imagine Tours & Travel

What imagine Tours & Travel does

imagine Tours & Travel is a Lakeland, Florida-based Christian tour operator founded in 2005 by Rick and Amy Ricart. The company organizes fully inclusive 10-15 day guided group tours to biblical and Christian heritage destinations including Israel, Greece, Italy, Germany, Ireland, Jordan, Egypt, and European river cruise itineraries, bundling round-trip airfare, first-class hotels, daily breakfast and dinner, motor coach transportation, English-speaking licensed guides, and entrance fees into single packages. Its customer base is exclusively Christian — primarily church groups, clergy, and individual Christian travelers — and it serves them through two core go-to-market motions: pre-scheduled group departures (Join a Tour) and custom private group trips (Lead a Tour, also branded "Become a Tour Host"). A distinctive Clergy FAM (Familiarization) Trip program offers subsidized introductory tours to ordained clergy and educators, who are then reimbursed if they return with a paying group, creating a structured pipeline of repeat tour hosts.

The business operates as a privately held LLC with 11-50 employees and a family-influenced management structure (multiple Ricart family members across Operations, Air, and Sales/Marketing). Revenue is generated on a one-time-payment basis per tour booking, with add-on revenue from optional extensions (Greece, Egypt, Rome), single-room supplements, and early-bird incentives; pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The company's competitive positioning rests on its specialized Christian travel content library, its long-tenured network of international ground-service correspondents, and the recurring host-driven recruitment model, with a documented anchor customer (Shepherd of the Hills Church) having completed 14 trips including a 4-bus, 160+ person Israel tour. The product surface includes a self-serve online registration portal (registernow.ittworld.com), partnerships with Travel Guard (AIG) for insurance, and a marketing footprint across ittworld.com, Facebook livestreams, and email newsletters.

Name

imagine Tours & Travel

Legal name

imagine Tours & Travel, LLC

Website

https://ittworld.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

imagine Tours & Travel is a Lakeland, Florida-based Christian tour operator founded in 2005 that organizes fully inclusive guided group tours to Holy Land, European, and Mediterranean heritage destinations for church groups, clergy, and individual Christian travelers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious Group Travel Services

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Water (487210)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Christian Pilgrimage & Holy Land Tour Operators (THAKAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Faith-Based Group Travel (Church/Mosque/Temple) Organizers (THAKAHAH), Pilgrimage Cruise & Maritime Pilgrimage Operators (THAKAHAL), Private/Customized Multi-Day Tour Operators (THAKADAC), Religious & Sacred Sites Tours (THAJAAAF)

Keywords

• Group tour packages
• Christian pilgrimage tours
• Religious heritage travel
• Guided international tours
• European river cruises

Headquarters

HQ city

Lakeland

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Group Tour Packages: Fully inclusive group travel packages for Christian pilgrims and heritage tourists, bundling international airfare, hotel accommodations, guided sightseeing, motor coach transportation, meals (breakfast and dinner daily), entrance fees to sites, and first-class hotels. Packages range from 10-15 day tours with optional extensions (Greece, Egypt, Jordan, Rome). Also offers Land Only options for customers arranging their own flights.
2. Clergy FAM Trips: Familiarization trips for ordained clergy and educators offered at subsidized introductory rates. These are discounted exploratory trips to help clergy experience destinations before leading their own groups. Reimbursed for trip cost upon returning with a group.
3. Sightseeing Options and Extensions: Additional optional paid excursions and tour extensions added to base packages (e.g., Greece extension, Egypt extension, Rome extension). These must be purchased by final payment deadline.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

imagine Tours & Travel is a Christian tour operator that designs and sells fully inclusive group travel packages to biblical and Christian heritage destinations, including Israel, Greece, Italy, Germany, Ireland, and European river cruises. Packages bundle international airfare, first-class hotels, breakfast and dinner daily, motor coach transportation, licensed English-speaking guides, and entrance fees. The company also runs a Clergy FAM (Familiarization) Trip program offering subsidized exploratory trips to ordained clergy and educators, and a Lead a Tour / Tour Host program that lets churches and organizations customize group itineraries.

