What We Hate Tourism Tours does

We Hate Tourism Tours (WHTT) is a privately owned, self-funded tour operator founded in Lisbon in 2010 by a group of journalists, photographers, artists, engineers, and a psychologist who responded to the 2008 financial crisis by building a small, anti-mass-tourism tour business. The company runs small-group tours (capped strictly at six people) that deliberately avoid the conventions of mainstream tourism: no megaphones, no landmark circuits, no numbered-sticker cruise excursions, and no third-party booking platforms (Airbnb, Viator, TripAdvisor). Its portfolio of six core experiences in Lisbon includes van tours (The X-Day: Sintra & Cascais, We Hate Landmarks, The B-Side: Suburbs & Local Life), walking tours (The Responsible Walking Tour, Pirates of the Cruise Ships), and a private dinner experience (Dinner with us and Belém at night), with bespoke private tour services extending to Porto and the Azores (delivered via partner Três Quadrados Tours).

The underlying technology stack is intentionally minimal: FareHarbor handles reservations through the company website, while all customer interaction runs over personal email ([email protected]) and WhatsApp (+351 917 025 343), with unmarked vans used as a physical operational asset to maintain discreet access to residential neighborhoods. Pricing is unit-based per person (€47–€211) for group tours and per group (€200–€360) for private experiences, with transfers and a published book ('The Disenchantment of Lisbon' by co-founder Alfredo Isaías, via Inchas Editora) as supplementary revenue lines.

The business model is pure direct-to-consumer with zero paid advertising and zero platform commissions; revenue accrues entirely to the operators, and the company explicitly refuses external investors, franchise models, and platform listings. Customer segments span anti-tourist cultural travelers, cruise ship passengers seeking tactical port escapes, families needing mixed-pace itineraries, and bespoke private bookers, served by a team of roughly five people across Lisbon, Porto, and the Azores.

Name

We Hate Tourism Tours

Legal name

We Hate Tourism Tours

Website

https://wehatetourismtours.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

We Hate Tourism Tours is a privately owned Lisbon-based tour operator running small-group, anti-mass-tourism experiences (max six people) across Lisbon, Porto, and the Azores. It serves cultural travelers, cruise passengers, families, and private bookers through direct bookings, rejecting platforms and external capital.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Local Tour Experiences

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520), Tour Operators (56152), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation, Land (487110), Scenic and Sightseeing Transportation (487)

SIC

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

akta.pro primary industry

Small-Group Escorted Tour Operators (THAKADAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Walking City Tours (Highlights & Orientation) (THAJAAAA), Architecture & Urban Design Tours (THAJAAAD), Photography & Scenic Viewpoint Tours (THAJAAAI)

Keywords

• Small group tours
• Guided city tours
• Private tour services
• Walking tours
• Local tour experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

Lisbon

HQ country

Portugal

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Group Tours: Small group tours capped at 6 people with per-person pricing ranging from €47 to €89 depending on tour duration and type.
2. Private Group Experiences: Private dining and exclusive experiences priced per group (e.g., €209/group for dinner experience). Maximum 6 people from the same party.
3. Custom Private Tours: Bespoke private tours across Portugal starting from Lisbon, Porto, or Azores. Priced per tour with custom itineraries.
4. Transfers and Travel Planning: Airport transfers and travel planning assistance as add-on services to private tour offerings.
5. The Disenchantment of Lisbon Book: 160-page anti-itinerary book written by co-founder Alfredo Isaías, published in collaboration with Inchas Editora.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

We Hate Tourism Tours operates small-group, anti-mainstream guided tours in and around Lisbon, capped strictly at six participants per tour. The portfolio includes three van tours (The X-Day: Sintra & Cascais; We Hate Landmarks: Van Tour; The B-Side: Suburbs & Local Life), two walking or foot-based tours (The Responsible Walking Tour; Pirates of the Cruise Ships), one private dining experience (Dinner with us and Belém at night), and a bespoke private tour design service covering Lisbon, Porto, and the Azores under the "Unofficial Ambassadors" brand.

