Name

Encore Tours

Legal name

American Institute for Foreign Study, Inc.

Website

https://encoretours.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Educational Travel Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (56152), Tour Operators (561520), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900), Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Performing Arts, Music & Theatre Group Tours (THAKAGAH)

Keywords

• Performance travel tours
• Music ensemble tours
• Choral festival tours
• Educational travel services
• International concert tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Boston

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Performance Tour Packages: Encore generates revenue through comprehensive performance tour packages for choirs, bands, and orchestras. Packages include venue bookings, accommodations, transportation, meals, sightseeing, and concert coordination. The company earns fees on the full tour package including airfare, hotels, and ground arrangements.
2. Travel Protection Plans: Revenue generated from optional upgraded protection plans (Ultimate and Ultimate-Plus) that provide enhanced cancellation flexibility and on-tour coverage. Basic plan is complimentary, with paid tiers offering cancel-for-any-reason benefits.
3. Automatic Payment Plan Enrollment: Participants who enroll in autopay and upgrade their protection plan receive a $100 bundle discount, indicating the company generates revenue from payment processing and protection plan upgrades.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Encore Tours organizes fully customized international performance tours for school and community musical ensembles (choirs, bands, and orchestras). Each tour packages venue bookings at premier historic venues with guaranteed audiences, centrally located hotels, ground transportation, meals, sightseeing, and concert coordination. The company sells tour packages directly to ensemble directors via regional tour consultants, with optional add-ons such as travel protection plans, fundraising tools, and automatic payment scheduling.

Product overview

Encore Tours operates as a service-based company offering a unified portfolio centered on international performance travel. The core product is Performance Tours — fully customizable trips for choirs, bands, and orchestras to perform at premier venues worldwide with guaranteed audiences. This core is supported by festival offerings (Festival des Trois Chateaux, Musica Orbis, Sing Mit, St. Patrick's Day Festival), the Prelude professional development program, and Encore Experiences for elevated cultural access. Add-on services include the Fabulous Fundraiser, Personal Fundraising Pages, Encore Protection Plans (Basic, Ultimate, Ultimate-Plus), Automatic Payments, Graduate-Level Credits, and Flight Services. Support resources include the STAR reference program and Repertoire Library. The company processes payments through PayPal and CyberSource and uses Google for website analytics.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Encore Experiences: Elevated experiences for musically minded travelers offering behind-the-scenes access to musicians, venues, famous ensembles, and instrument makers
• Prelude
• Fabulous Fundraiser

Products and services

• Performance Tours
• International Concert Tours
• Choir Trips
• Orchestra Trips
• Band Trips
• Festival des Trois Chateaux
• Musica Orbis Choral Festival
• Sing Mit Festival
• St. Patrick's Day Festival
• Prelude Professional Development Weekend
• Fabulous Fundraiser
• Personal Fundraising Pages
• Encore Protection Plans
• Automatic Payments
• Graduate-Level Credits
• Encore Experiences
• Flight Services
• Speak To A Reference (STAR)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 95% of past Group Leaders rated their overall experience as Good or Excellent
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ACIS Educational TourscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerACIS is the parent company and performance division of Encore Tours. Encore is described as the performance division of ACIS Educational Tours, with ACIS handling the underlying educational tour operations and Encore focusing specifically on performance travel.
• Courses4TeacherscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to provide graduate-level professional development credits for music educators. Encore directors can earn up to three graduate-level credits through this partnership with Courses4Teachers and University of the Pacific.
• University of the PacificcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partnership for offering graduate-level professional development credits. Credits are accepted by school districts throughout the United States and can be used for salary advancement and recertification requirements.
• Chorus AmericaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerEncore Tours sponsors Chorus America's online learning program, a professional development opportunity covering topics choruses and choral leaders want to learn about.
• Group Travel Videos by PhotoVision, Inc.minorOthersPartnership with PhotoVision to provide group travel videos as a lasting travel souvenir for Encore participants.
• Musica OrbiscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFestival partnership for choir competitions and performances. Encore groups perform at the Musica Orbis Prague Festival and Bratislava International Youth Music Festival, competing for awards including Gold Medal recognition.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• EF Educational Tours: Largest US school educational tour operator offering performance-band and choir itineraries as part of a much broader portfolio. Comparable as a competitor for school travel budgets and an incumbent that can package performance options with non-performance tours.
• ACIS Educational Tours: Encore's parent brand and the underlying educational tour operator offering broader curriculum-based travel. Comparable because it shares the same customer base (educators) and operational infrastructure but operates in a wider, non-performance-focused niche.
• Smithsonian Student Travel: Runs curated student tours including music-themed itineraries via Smithsonian's brand. Comparable as an established school-travel incumbent competing for the same director-led group travel dollars with a broader educational positioning.

Emerging players

• Putney Student Travel: Operator of student-focused experiential travel programs including music-themed itineraries. Comparable in that it sells through educators and competes for the same discretionary school travel budget but is broader in scope.
• Disney Performing Arts: Performing arts program offering ensemble performance opportunities at Disney parks, primarily a US-domestic alternative to international concert tours. Comparable because it solves the same ensemble performance and audience problem but in a different destination and format.
• Performing Arts Abroad: Smaller specialty operator running performance-focused programs for student ensembles and individuals abroad. Comparable as a direct niche competitor but with narrower scale and less established venue relationships.

Direct peers

• Music Celebrations International: Organizes international music festival tours and adjudicated events for ensembles, including European performance festivals. Closely comparable in festival-led positioning and ensemble director GTM.
• Music Contact International: Long-running boutique operator specializing in international performance tours for school choirs, bands, and orchestras across Europe. Direct competitor serving the same buyer (ensemble directors) with a similar venue-and-audience promise.
• World Projects Corporation: Specialist in customized international concert tours for music ensembles, with festival partnerships and a comparable European venue portfolio. Direct peer competing for the same school and community music programs.

Others

• Chorus America: National advocacy and professional development organization for the choral field; Encore already sponsors Chorus America's online learning program. Comparable because it is a key ecosystem partner influencing director purchase decisions and a feeder channel for choir-tour customers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/encoretours
• YouTubeyoutube.com/encoretours
• Facebookfacebook.com/encoretours
• Instagraminstagram.com/encoretours
• Pinterestpinterest.com/encoretours

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Encore Tours