The Tourpreneur Story

Empowering the tour operator community across the globe.

Founded in 2019 by Shane Whaley.

Shane Whaley is the founder of Tourpreneur. He has worked in the online travel industry since 2002 for such companies as Booking.com, Secret Escapes, and Get Your Guide before founding Tourpreneur.

 

Many tourpreneurs feel isolated and on their own. Tourpreneur is designed to share tips and advice to help more tour business owners be successful. Unlike the hotel and aviation industry, there are very few associations or network events for tourpreneurs.

We hope that Tourpreneur will be your community to feel connected with others and where you can reach out for advice and support.

Tourpreneur is here to encourage more entrepreneurs to follow through with turning their tour-related business into a reality.

‘It can be quite lonely being a ‘tourpreneur’ – through our podcast, we hope to flatten the learning curve and help other tourpreneurs achieve profitability and success. We are not going to sugarcoat things either; we will talk about the highs and lows of running a tour business. Our mission is to share real-life stories and strategies for success.’

Today's mission.

Today, the Tourpreneur community is 6,000+ travel professionals gathering to share their story and learn from others to make everyone’s experiences more engaging, and business more profitable.

Today's leaders

Peter Syme

Scotland, UK

Peter has created and sold several tour companies, ranging from local guided rafting experiences to multi-day journeys stretching hundreds of miles. He has helped hundreds of tour operators over the years become more profitable, and runs the Disrupt Travel consultancy.

Mitch Bach

Brooklyn, USA

Mitch is an educator, author, international speaker, and CEO of TripSchool. But he started his industry journey as a local tour guide in Paris, then a multi-day tour manager before owning tour companies in Paris and New York.

Chris Torres

Scotland, UK

Chris is an industry legend when it comes to understanding digital marketing for tour operators. Author of the extremely popular Lookers Into Bookers, his book has helped thousands of operators reach their audiences through the best marketing advice.