Product overview

We Hate Tourism Tours is a single-location tour operator offering six distinct tour experiences centered in Lisbon, Portugal, with operations extending to Porto and the Azores. The core offering consists of small-group tours (maximum 6 people) that avoid mass tourism conventions—no megaphones, no big groups, no landmarks. The portfolio includes three van tours (The X-Day: Sintra & Cascais, We Hate Landmarks: Van Tour, The B-Side: Suburbs & Local Life), two walking/foot-based tours (The Responsible Walking Tour, Pirates of the Cruise Ships), and one private dining experience (Dinner with us and Belém at night). Additionally, the company offers bespoke private tour design services under the Unofficial Ambassadors brand and publishes an independent guidebook. All tours share the common ethos of honest storytelling, local integration, and respect for residents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Strict 6-person cap ensures intimate experiences and neighborhood respect
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Três Quadrados Tours (Azores)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLocal tour operator partnership for Azores (São Miguel) operations. Três Quadrados Tours provides local guides and local knowledge for tours in the middle of the Atlantic, complementing WHTT's operations from Lisbon and Porto.
• Inchas EditoraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublishing partner for 'The Disenchantment of Lisbon: A Reality Guide' — a 160-page anti-itinerary written by WHTT co-founder Alfredo Isaías. Collaborative book project documenting tourism pressures on Lisbon neighborhoods.
• Palavra de Viajante BookshopminorOthersIndependent bookstore in Lisbon where 'The Disenchantment of Lisbon' book is available for sale.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Tours by Locals: Private, customizable tour platform with local guides worldwide including Portugal. Comparable private-tour offering, but operates as a marketplace with platform commissions rather than a single-brand collective like WHTT.
• Walks (by Devour Tours): Small-group food and culture tour operator offering intimate, expert-led experiences across multiple European cities including Lisbon. Closest direct competitor in positioning, group-size discipline, and anti-mass-tourism ethos.
• Lisbon Walker: Small-group walking-tour specialist in Lisbon with local guides focused on history and neighborhoods. Overlaps directly with WHTT's Responsible Walking Tour and shares the intimate group approach.
• Withlocals: Marketplace for small-group and private tours hosted by local guides, with operations in Lisbon, Porto and the Azores. Direct competitor in the "local-guide, small-group, anti-corporate-tour" niche, with the difference that Withlocals scales via a platform model while WHTT stays platform-free.
• Context Travel: Small-group expert-led cultural tours with scholar and specialist guides in major cities including Lisbon. Comparable in small-group discipline, intellectual depth and high per-person pricing, though more academic and less explicitly anti-tourism in branding.
• Inside Lisbon Tours: Lisbon-based small-group tour operator running intimate walking and van tours with local guides. Directly comparable on geography, product format and small-group philosophy, though less explicitly anti-mainstream in branding.
• Strawberry Tours: Free walking-tour operator active across European cities including Lisbon, using local guides and small groups with a tip-based model. Closest competitor for foot-based Lisbon experiences but structured around free/tip economics versus WHTT's fixed-price anti-tourist positioning.

Broad incumbents

• GetYourGuide: Global OTA aggregating thousands of tour operators including in Lisbon and Porto. Represents the platform channel WHTT refuses to join; comparable on product surface (tours in same cities) but fundamentally different business model.
• Urban Adventures (Intrepid): Small-group "local life" tour brand owned by Intrepid Travel, operating in cities worldwide including Lisbon. Comparable small-group, local-guide philosophy but part of a much larger corporate travel group rather than an independent collective.
• Yellow Bus Tours (Carris Tur): Lisbon's dominant hop-on, hop-off sightseeing bus operator representing the mass-tourism model WHTT explicitly opposes. Useful as a counterpoint incumbent illustrating the contrast between scale players and WHTT's small-group alternative.

Market position

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/WeHateTourismTours.pt
• Instagraminstagram.com/wehatetourismtours
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/we-hate-tourism-tours

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 We Hate Tourism Tours