Sunrise Tours

What Sunrise Tours does

Sunrise Tours is a privately held, family-owned group tour operator founded in 1993 in St. Louis County, Missouri, by Jim and Charlene Dalrymple, with the first tour operated in 1994. The company is now solely owned by Brent Dalrymple (President), who acquired full ownership in 2020 after a 2013 transfer from the founders. Sunrise designs, markets, and operates all-inclusive escorted group tours across more than 19 countries, with domestic coach tours, fly tours, scenic rail journeys (including Rocky Mountaineer GoldLeaf Service), and a growing portfolio of international itineraries and private-charter river cruises (MS Amadeus Star on the Danube, Rhine Christmas Markets). Tours are sold directly to consumers at per-person pricing (typically $1,500 to $6,000 for domestic and short international itineraries, reaching $9,900 for premium Alaska verandah staterooms) through three regional offices in Kirkwood MO (HQ), Mission KS (Kansas City), and Springfield MO, supported by a network of regional pickup points, an online reservation system, and seasonal print and digital catalogs.

The product is differentiated primarily through service intensity rather than technology: every tour includes a professional Tour Director, meals as indicated, motorcoach transportation (with motorcoaches limited to 80% capacity for comfort), accommodations, admissions, and gratuities for step-on local guides. The core technology stack is conventional and non-AI, comprising a proprietary reservation/payment system, Constant Contact for email marketing, FlippingBook for the digital catalog, Google Maps for pickup-point visualization, and a battleface integration for travel protection plans to be added directly to invoices starting February 2026. The company is a member of the National Tour Association and the American Bus Association and partners with Country Travel Discoveries (acquired 2020, Elm Grove WI) to develop and operate international journeys.

The business model is direct-to-consumer and asset-light: tour packages are prepaid (with deposits of $250-$500 per person and final payment 75 days before departure), customer acquisition relies on printed catalogs (January and August), email newsletters, blog/video content, social media, and word-of-mouth among repeat customers, and a tiered loyalty discount program ($100 off second tour, $150 off third, escalating thereafter) materially extends customer lifetime value. Sunrise targets three primary segments — mature/active adult travelers, solo travelers (supported by a roommate-matching service), and Midwest regional travelers — and serves a long-tail of individual consumers rather than enterprise accounts. With 66 employees including 30+ tour directors and three offices, the company is a sub-scale regional specialist with stable, multi-decade operations but limited public financial disclosure.

Name

Sunrise Tours

Legal name

Sunrise Tours

Website

https://travelsunrise.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Sunrise Tours is a family-owned, St. Louis-based group tour operator (founded 1993) selling all-inclusive escorted motorcoach, fly, rail, and river cruise packages primarily to mature Midwest travelers, departing from three regional Missouri offices and serving 100+ tours annually across more than 19 countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Group Tour Operator

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land (48711)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Escorted Coach & Bus Package Tour Operators (THAKADAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Charter & Tour Coach Operators (TLAFAFAB), Group & Small-Group Custom Itinerary Planning (THAKAOAF)

Keywords

• Group tour operator
• Motorcoach tours
• Guided travel packages
• International tour operator
• National parks tours

Headquarters

HQ city

Kirkwood

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Tour Package Sales: All-inclusive tour packages sold directly to consumers at per-person pricing (double occupancy DB, single supplement SG, triple/quad options). Tours include professional tour director, meals as indicated, motorcoach transportation, accommodations, and admission to attractions. Pricing varies by destination and duration.
2. Loyalty Program Revenue: Repeat customers generate additional bookings through loyalty discount program ($100 per person off second tour within same calendar year of 4+ days, $150 off third tour)

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Sunrise Tours designs and operates all-inclusive guided group tour packages for leisure travelers, offering Coach Tours, Fly Tours, Rail Tours, and River Cruises across domestic US destinations (including National Parks and Alaska) and international destinations (Europe, Caribbean, Morocco, Peru, Costa Rica, Japan, Australia). Each package bundles motorcoach or air transportation, accommodations, meals as indicated, attraction admissions, step-on local guides, and a professional Sunrise Tour Director from pickup point through return. Bookings are sold direct-to-consumer through the website, phone sales across three Midwest offices, and mail-in catalog orders, with supporting services such as Travel Protection Plans, a Loyalty Discount Program, Roommate Matching, Land-Only Booking, and Pickup Point Transportation.

