As a tour business owner, you’ve mastered the art of creating unforgettable experiences for leisure travelers. But have you considered the untapped potential of the corporate market? Tapping into this sector can be a great boost for your business, offering higher profit margins, balancing out seasonal demand, and providing opportunities for long-term relationships and repeat business.
However, “corporate tours” is a broad term that includes a diverse range of products, offers, and services. To truly succeed in this space, it’s crucial to identify a specific niche that aligns with your strengths and local market demands. Let’s explore eight profitable corporate tour niches that could transform your business.
Corporate Niche 1: Team Building Adventures
Imagine transforming your city tour into an exhilarating team-building experience. Companies of all sizes are constantly seeking ways to build cohesion and instill company values, especially in the age of remote and hybrid work. Your local knowledge and tour expertise can be the perfect foundation for creating challenges that bring teams together.
Take inspiration from Go Ape Aerial and Adventure Park. They’ve crafted a specific landing page for corporate team-building activities, emphasizing how their experiences challenge teams to overcome obstacles together. When considering this niche, think about how you can adapt current offerings to foster teamwork and communication. Remember, variety is key for repeat business – you’ll want to keep things fresh for returning clients.
Corporate Niche 2: Seasonal and Milestone Celebrations
Picture your food tour evolving into the highlight of a company’s year-end celebration. Seasonal and milestone events offer a fantastic opportunity to showcase your creativity. Unlike team-building exercises, these events focus more on celebration and socialization.
Avital Tours, has mastered this niche. They offer private food tours as an alternative to traditional restaurant outings, as well as hands-on happy hours where groups can try their hand at cocktail making. These unique experiences provide companies with memorable ways to mark important occasions.
Corporate Niche 3: Client Entertainment and Engagement
Helping companies wine and dine their VIP clients is another lucrative niche. This is where your expertise in creating exceptional experiences really shines. Spark Experiences is a great example. They offer high-end, luxury Tesla tours of San Francisco and the wine valley, perfect for companies looking to impress important clients.
When targeting this niche, remember that you’re not just representing yourself – you’re an extension of the company that hires you. This market segment is particularly suited to those offering high-end, luxury experiences for smaller groups.
Corporate Niche 4: Reward and Recognition Tours
Imagine your signature tour becoming the coveted prize for a company’s top performers. Reward and recognition tours are a growing trend as companies seek meaningful ways to acknowledge outstanding employees. Instead of material gifts, forward-thinking businesses are opting for experiences that contribute to well-being and engagement.
A number of companies have tapped into this trend, offering a range of experiential rewards. As a tour operator, you could partner with such platforms or market directly to companies, positioning your experiences as the perfect way to recognize and motivate employees.
Corporate Niche 5: Incentive Travel
Take your reward tours a step further by offering incentive travel. This niche involves designing tours and activities as motivational tools, often tied to specific performance objectives. (Imagine crafting a luxury getaway for a company’s top-performing sales team!)
While there’s an established industry serving large corporations in this space, there’s room for boutique operators to cater to small and medium-sized businesses. Your local expertise and ability to create bespoke experiences could be your competitive edge.
Corporate Niche 6: Meetings, Events, and Conferences
If your city is a popular destination for business events, this niche could be your goldmine. Conference organizers are always looking for pre and post-event activities to enhance attendees’ experiences.
Austin Eats Food Tours is a prime example of success in this niche. By adapting their food tours to accommodate large groups, they tapped into Austin’s bustling conference scene. The ability to handle groups of 200-300 people has made corporate tours the majority of their revenue and profit.
Corporate Niche 7: Educational Tours
Corporate learning doesn’t have to be confined to stuffy conference rooms. Many companies have budgets for continuing education and professional development. Your tours could be the perfect blend of learning and experience.
Consider the approach of companies like MedTreks International. They combine medical education with adventures in exotic locations, allowing healthcare professionals to earn continuing education credits while exploring new cultures. Think about how your local knowledge could be transformed into educational experiences for various industries.
Corporate Niche 8: Corporate Retreats
In an era of remote work and distributed teams, corporate retreats are more important than ever. These multi-day gatherings in desirable locations offer face-to-face contact and team bonding opportunities.
If you operate in a desirable destination, partnering with local accommodation providers to offer comprehensive retreat packages could be a lucrative opportunity. Look at how companies like SurfOffice connect businesses with destinations worldwide for work retreats, team building, and leadership development.
Choosing Your Niche
As you consider these niches, remember that success lies in specialization. Avoid the common mistake of trying to be everything to everyone. Instead, choose a niche that aligns with your strengths, your local market, and your passion.
Each niche requires a tailored approach – from your tour design to your marketing strategy. By focusing on a specific segment of the corporate market, you can craft experiences that truly resonate with your target clients.
The corporate tour market offers a world of opportunity for tour operators willing to adapt and innovate. Whether you’re helping teams bond, entertaining VIP clients, or providing educational experiences, there’s a niche waiting for your unique touch. With careful planning and a focused approach, corporate tours could become the cornerstone of a more profitable, stable, and diverse tour business.
About Kelsey Tonner
Kelsey Tonner is the founder of Guest Focus Tour Business Coaching and for two decades he’s been helping tour business owners as a mentor, consultant, speaker, experience designer, guide trainer, and award-winning tour leader.
Since 2015, their programs have helped over 2,000 tour operators from 75+ countries around the world and Kelsey has been a regular speaker at over 35 industry events and conferences. Want support? Book a free 45-minute strategy call with one of the Guest Focus coaches today!
