might have more information.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kurt
    Start with local laws, regulations, licensing, requirements, etc.
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    • Profile picture of the author hardraysnight
      get a real chinese name
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      • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
        Call the local chapter of the US Small Business Administration and set up an appointment with a SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) volunteer. It will be worth every nickel you won't have to pay. If you get the right volunteer, you'll get more than just advice. You may also get referrals and introductions that will make entering what can be a very close-knit community much easier.
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  • Profile picture of the author agmccall
    Originally Posted by JohnJames View Post

    Since this is not a marketing question, I'm posting it here.
    Here. As in a "Marketing Forum" Good choice

    al
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  • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
    Several random thoughts:

    1. Kudos to you for wanting to do this the "right" way, e.g., insurance, licenses, taxes, etc. This will be very helpful in the long run, and seems to be ignored by too many people. I'd seek a local attorney to explore what business structure to form. (If a worst-case disaster occurs and people sue, you want to protect your personal assets from corporate ones.)

    2. Your state and local tourism associations (and similar local business groups) may have many resources available, even if you feel you don't need to market yourself. Certainly they'll offer the ability for you to connect with the local activity businesses that you (correctly) mention.

    3. I'm a big advocate of AirBnB, which I understand is on a huge expansion kick in China. Tour companies such as what you propose have an advantage of being able to create both supply (local hosts) and demand (tourist guests), plus you can get paid, ($80 and $20, currently), for identifying each. In addition to being less expensive for your guests, the travel experience is generally far more personal than a sterile hotel. You can also differentiate yourself by stating that you're just as happy to pick up / drop off guests at any given address, rather than just the major hotels, cruise ships and airport.

    4. I've dealt with two different tiny tour operators such as what you propose, where they both stressed the experience of the trip itself as a differentiator. I'm not sure if it would "connect" with the culture of your intended clients, but being very loud, very colorful, overly excited, and highly self-promotional really does make a huge difference in this business. Interestingly, both operators had a small repertoire of songs (with pre-recorded music) that they expected their guests to join in and sing together, again, loudly. One even went so far as to post the music and lyrics to their website, so that new customers could properly prepare for their upcoming experience.
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  • Profile picture of the author David Beroff
    I found the website of one of the tiny operators that I mentioned in my fourth point above:
    About The Islands | Sunny Liston Tours in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
    (Warning: autoplays Caribbean music... loudly )

    I also reproduce here one of his recent reviews (from TripAdvisor), mainly so you can get the feel of what I mentioned. This is exactly the sort of experience that allows this husband-and-wife-and-a-truck to get guests to pay them premium prices to drive around the island:
    We did an island tour with Sunny Liston and it was, hands down, the most fun, energetic and lively Caribbean island tour we have ever taken. Sunny offers many different options, so we were able to do some shopping, sightseeing, and even spend a few hours at the famous Megan's Bay beach as part of the tour. Sunny is easy to make reservations with online. He is friendly and responds quickly to emails and wants to ensure you have a great time during your tour. He boasts having music and singing and he does not disappoint. You still get to see the island main highlights, but in a very unique way. Believe me, when other travelers see (and hear) your tour bus coming, they will wish they had booked this tour. Don't go on a boring island tour, do a one of a kind tour with Sunny Liston.
    Note to mods: Not only am I not an affiliate here, I didn't even get to go on the tour myself! I paid for my girlfriend to enjoy a tour while I was stuck with business meetings all day, and she was very satisfied with the whole experience.
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