I am looking to start a small tour business traveling to the Yucatan. Anyone know what I need to get started?

I hope this goes without saying, but know the area...well...

Know what kind of tours you want to lead. will your market be college students? retirees? cruise ship excursions? historical tours?

one of the best ways to get started is get familiar with a tour company that already operates to the Yucatan. You can book their tours for your clients, you might be able to wrangle a discount even for all the extra business you'll be bringing them. Then when you get familiar enough with the area, establish an office there and start your own tours.

write a budget, get a loan. you can probably start in a home office and on the web for the cost of a domain name. unless you've got enough money on your own, i'd expect to start part time at first.

Answers based on the assumption that you a) are not in the Yucatan right now and b) are not looking for "business start-up" information but rather "tour business" information. :)

good luck! holla if you need more info--i'm working on the same kind of thing right now (although to a different latin american destination ;)

in order to start any business (provided you are in the u.s.) you will first need a d.b.a. (doing business as) which is basically registering your name and business type. such as sole proprietorship, partnership, corporation etc. this can be done at a county sub-courthouse. you will then need to go to your state comptroller office where you will be registering as a business for financial tracking purpose like taxes and what not. then you will call the irs and register with them. they will give you an employer identification number which will be like your business social security number. with that you can get a bank account, insurance and other necesarry things. you will probably need an office if you're talking more about like a travel agency, or like a bus or supplies or whatever if you're actually taking people. i don'tknow exactly what you want to do but that should get you started.

Check with the Mexican Embassy. There are a number of requirements for starting a business in Mexico and I am not familiar with all of them. I seem to remember that there is a certain kind of visa required. Take a little time to understand the local bureaucracy.

There is a very good online group travel course that you can get for free that will get you started. I am a Professional Group Travel Organizer. I have chosen to take people all over the world, instead of just one location. This is one of the best kept secrets in the travel industry. You can get the course at http://www.GroupTravelCourse.com

Call the Room Reservations, Watersports, Tours and Fun experts that really live there at 1-888-862-3806 they are the best. www.cancuncatamarans.com
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