Free tours: present and future of a new model of business

Abstract

The sector of tourism is one of the best examples of collaborative business nowadays and free tours are one of the relatively newest models of business in this sector. Traditional guided tours have monopolised the focus of attention until now and, since free tours are an innovative activity, there has been limited investigation in this area and questions arise in terms of the awareness of the concept, its usefulness in the leisure environment, the knowledge of the background and the uncertainty of its future. The following paper aims to clarify these enigmas throughout a survey provided to subjects from different ages and provenance in which questions are carefully chosen with the finality of giving the best answer to them. Once the survey is completed, the results intend to provide both theoretical and practical insights. They demonstrate that, although there is a general idea of the concept of free tour and the majority of subjects have used it in the past, the knowledge of the hidden details in the background, that is the financing and the companies managing free tours, is insufficient. Nonetheless, the future for this model of business is promising and it is believed that it can become entrenched as a consolidated activity in the tourism sector.