Editor’s note: This article was first published in June 2010, during the economic crisis. The claims that wine tourism demand in Spain was starting to take off and that these ideas were not yet widely exploited reflect that time.
Even in times of crisis, new businesses have sprung up around tourism. Many tourists are no longer satisfied with what they are usually offered and are looking for new kinds of entertainment and new challenges.
We have already shared some business ideas for people who own an old house, a country estate or a plot of land. Here are some other emerging businesses with potential:
Adventure tourism
Aimed at tourists who want adventure and a break from stress. The idea is to develop and design travel programs or organized circuits for hiking, scuba diving and rafting, as well as for extreme sports such as bungee jumping or canyoning, sport fishing, padel, war games, paintball and so on.
Cultural tourism
Make the most of cultural heritage. You can design programs that let tourists enjoy a region’s historical and artistic wealth: visits to cathedrals, routes following famous or historical figures, historic monuments and so on.
Wine tourism
In Spain, demand for everything to do with winemaking has started to take off, and there are even cruises to learn how French wines are made. It’s an emerging market niche.
If your country produces something of interest, I’m sure you could apply this business idea to that product.
Alternative tourism
This is for tourists who don’t want to follow set routes or fixed group schedules and prefer to organize their own trip. It gives rise to a new business idea: taking care of everything this kind of traveler needs. The idea is to handle booking and buying tickets, provide them with a guide or advice on accommodation in the area they’re going to visit, and anything else you can offer them.
Other business ideas related to leisure and tourism could include tourism for groups with the same tastes and interests, whether musical or artistic, or groups of people with the same disability.
And for anyone who wants to combine their knowledge of tourism with computer skills, there’s the idea of building a tourism website that gathers all the information on accommodation deals, flight discounts, cruise offers and so on.
As you can see, tourism business ideas can be very varied and profitable. It’s all a matter of carrying your idea through. We’ve shown you a few ideas here that are still not widely exploited.
Further reading
- Tourism for gays and lesbians
- A spa, a highly profitable business
- The businesses of the future
- How to start my business with no money
- Why new businesses fail
Featured image: David Berkowitz, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr.
