Inside Out Tours

What Inside Out Tours does

Inside Out Tours is a certified Black- and woman-owned travel agency and full-service Destination Management Company (DMC) founded in 2009 by Stacey Toussaint and Sheila Collins and headquartered in Brooklyn, New York. The company designs and delivers in-person walking tours, bus tours, and 360-degree virtual tours across all five NYC boroughs (Manhattan, Brooklyn, the Bronx, with additional reach to Queens and Staten Island context), supplemented by multi-day domestic itineraries to Memphis, Washington D.C., Selma, Montgomery, Nashville, and the Niagara Falls region. Tour content focuses on the 'hidden histories' of NYC — slavery and the Underground Railroad, the Harlem Renaissance, civil rights, immigrant heritage, financial history, and architectural landmarks — delivered in English, Spanish, French, and Italian by licensed guides with backgrounds as educators, musicians, and academics.

The company's core technology is a 360-degree virtual tour platform enabling live, interactive group experiences with real-time Q&A, polls, and quizzes, used to extend in-person content into remote corporate DEI and heritage-month programming. Revenue is generated through six streams: unit-priced public walking tickets ($42–$79 per ticket), private/corporate group bookings, corporate virtual team-building experiences, attraction pass integrations (Go City: New York Pass, Explorer Pass, All-Inclusive Pass), commissionable travel-advisor distribution, and DMC service fees on bundled travel arrangements (hotels, Broadway, transportation, dining). Customers include individual tourists booking via FareHarbor, Fortune 500 HR/DEI teams purchasing heritage-month programming, K-12 and higher-education groups, travel advisors, and Go City pass holders.

Strategic positioning rests on differentiated content (hidden histories not covered by generic NYC tours), strong earned media (NYT, BBC, ABC, CBS, NBC, Netflix, and feature in Clint Smith's NYT bestseller 'How the Word Is Passed'), TripAdvisor recognition including six Certificates of Excellence and a 2024 Travelers' Choice Award, and a cumulative base of 300,000+ customers since 2009. The company is a private LLC with no disclosed external funding, no parent entity, and 11–50 employees.

Name

Inside Out Tours

Legal name

Inside Out Tours LLC

Website

https://insideouttours.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Inside Out Tours is a certified Black- and woman-owned NYC-based travel agency and full-service DMC founded in 2009, delivering in-person walking, bus, and 360-degree virtual tours across NYC's five boroughs and U.S. heritage cities to individual tourists, Fortune 500 corporate DEI teams, schools, and travel advisors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Tour and Travel Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land (487110)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

FIT & Private Tour Operators (Customized Day Tours) (THAKAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Inbound DMCs (Full-Service Ground Handling) (THAKAEAA), Charter & Tour Coach Operators (TLAFAFAB), Destination & Itinerary Management (DMC-Led Experiences, Excursions, VIP Access) (THAHANAE)

Keywords

• Walking tour services
• Cultural heritage tours
• Virtual team building
• Destination management services
• Corporate DEI experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Public Walking Tour Tickets: Individual tickets sold directly to tourists for scheduled walking tours across NYC. Customers book via FareHarbor on the company website. Pricing varies by tour (e.g., Brooklyn Bridge tour at $42–$49, Harlem Gospel at $53–$59, Statue of Liberty at $75–$79). Tours available in English, Spanish, and French.
2. Private and Group Tours: Private and group tour bookings for corporate team building, school groups, and organizations. Customizable content and duration. Contact-based sales via [email protected]. Includes in-person and virtual options.
3. Corporate Virtual Experiences: Live virtual team building experiences for corporate clients, sold as private group bookings. Often tied to heritage months (Black History Month, AAPI, Hispanic Heritage, Juneteenth). Offered at 1-hour duration for flexible corporate scheduling.
4. Attraction Pass Integrations: Tours available through Go City (New York Pass, All-Inclusive Pass, Explorer Pass) and other attraction pass programs. Pass holders reserve via dedicated booking page. Revenue received through pass provider commission arrangements.
5. Travel Advisor Distribution: Commissionable experiences sold through travel advisors and travel agents. Advisors request portal access via form on website. Company offers trade rates and ready-to-sell itineraries for the travel advisor channel.
6. Full-Service DMC Services: As a full-service DMC and receptive tour operator, arranges hotels, Broadway tickets, transportation, attraction tickets, dining, and multi-day itineraries for groups. Revenue generated through service fees and vendor markups.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Inside Out Tours is a New York City tour operator and full-service Destination Management Company (DMC) offering guided walking tours, bus tours, and 360-degree virtual tours focused on the cultural, historical, and hidden heritage of NYC's five boroughs. The company sells individual tickets to consumers for public tours and contracts private/corporate group experiences (including heritage-month programming and team-building events), with tours available in English, Spanish, French, and Italian.

