What Secret Tours does

Secret Tours, operated by Essor Limited (UK) and Essor Inc. (Delaware), is a privately held direct-to-consumer tour operator founded in 2013 and headquartered in London. The company sells tickets to guided city walking tours, food tours, ghost tours, cooking classes, private/group tours, and virtual tours across 50+ cities spanning Europe, North America, South America, Asia, the Middle East, and Oceania. Sub-brands under the same corporate parent include Secret Food Tours, Big Easy Food Tours, The Shoreditch Pub Crawl, and Paris Bar Crawl, each targeting distinct experiential niches within the same global footprint.

Name

Secret Tours

Legal name

Essor Limited

Website

https://secrettours.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Guided City Tours and Experiential Tourism

NAICS

Tour Operators (561520)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Food, Market & Culinary Culture Tours (THAJAAAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Night Tours (Illuminations, Ghost & Legends) (THAJAAAH), Private Guided Tours & Personal Tour Guides (THAJALAA), Street Food Tours (THAJAGAC)

Keywords

• Guided city tours
• Food walking tours
• Private group tours
• Culinary experiences
• Sightseeing experiences

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tour Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling tickets to scheduled city tours, food tours, walking tours, and themed tours (wine, beer, gin, chocolate, ghost tours) across 50+ global destinations. Tickets are sold per person with tiered pricing for adults and children.
2. Private & Group Bookings: Premium-priced private and group tour arrangements, organized specifically for booked groups, with a flat fee rate for groups of 6 and under. These are subject to a premium compared to scheduled tour tickets.
3. Cooking Classes: Revenue from cooking class bookings offered alongside food tours in select cities (London, San Francisco, San Diego, Philadelphia, New York, Nashville, Las Vegas, Chicago, Boston, Florence, Paris), covering cuisines such as sushi, pasta, Indian, Mexican, Thai, and French baking.
4. Upgrade Packages: Upsell revenue from optional drinks packages offered as add-ons to food tours (e.g., upgraded drinks packages for London, San Francisco, New York, Paris, and other destinations), providing alcoholic beverages, tax, and tip included.
5. Gift Vouchers: Gift voucher sales for all Secret Tours experiences, valid for 1 year from purchase date. Vouchers are delivered via email and redeemed at checkout with a voucher code.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Secret Tours operates and sells tickets for guided city walking tours, food tours, ghost tours, themed tasting tours (wine, beer, gin, chocolate), cooking classes, virtual tours, and customized private and group experiences across more than 50 destinations in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Australia. Tickets and gift vouchers are sold direct-to-consumer through the company's own website booking platform, with private and group bookings arranged by email inquiry.