Product overview

Sunrise Tours is a family-owned group tourism company offering guided group tour packages across domestic and international destinations. The core product is group tours featuring motorcoach transportation (Coach Tours), air-inclusive tours (Fly Tours), scenic rail experiences (Rail Tours), and river cruise packages (Cruises). The portfolio includes diverse tour types: US National Parks tours, international destinations (Europe, Asia, Africa, South America), specialty experiences (Mystery Tours, Holiday Tours), and unpack-once multi-destination packages. Supporting services include Travel Protection Plans through battleface, a Loyalty Discount Program, Roommate Matching Service, Land-Only Booking options, and Pickup Point Transportation from three departure regions (St. Louis, Kansas City, Springfield, MO). The company publishes seasonal catalogs and operates an online booking system. Sunrise Tours partners with Country Travel Discoveries for international tour operations and maintains offices in St. Louis, MO, Mission, KS, and Springfield, MO.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 30 years of operation with repeat customers as primary marketing channel
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core, support and minor.

• Country Travel Discoveries (CTD)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020In 2020, Sunrise Tours welcomed Country Travel Discoveries into their family. CTD team in Elm Grove, Wisconsin continues to serve loyal travelers while working closely with Sunrise Tours to develop and operate many international journeys. Teams collaborate regularly, blending ideas, expertise, and creativity to design experiences reflecting both organizations.
• battlefacesupportOthersSunrise Tours partners with battleface for travel protection plans offered to travelers. Beginning February 2026, battleface plans can be added directly to Sunrise Tours invoices as a lower-cost option with more generous coverage. Contact: (855) 998-2928 or (380) 205-8873.
• National Tour Association (NTA)minorOthersNTA is a national association of tour operators and vendors that collaborates to provide excellent travel experiences. Sunrise Tours is a member.
• American Bus Association (ABA)minorOthersABA is a national association of bus operators and tour vendors. Sunrise Tours is a member and displays the ABA logo on their website.
• Constant ContactsupportTechnology or IntegrationEmail marketing service provider used by Sunrise Tours for sending newsletters, promotional emails, and tour updates to subscribers.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Insight Vacations: Premium escorted tour operator (under The Travel Corporation) offering guided luxury coach tours globally—closely comparable to Sunrise's premium all-inclusive escorted tours targeting affluent mature travelers.
• Mayflower Tours: Midwest-based escorted motorcoach tour operator offering domestic and international group tours from regional departure cities—highly comparable to Sunrise Tours in geography, product, and demographic.
• Tauck: Family-owned premium escorted tour operator offering all-inclusive land, river cruise, and small-group journeys—comparable to Sunrise in product format and mature-customer focus, but positioned at a higher price tier.
• Cosmos: Value-priced escorted tour brand under Globus offering coach tours across Europe, North America, and beyond—directly comparable group tour product and target customer, though positioned at a lower price point.
• Trafalgar: Globus-owned guided group tour brand operating escorted coach tours across six continents with a strong North American customer base—directly comparable product, customer demographic, and delivery model.
• Collette: Family-owned escorted tour operator offering guided group tours across all seven continents with motorcoach, rail, and river-cruise itineraries—closely matching Sunrise Tours' product mix, customer demographic, and all-inclusive pricing model.
• Globus Family of Brands: Major escorted-tour operator (also parent of Cosmos, Monograms) offering escorted coach, rail, and river-cruise vacations globally—directly comparable to Sunrise's tour catalog and target mature traveler segment.
• CIE Tours: Escorted coach and self-drive tour operator specializing in Ireland, Britain, and Europe with guided group itineraries—comparable product, demographic, and escorted coach format to Sunrise's international tours.

Broad incumbents

• AAA Travel: Large membership-based travel agency and tour operator providing escorted group tours, cruises, and packaged vacations to mature travelers—broader portfolio than Sunrise but overlapping customer base and escorted-tour offerings.

Others

• Country Travel Discoveries: Wisconsin-based group tour operator now operating as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sunrise Tours, jointly developing international journeys. Included here as a related entity rather than an independent competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/SunriseTours
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sunrise-tours

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Sunrise Tours