Creative Tourist
Creative Tourist is a Manchester-based digital media company that curates and distributes editorial coverage, ticketing, and advertising for arts and culture across Northern England, serving culturally curious consumers and SMB arts organizations through its website, Culture Hosts listings platform, and ticketing storefront.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2012
- HeadquartersManchester, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Creative Tourist does
Creative Tourist Limited is a privately held digital media company headquartered at 18 Hilton Street, Manchester, that operates a curated content and commerce platform for arts and culture across Northern England. The flagship Creative Tourist Website combines editorial coverage — neighbourhood guides, restaurant and bar listings, and previews of exhibitions, theatre, music, and festivals — with structured event listings across eleven markets including Manchester, Leeds, Liverpool, Sheffield, York, West Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, the North East, Cheshire, and Bradford. The platform serves culturally curious consumers seeking curated recommendations and provides promotional and ticketing infrastructure to arts venues, theatres, galleries, festivals, and event organizers operating in those markets.
The company's product portfolio comprises four integrated offerings. The core editorial site (creativetourist.com) anchors audience acquisition through organic content, SEO, weekly Friday newsletters, and active social channels on Instagram, Facebook, and X. Culture Hosts is an in-house listings management platform that lets organizations upload and distribute venue and event content not only to Creative Tourist but to multiple third-party arts and cultural websites, creating a B2B distribution layer. Tickets by Creative Tourist (tickets.creativetourist.com) operates as a dedicated ticketing storefront for walking tours and themed cultural experiences, while the Advertising & Campaigns product sells paid promotion directly to event organizers and venues.
Revenue is generated through three streams: paid advertising campaigns sold to cultural organizations (one-off event campaigns starting at £420 and festival/seasonal guide campaigns starting at £1,650), transaction commissions from ticket sales on the owned ticketing storefront, and freemium event submission via Culture Hosts that feeds editorial curation. Go-to-market is hybrid: direct-to-consumer through editorial content, newsletters, and social media combined with a sales-led motion targeting arts and cultural organizations across Northern England. The company claims campaign click-through rates approximately three times industry average, with average campaign CTR of 19% and a documented best-case campaign achieving 45% CTR that generated £22,000 in ticket sale value. No AI capabilities, leadership team details, headcount, funding history, or revenue figures are disclosed in available sources.
Creative Tourist firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Creative Tourist
- Legal name
- Creative Tourist Limited
- Website
- https://creativetourist.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2012
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Creative Tourist is a Manchester-based digital media company that curates and distributes editorial coverage, ticketing, and advertising for arts and culture across Northern England, serving culturally curious consumers and SMB arts organizations through its website, Culture Hosts listings platform, and ticketing storefront.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Creative Tourist industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural Events and Experiences Media
- NAICS
- Tour Operators (56152), Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)
- SIC
- Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cultural, Heritage & Arts Travel Agencies (THAKAFAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Art, Street Art & Creative Scene Tours (THAJAAAE)
Keywords
Where Creative Tourist is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Manchester
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Creative Tourist business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Advertising Campaigns: Paid advertising campaigns for events, venues, and cultural organizations. One-off event campaigns starting at £420, festival/seasonal guide campaigns starting at £1,650. The platform claims click-through rates three times the industry average.
- Ticket Sales: Direct ticket sales for tours and activities through tickets.creativetourist.com. Commissions on ticket transactions for walking tours, cultural activities, and events.
- Event Listings (via Culture Hosts): Free event submission platform through Culture Hosts, with editorial curation determining which events receive prominent placement. This drives content value for advertising and ticket sales.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | One-off Event/Venue Campaign |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Festival/Seasonal Guide Campaign |
| Transaction based/ take rate | Pay-as-you-go | Event Tickets |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Creative Tourist product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Creative Tourist runs a curated digital editorial and event-listings platform covering arts, culture, food, drink, and experiences across Manchester and Northern England. The platform sells tickets directly for walking tours and cultural activities via tickets.creativetourist.com, and monetises its audience through paid advertising campaigns sold to venues, festivals, and event organisers (from £420 for one-off events, £1,650 for festival guides). It also operates Culture Hosts, a free listings-management system that distributes venue and event content across multiple arts and cultural websites.
Product overview
Creative Tourist operates as a unified content and commerce platform for arts and culture in the North of England. The core offering is the Creative Tourist Website, a curated editorial and listings platform covering events, venues, neighborhoods, and experiences. This core platform is supplemented by Culture Hosts, a listings management system for organizations to distribute their content. Tickets by Creative Tourist provides booking capability for tours and activities, while Advertising & Campaigns enables paid promotion for event organizers. The platform serves culturally curious consumers seeking arts, music, theatre, exhibitions, food, and drink experiences across Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, and surrounding areas.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Creative Tourist Website A curated digital editorial and event-listings platform covering arts, culture, food, drink, neighbourhoods, and experiences across Manchester and Northern England. It serves culturally curious consumers seeking recommendations and event discovery, and provides promotional surfaces for venues and event organisers.
