I want to start an adventure tourism company..who's in?

jbbrain

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Hey all,

I actually haven't been on the board lately due mostly to the fact that i had been busy gallivanting around Asia for 9 months. The trip was awesome, inspiring, and very motivational.

So much, in fact, that i've recently become interested in starting an adventure tourism company here in Montreal, Canada. The would-be company's raison d'etre or premise would essentially be to provide people btw. the ages of 19-28 a travel experience they would otherwise have trouble finding elsewhere. The target clientele is focused on young interested people who are a) slightly apprehensive about travelling alone and are interested in quelling their fears of the international unknown forever b)are interested in learning a skill set or trade specific to the said country (cooking said country's authentic cuisine, furniture making etc etc) that they could furthermore pursue upon their return back home.

Optimally, two guides would embark on this trip, with a third partner staying home handling the company's logistics (read:paperwork!). Groups will comprise of approximately 10 people who have been chosen and recruited through extensive, austere and fairly rigrorous interview and screening process in order to ensure we have the best, most fun, most compatible group possible.

Trips will be all inclusive and will last anywhere from 1 month to 2 months depending on where we go. The great part about this idea is that we get to scout out these countries beforehand in order to set up the itinerary/lodging/overall accomodation.

In any case guys, Im wicked excited about this idea, although I'm having considerable trouble actually knowing how to get it off the ground. First and foremost, I'm looking for 2 partners interested in embarking on a possibly very rewarding, invigorating and eye opening business venture that promises to broaden horizons and challenge your taste buds (not to mention nail foreign women!!!not the point but...).

If you're a social animal, love to deal with multiple people of different backgrounds and histories and (very important) share a passion and affinity for travel and the unknown, let me know so we can get this baby rolling asap! This trip no doubt will require us to be away from home as well as our loved one for considerable amounts of time (depending on the number of contracts we take on per year) but I'm a firm believe that the pay off will be well worth it...

Being paid to travel our asses off...can it get any better?

Reply here or fire off an email at jbbrain@yahoo.com for further inquiry
 
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Teflon_Mcgee

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Just out of curiousity, how many people 18-28 have the spare change lying around to take a 2 month trip?
 

Nex

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Teflon_Mcgee said:
Just out of curiousity, how many people 18-28 have the spare change lying around to take a 2 month trip?
With proper advertisement, alot more than you think. :rolleyes:
 

jbbrain

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legit concern

If I have to focus on a more affluent demographic, so be it. I'd be expecting a lot of parents to sponsor their kids' trip with us.

At the same time, I know many 25-28 year olds who have made considerable amounts of cash independently.

I wanted to mention as well that these trips will be considerably affordable. For now, we'd be focused on travellling the third world, with an emphasis on let's say India, Brazil, Vietnam, Coasta Rica etc where the cost of living for Western tourists 'can' still be ridiculously low.
 

GirlCrazy

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One of the better business ideas I've seen on this site - good job.

My mom and sister travel the world, and they have a lot of fun. They sign up for all that tour guide stuff you're talking about.

I found a new love of travelling with a class a motorhome. It'll never reach asia, but I can put what's basically a self contained studio apartment anywhere in north america (well for 3 bucks a gallon). It's more comfortable travelling than planes.

Im wicked excited about this idea, although I'm having considerable trouble actually knowing how to get it off the ground.
You need money to get it off the ground. A couple ways to do that is take cash advances on all your credit cards, or find an investor who will finance you for a cut of the compnay. Take a 2nd on the house, cash out the 401k,
rich uncle, whatever, but you must have some startup capital.

Once you have money, you need to either know how, or find someone who knows how to run a company.
 

Centaurion

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That sounds like a pretty good idea. I started a tourism and real estate company in Turkey ( www.anatolyatourismcenter.com ). Before you embark upon this quest :)p) make sure that you have all the legislation figured out.

I don't know anything about Canadas tourism laws etc, but in Turkey you need to get registered with the National Tourism Department if you want to arrange tours, sell planetickets etc and it costs a pretty penny. If I remember correctly it costs something around the ballpark of 15,000 USD (non-refundable depositum) in order to get your tourism certificate, AND you have to bring in about 30,000 USD over a 2 year period into the country in form of services provided.

In addition you need insurance if you want to arrange tours.
 

jbbrain

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all very good ways to help me out....

I understrand the very 1st step willl probably be the toughest..to actually materialize this dream into a full blown reality and be prepared to work long and hard for it...just to get off my ass and DO IT!

This will be the 1st time I actually make something like this happen...something this big, something I can really call my own...more opinions/advice welcome!

keep it coming!
 

Bible_Belt

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this is not legal advice, consult a licensed attorney

Hypothetically, someone in your situation probably need a corporation or LLC. This shields your personal assets from lawsuits. Try to think ahead of all the things that could go wrong and prepare for them ahead of time with customer warning and disclaimer forms. There are million bad things that could happen to someone on a long trip; almost all of them would not be your fault, but you may have a duty to warn your customers about any specific risks involved in this type of travel. I would have a lawyer prepare some forms that say 'if I die or get hurt on this trip, I won't sue you.'
 

jbbrain

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bump!


this was written ages ago, but im on the move to accumulate capital and still make this baby happen!
 

meitenesrigas

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Where and who are these young people you plan on recruiting? How big is the market? Why wouldn't they go with a more established group?

Lawyers. You will need them if you ever think of starting a travel agency.

The economy sucks in America/Canada. The travel industry is getting hit and it is getting hit really hard.

Personally, if I was going to start a travel agency it would be a romance tour company. Guys will pay big bucks if you can send them to a place where pretty young girls will want to go out on a date with them.
 
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