Touring an area by boat is one of the most fun ways to go exploring in an unfamiliar area. Boats offer tourists and locals alike the chance to spend a few hours viewing a scenic route on the river. As a cruise excursion operator, it’s also quite a profitable endeavor!
River cruise tours is certainly a niche market and one that can prove extremely lucrative. Of course, for that to happen, entrepreneurs must do plenty of prior research before starting up their cruise services! Keep reading to learn more about how you can launch a river cruise excursion company in your area.
Photo Obtained From Wikimedia Commons
Find the best locations
River cruises are generally used by consumers because they take people to scenic locations or points of interest. As you can appreciate, no-one wants to go on a boat trip to look at nothing other than commercial or industrial waterside buildings! That’s why it is essential that you find and plan the best cruise routes for your startup.
They should be areas that aren’t saturated with competing providers, and ones that offer the most amount of tourists and visitors. After all; you’ll only make a profit if you have enough people per excursion on your boat trips!
Choose a suitable vessel
Next, you need to start searching for a boat large and safe enough to carry your passengers. The unfortunate part of starting such a business is that river boats don’t come cheap, so be prepared to spend a lot of money buying one!
Once you’ve procured a suitable vessel, the next step is to refurbish it. At the very least, you’ll need to paint the interior and exterior of the boat to give it a fresh new look. You’ll also need to ensure it’s got the right safety systems and equipment such as life jackets and fire extinguishers.
While you are renovating the boat, you should consider teaming up with a marine mechanic. That way, your vessel can get regularly maintained, and significant faults with the engine or structure of the boat will get kept to a minimum.
Apply for the right licenses
Depending on your area, you’ll need to get local government approval to run your business and carry paying passengers. Often, you must also provide proof of insurance and your company’s credentials.
Be aware that getting licenses issued can sometimes take a long time so do that well before your scheduled business launch date!
Hire a qualified captain
If you have experience and qualifications, you can skip this step. But, if you don’t know your rudder from your hull, you need to hire a professional to be captain of your vessel! As you probably know, river cruise excursions are seasonal, so you should only offer employment on that basis.
Market your new service
Last, but not least, you must tell people that you exist to start getting paying customers! It makes sense to partner up with local businesses such as travel agents, restaurants, and public transport firms. Of course, you should also do plenty of online marketing. Don’t forget to set up a website and some social media profiles related to your business.
Good luck!