Product overview

Inside Out Tours is an award-winning NYC-based tour company and Full-Service Destination Management Company (DMC) offering a diverse portfolio of tour products and services. The company provides walking tours, bus tours, and 360-degree virtual tours covering historical, cultural, and social justice themes across all five boroughs of New York City. Key tour products include the Harlem Gospel Experience Walking Tour, Brooklyn Bridge & DUMBO Neighborhood Tour, Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Tour, NYC Slavery & Underground Railroad Walking Tour, and Wall Street Walking Tour. The company also offers specialized virtual tours including Black History Month Virtual Tour, Civil Rights Movement Virtual Tour, and Asian-American Heritage Virtual Tour. Additional services include private group tours, corporate team building experiences, and expert speaker engagements. Tours are available in multiple languages including English, Spanish, and French. The company operates as a certified Black- and woman-owned business with a social mission to celebrate NYC's diversity and hidden histories.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Harlem Gospel Experience Walking Tour Walking tour of Harlem combining neighborhood exploration with a gospel music church service experience. Includes visits to Apollo Theater, Schomburg Center, Abyssinian Baptist Church, and live gospel performance at a local church. Priced at $59 adult / $53 child (English); $69 adult / $63 child (foreign language). Duration: 3.5–4 hours.
• Brooklyn Bridge & DUMBO Neighborhood Tour Walking tour crossing the Brooklyn Bridge and exploring the DUMBO neighborhood with views of the Manhattan skyline and history of the bridge's construction. Priced at $49 adult / $42 child. Duration: 2.5 hours (2 mi/3.2 km).
• Secrets of the Statue of Liberty & Ellis Island Guided Walking Tour Walking tour exploring Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island including ferry tickets, National Immigration Museum visits, and panoramic views of New York Harbor. Priced at $79 adult / $75 child. Duration: 4 hours. Ferry ticket included for direct bookings.
• NYC Slavery & Underground Railroad Walking Tour

Quantifiable outcome

• 300,000+ customers served since 2009
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature1 record

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Walks NYC: One of Inside Out Tours' closest direct competitors, Walks is a leading NYC walking tour operator offering small-group historical and cultural tours across Manhattan, Brooklyn, and other boroughs — directly overlapping on product, customer base, and distribution.
• Top Dog Tours NYC: NYC-based walking tour operator offering cultural, historical, and themed tours in Manhattan and Brooklyn. Overlaps directly with Inside Out Tours' FIT walking tour offering and customer segments.
• Big Onion Walking Tours: Established NYC walking tour company (operating since 1991) offering themed historical and architectural tours led by licensed guides. Directly comparable on tour format, target tourist base, and Guide-led delivery model.
• Context Travel: Global operator of expert-led small-group walking tours with a focus on cultural, historical, and architectural content in major cities including NYC. Highly comparable on content-led, expert-guide positioning and premium cultural tour pricing.
• Urban Adventures (Intrepid Group): Backed by Intrepid Travel, Urban Adventures offers small-group day tours in major cities worldwide including NYC. Comparable on FIT-style cultural day tours targeting independent travelers.

Emerging players

• Experience Harlem Tours: Harlem-focused cultural tour and walk operator; overlaps with Inside Out Tours on Harlem content (gospel, jazz, civil rights) but with narrower geographic focus.
• Atlas Obscura: Experience- and content-led brand offering unusual, story-rich experiences (including some NYC tours). Comparable on "hidden histories" narrative and storytelling-first tour positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Airbnb Experiences: Marketplace for bookable local experiences including NYC walking tours. Not a niche operator but a major distribution competitor reaching the same tourist customers at potentially lower cost.

Others

• Go City (Go City Pass): Attraction pass partner that distributes Inside Out Tours' tours to pass-holders. Comparable as a distribution/channel partner shaping volume and pricing for NYC tour operators.
• FareHarbor (Booking Holdings): Booking platform used by Inside Out Tours and most tour operators for online reservations. Comparable as shared distribution infrastructure rather than a direct competitor; shapes the economics of all DTC tour booking.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/insideouttours
• Facebookfacebook.com/Inside-Out-Tours-LLC-244148439304108
• Instagraminstagram.com/insideouttours

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Inside Out Tours