Product overview

Secret Tours is a multi-brand tour booking platform operated by Essor Limited/Essor Inc., offering award-winning city tours across 50+ global destinations. The core product portfolio includes Secret Tours (sightseeing and themed walking tours including Ghost Tours), Secret Food Tours (culinary exploration sub-brand), Cooking Classes (hands-on culinary education), Group & Private Tours (customized experiences), and Virtual Tours (remote exploration). Tours are available across major cities in Europe, North America, South America, Asia, and Australia. The platform functions primarily as an online booking system for tickets to these experiences.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Secret Tours Brand under which Secret Tours sells award-winning guided city walking tours covering hidden gems, historical sites, cultural experiences, and themed sightseeing such as Ghost Tours in 50+ cities worldwide for individual tourists and travelers.
• Secret Food Tours Sub-brand under which Secret Tours sells culinary food tours featuring tastings at authentic local establishments in cities across Europe, America, Asia, and Australia for individual food and travel enthusiasts.
• Ghost Tours Supernatural and haunted-location tours that explore the darker historical stories and ghostly legends of various cities, offered to tourists and themed-experience travelers.
• Cooking Classes Hands-on cooking classes teaching regional cuisines such as sushi-making, pasta-making, Indian cuisine, French pastries, and other international culinary techniques, offered alongside food tours in select cities for individual travelers and groups.
• Group and Private Tours Customized private and group tour bookings sold at premium pricing for exclusive experiences organized for specific groups, including corporate events, family reunions, bachelor and bachelorette parties, and school trips.
• Virtual Tours Remote tour experiences that allow customers to explore cities and attractions virtually from any location, targeting travelers and audiences who cannot attend tours in person.
• Upgraded Drinks Packages Optional add-on beverage packages available as upgrades to food tours across cities such as London, San Francisco, New York, Paris, Chicago, and other destinations, providing alcoholic beverages, tax, and tip included.
• Gift Vouchers Gift voucher system that lets customers purchase any Secret Tours experience as a gift, with vouchers valid for 1 year from purchase date and redeemable at checkout via a voucher code.
• City-Specific Tours Portfolio of location-specific guided tours covering major landmarks, museums, historical sites, and cultural attractions in individual cities such as the National Gallery Tour in London, Colosseum tours in Rome, Alcatraz tours in San Francisco, and Eiffel Tower experiences in Paris, sold to travelers visiting those destinations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 52,000 5-star reviews across TripAdvisor and Google platforms
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• ETOA (European Tourism Association)minorOthersSecret Tours is a proud member of ETOA, the European Tourism Association, which connects European tourism businesses and provides industry advocacy, networking, and market intelligence.
• ASTA (American Society of Travel Advisors)minorOthersSecret Tours is a proud member of ASTA, the American Society of Travel Advisors, providing professional credibility, industry representation, and access to the travel advisor distribution network.
• SanseeShield.comminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSanseeShield.com provides health and safety certification for Secret Tours, including training, protocols, and certification standards for health and safety measures implemented across all tours, including hand sanitizer use, daily temperature monitoring, social distancing practices, and equipment disinfection.
• Ticketing Hub (Payment Processor)coreTechnology or IntegrationTicketing Hub acts as the payment processor for Secret Tours' online bookings. Customers are redirected to Ticketing Hub for secure payment processing at checkout. Credit card details are never collected by Secret Tours directly. Ticketing Hub's privacy policy governs the handling of payment data.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Tours by Locals: Private tour marketplace connecting travelers with vetted local guides across hundreds of destinations. Comparable to Secret Tours' private tour offering, with a similar global multi-city footprint and curated guide network.
• Walks: Small-group guided tour operator offering skip-the-line access and themed tours in major European and US cities. Directly comparable in product category (city sightseeing tours with local expert guides) and target customer (independent travelers seeking curated experiences).
• Devour Tours: Specialist food tour operator running small-group culinary tours across multiple European and US cities. Directly comparable to Secret Food Tours sub-brand in offering, target customer, and small-group format.
• Withlocals: Online marketplace connecting travelers with local guides for private and small-group tours, including food experiences. Comparable to Secret Tours in product category, geographic spread, and use of local guides.
• EatWith: Food experience platform offering culinary tours, cooking classes, and hosted dining experiences globally. Comparable to Secret Food Tours sub-brand in culinary focus and to Secret Tours' cooking classes add-on product line.
• Context Travel: Operator of expert-led small-group walking tours focused on history, art, and culinary culture across major global cities. Closely comparable to Secret Tours' guided city and food tour product in positioning, group size, and quality premium positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Viator: TripAdvisor-owned tour and experience booking marketplace. Comparable to Secret Tours in product category (city tours, food tours, skip-the-line attractions) but operates as a third-party OTA rather than a direct operator. Represents both a competitor for bookings and a potential missing distribution channel.
• Airbnb Experiences: Online platform offering host-led tours, food walks, cooking classes, and themed experiences in cities worldwide. Overlaps significantly with Secret Tours' product set and represents a major discovery channel for travelers booking experiential activities.
• GetYourGuide: Global online marketplace for tours, attractions, and experiences across hundreds of cities. Not a direct operator like Secret Tours but competes for the same end-customer booking wallet and dominates discovery traffic that Secret Tours forgoes by selling direct-only.

Emerging players

• Free Tours by Foot: Tip-based walking tour operator covering major US and European cities with a pay-what-you-want model. Competes with Secret Tours for the sightseeing walking tour customer, particularly price-sensitive independent travelers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/secretfoodtours
• Facebookfacebook.com/secretfoodtours
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/secret-tours

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Secret Tours