Industry Tourism Headquarters Vancouver, Canada Number of employees 35 | Website www.toursbylocals.com Founded 2008 Type of business Tour operator | |
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Key people Paul Melhus, Founder and CEO Products Private tours, local travel experiences | ||
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ToursByLocals is a Canadian-based, international private tour provider. Headquartered in Vancouver, with offices in Buenos Aires and London, the company serves upwards of 100,000 clients a year, connecting them with over 1900 private tour guides in 158 countries.
ToursByLocals was one of the originators of the "peer to peer" travel model. Founded in 2008, the company initially focused on the basic function of connecting travellers with local guides via an online platform, relying on peer reviews to establish quality control measures. The company has since evolved to offering more closely managed, curated tour content.
The company is a member of the Local Travel Movement, which aims to connect independent and mindful travellers with local people and local experiences. It is a proponent of responsible tourism; through its business model, ToursByLocals aims to deliver more tourist dollars directly to independent tour guides, filtering those dollars through to local economies.
ToursByLocals continues to be cited by travel media as one of the industry leaders in peer-to-peer tour guiding services.