LeadQuasar lists 1,876 tour guide businesses, and every one has a phone number, a website and a Google rating. There are no email addresses or contact names in these records, so you reach them by phone and through their website. The list covers 15 states and is concentrated in big visitor cities: Chicago, San Francisco, San Diego, Philadelphia and Austin lead.
Who you are selling to
Tour businesses range from a single licensed guide who runs walking tours to small companies with vans, several guides and an office. Most are small. The owner usually leads tours, handles bookings, answers reviews and does the marketing, often all in the same day.
That shapes who sells to them. The common pitches are:
- Booking and payment software, which replaces phone and email reservations
- Distribution, getting tours listed where travellers search and book
- Partnerships with hotels, concierge desks, cruise terminals and event venues
- Insurance, transport and vehicle services for operators who drive guests
- Marketing, from photography and video to local SEO
Each of those is easier to pitch once you have looked at the operator's website. With every record carrying one, you should never make a first call blind.
Read the website like a buyer
A tour operator's website tells you most of what you need:
- How they take bookings. A "call to book" page or an email form is a prospect for booking software. A booking widget tells you they already have a system, and which one.
- What they run. Walking, food, bus, boat, ghost, bike or private tours each have different needs. A food-tour company cares about restaurant partners; a boat operator cares about weather cancellations and insurance.
- How big they are. A page listing several guides means there is an office and a schedule. A single "about me" means you are talking to the guide personally.
- Languages and markets. Tours offered in several languages suggest an operator working with international visitors and travel agents.
Note one specific detail from the site and open your call with it.
Timing: pitch in the quiet months
Tour businesses are seasonal, and the owner's attention follows the calendar.
During peak season the owner is out leading tours, the phone is for customers, and a sales call is an interruption. In the quieter months, the same owner is planning next year: updating the website, reviewing what went wrong, choosing tools and signing partnerships. That is when to pitch anything that takes setup, such as software, a new distribution channel or a hotel partnership.
Warm-weather cities and year-round destinations have a flatter calendar, but even there, ask when their slow stretch is and plan around it.
Where the operators are
| State | Operators |
|---|---|
| Texas | 382 |
| California | 342 |
| Illinois | 98 |
| Florida | 84 |
| Pennsylvania | 83 |
| Arizona | 76 |
New York has 74, Michigan and North Carolina 40 each, and Tennessee, Indiana and Ohio follow with 34, 30 and 30. New Jersey, Mississippi and New Mexico have a handful between them.
At city level, Chicago has 97, San Francisco 95, San Diego 90, Philadelphia and Austin 80 each, Houston 79, San Antonio 76, Los Angeles 73 and New York 68.
Be realistic about the size. 1,876 operators across 15 states is a focused list, not every tour company in America. It suits a seller who wants to test a pitch in a few tourist cities before scaling, or a local business that wants partners in its own metro.
How to call a tour operator
- Expect voicemail. A guide in the middle of a tour will not pick up. Leave a short message: who you are, one reason to call back, and your number said twice.
- Call early. Before the first tour of the day is your best chance of reaching the owner.
- Speak their language. Operators think in bookings, cancellations, no-shows and reviews. Put your product in those terms.
- Keep the ask small. "Can I send you a two-minute video?" is easier to say yes to than a demo.
Many operator websites have a contact form or a general email address. After a call, a short email that references it is the natural follow-up. Follow CAN-SPAM and any state rules that apply.
Reviews are the whole business
Every operator in the list has a Google rating, and the average is 4.3. For tour companies reviews carry unusual weight, because travellers choose between operators they have never heard of largely on ratings. That makes review and reputation services an easy conversation, and it makes a low-rated operator an interesting prospect for training, guest communication and service-quality tools.
Turning tour guides records into calls
- Browse tour guide leads by state. Search and filtering are free.
- Start with one city you know, and note from each website how the operator takes bookings.
- Unlock a batch. A free account unlocks 50 a day with no card, about half of the largest city in the list.
- Call early in the day, leave clear voicemails, and follow up through the website contact.
- When you are ready to cover every city in the list, go unlimited for $3.99/month and export to CSV.
For planning the outreach itself, see how to build a B2B lead list.
Frequently asked questions
How many tour guide businesses does LeadQuasar list?
1,876, in 15 states. Every record has a phone number, a website and a Google rating, but none include an email address or a contact name.
Which cities have the most tour operators in the list?
Chicago (97), San Francisco (95), San Diego (90), Philadelphia (80) and Austin (80). Texas and California are the two largest states, with 382 and 342.
When is the best time to sell to tour companies?
In their quiet season, when the owner is planning rather than leading tours. During peak season, keep calls short and early in the day.
Does the list cover tour operators outside the US?
No. These records are US tour businesses in 15 states.
Browse tour guide leads free, then create a free account to unlock 50 operators a day with no card.