Product overview

imagine Tours & Travel is a Christian travel company offering a portfolio of guided group tour programs and travel services. The core offerings include destination-specific tours to Israel, Greece, Italy, Germany, Ireland, and European river cruises, along with a specialized Clergy FAM (Familiarization) Trip program that provides discounted rates for ordained clergy and educators. The company also operates a Tour Host Program enabling churches and organizations to customize group trips. Tour offerings range from 10 to 15 days with various activity levels (Level 1-5), and include optional extensions to Egypt, Rome, and additional countries. The company provides an online registration system for booking tours, and partners with Travel Guard for travel insurance services. Key tour brands include Walking In the Footsteps of Paul, Experience In the Lands of the Bible, A Holy Land Exploration, and Through the Heartland of Europe.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Israel Tours Guided group tours to Israel visiting biblical sites including Jerusalem, Sea of Galilee, Masada, Dead Sea, Bethlehem, Nazareth, and other Holy Land locations, with optional Egypt or Greece extensions. For church groups, clergy, and individual Christian travelers.
• Greece Tours Guided group tours of Greece tracing the Footsteps of Paul, including Thessaloniki, Philippi, Athens, Delphi, Meteora, and a Mediterranean cruise to Mykonos, Patmos, Crete, and Santorini. For church groups, clergy, and individual Christian travelers.
• Italy Tours Group tours of Italy including Rome and the Vatican, with optional Rome extensions for trips combining other destinations. For church groups, clergy, and individual Christian travelers.
• Germany Tours Group tours of Germany focused on Protestant Reformation sites and European heritage destinations. For church groups, clergy, and individual Christian travelers.
• Ireland Tours 10-day group tours of Ireland visiting Dublin, Kilkenny, Cork, Galway, Cliffs of Moher, Blarney Castle, and other cultural heritage sites. For church groups, clergy, and individual Christian travelers.
• European River Cruises
• Clergy FAM Trips
• Tour Host Custom Group Travel Program (Lead a Tour)
• Online Tour Registration System
• Travel Insurance Services (via Travel Guard)

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Travel Guard (AIG Company)minorOthersPreferred travel insurance provider recommended to customers. Customers reference agent code 127152 when contacting Travel Guard for insurance coverage including trip delays, interruption, lost luggage, illness, and medical emergencies.
• Overseas Partners and CorrespondentscoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerInternational partnerships providing ground services including hotels, motor coaches, licensed English-speaking guides, and local logistics. These correspondents are constantly re-evaluated to ensure quality standards are maintained.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Inspiration Travel: Faith-based tour operator specializing in Christian Holy Land and heritage tours; directly competes with imagine Tours & Travel for the same church-group and clergy customer base in North America.
• ETS Tours (Educational Tours & Travel): Faith-based tour operator offering Christian heritage and biblical-site tours, including a clergy/group host model closely analogous to imagine Tours & Travel's Lead a Tour and FAM Trip programs.
• Pilgrim Tours: Christian tour operator focused on Holy Land, Footsteps of Paul, and Reformation itineraries — overlapping destinations and denominations with imagine Tours & Travel.
• Christian Heritage Tours: Specialty operator running group Christian heritage tours (Israel, Greece, Italy, Reformation sites) marketed to U.S. churches, competing head-to-head for similar group hosts.
• Faith Heritage Tours: Niche Christian group-tour operator serving church and clergy-led itineraries, with overlapping product (Holy Land, Footsteps of Paul) and customer acquisition model.

Broad incumbents

• Viking River Cruises: Large-scale river cruise operator on the Rhine, Danube, Douro, and other European waterways that imagine Tours & Travel also packages; competes for similar heritage-traveler customers but at a much larger scale and broader audience.
• Tauck: Established multi-day package tour operator with European and faith-adjacent heritage itineraries, offering fully inclusive pricing similar to imagine Tours & Travel's bundles but at a much larger scale and broader customer base.
• Globus Family of Brands (Globus / Cosmos): Major multi-day European tour operator offering itineraries in Israel, Greece, Italy, and Germany that overlap with imagine Tours & Travel's destinations, but serves a general (non-faith-specific) leisure customer.
• Collette: Long-established guided multi-day tour operator with European and Israel itineraries, competing for similar fully inclusive, motor-coach group travelers in adjacent (non-faith-specific) market segments.

Others

• Travel Guard (AIG): Existing partner of imagine Tours & Travel and a major travel insurance provider; included as an ecosystem participant, not a direct competitor — relevant because insurance is an embedded part of the international pilgrimage offering.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ImagineToursandTravel
• Xx.com/imaginetours
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/imagine-tours-and-travel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles14 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 imagine Tours & Travel