- Tickets by Creative Tourist A direct-to-consumer ticketing service enabling consumers to book walking tours and cultural activities (e.g., Manchester City Walking Tour, Secrets of Didsbury, Leeds City Centre Walking Tour, Tour of Windermere & the Lake District) with ticket prices ranging from £5 (Fringe) to £55 (concerts), and tours typically £20–£42.40. The platform earns commissions on ticket transactions.
- Culture Hosts A listings management platform for arts and cultural organisations to upload, manage, and share venue and event content. Listings are distributed to multiple arts and cultural websites, not only Creative Tourist, maximising event exposure. The service is free to use for event organisers.
- Advertising & Campaigns Paid digital advertising campaigns sold to event organisers, venues, and cultural institutions, targeting Creative Tourist's culturally engaged Northern England audience. Tiered packages include one-off event/venue campaigns (from £420) and festival or seasonal guide campaigns (from £1,650), with bespoke quotes available.
Quantifiable outcome
- Click-through rates three times the industry average
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Creative Tourist
Customer profileSegments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Creative Tourist technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Creative Tourist partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Culture HostscoreCulture Hosts is the central listings platform developed by Creative Tourist for organizations and businesses to upload, manage, and share content relating to their venues and events. Culture Hosts now supplies listings information not only to Creative Tourist but to multiple arts and cultural websites, maximizing event exposure. The service is free to use for event organizers.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Creative Tourist competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- DesignMyNight: UK events and nightlife discovery platform with editorial coverage and ticketing for events including cultural and arts experiences. Comparable UK-focused editorial-plus-ticketing model overlapping Creative Tourist's arts and food event coverage.
- Resident Advisor: Global electronic-music and cultural events listing platform with editorial coverage and ticketing. Comparable in the niche cultural events editorial-plus-ticketing model, particularly in cultural sub-segments Creative Tourist covers.
- Fever: Experiences marketplace that curates and sells tickets for cultural events, tours, and immersive experiences across major cities. Comparable in the curated-experiences marketplace model and cultural event ticketing, though with significant scale and marketing investment.
- Skiddle: UK-focused events listing and ticketing platform with strong presence in Northern England music, arts, and cultural events. Direct comparable as a UK regional events and ticketing competitor overlapping Creative Tourist's geographic footprint.
- The Culture Trip: Editorial-led cultural discovery platform with curated content on arts, food, and local experiences alongside booking functionality. Directly comparable in the editorial-to-experience model Creative Tourist uses, though focused on global rather than regional coverage.
- Time Out: Global cultural and city guide that combines editorial coverage of arts, food, and events with ticketing and media partnerships. Time Out is the most direct analogue to Creative Tourist's content-plus-ticketing model, though operating at vastly larger scale across multiple global cities.
- VisitBritain: National tourism body promoting UK cultural and visitor experiences. Comparable in promoting regional cultural discovery to consumers, though operating as a public-sector destination marketing organization rather than commercial platform.
- Atlas Obscura: Discovery platform for unique cultural experiences, hidden places, and curated tours, with associated ticketing and community experiences. Comparable in the niche cultural-experience discovery and tour-ticketing model Creative Tourist operates.
Broad incumbents
- Eventbrite: Global self-service ticketing and events platform serving a broad range of categories including arts and cultural events. Operates as a broad incumbent in ticketing rather than specializing in editorial cultural curation, but directly competes with Tickets by Creative Tourist for cultural event supply.
- GetYourGuide: Global tours, activities, and experiences marketplace with ticketing for cultural tours and attractions. Broad incumbent in tours and experiences ticketing overlapping Creative Tourist's walking-tour offering.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Creative Tourist social profiles
Digital presenceCreative Tourist financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Creative Tourist leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Creative Tourist funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Creative Tourist M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Creative Tourist
What does Creative Tourist do?
Creative Tourist runs a curated digital editorial and event-listings platform covering arts, culture, food, drink, and experiences across Manchester and Northern England. The platform sells tickets directly for walking tours and cultural activities via tickets.creativetourist.com, and monetises its audience through paid advertising campaigns sold to venues, festivals, and event organisers (from £420 for one-off events, £1,650 for festival guides). It also operates Culture Hosts, a free listings-management system that distributes venue and event content across multiple arts and cultural websites.
Is Creative Tourist a public or private company?
Creative Tourist is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Creative Tourist founded?
Creative Tourist was founded in 2012. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Creative Tourist based?
Creative Tourist is headquartered in Manchester, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Creative Tourist make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Advertising Campaigns are the primary driver. The others are ticket Sales and event Listings (via Culture Hosts).
Who are Creative Tourist's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are DesignMyNight, Resident Advisor, Fever, Skiddle, The Culture Trip, Time Out, VisitBritain and Atlas Obscura. Broad incumbents are Eventbrite and GetYourGuide.
Does Creative Tourist have an API?
No public API is recorded for Creative Tourist.
What industry is Creative Tourist in?
Creative Tourist's product category is Cultural Events and Experiences Media. Its primary akta.pro industry code is THAKAFAK, Cultural, Heritage & Arts Travel Agencies, with a secondary code of THAJAAAE, Art, Street Art & Creative Scene Tours. Its NAICS code is 56152 and its SIC code is 7900.