Industrial tourism as a special interest niche is represented on the market by relatively few packaged offers, each individualized by its supplier. We analyzed the supply (resulting from search engines), according to the mix of objectives (attractions), the duration of the program and the touristic services.
Some local and regional tour operators, especially in the developed countries with industrial heritage of value (Germany, UK and Japan among the most obvious), are packaging industrial attractions with guided tours. Usually these tours last for a few hours, less than a day.
Ruhr Metropolis Tour Operators
Geocaching Tours with a Helicopter
Same as the above, the usual attraction mix formula is industrial (heritage, less active factory tours) and cultural (cities, history, architecture). Even if having a common origin and basis of interest, soft adventures supported by technical means such as helicopter, balloon flights, air boat rides, etc. aren’t usually offered in the same package or by the same operator.
There are also some dedicated industrial tour offers too, up to 15 days in length, like those offered by Unique British Tours.
The educational tour operators are also approaching industrial tourism attractions, usually in mix with science and culture.
Academic Travel Abroad
Smithsonian Journeys
Extremely rare are the dedicated tour operators like Heritage of Industry Ltd.
Also, in the creative niche, as art or crafts educational or leisure tourism, offers can be found either directly from the creative industry or from artists, or packaged by tour and cruise operators.
Andean Origins
Anglia Leisure Learning
Montefeltro Arts and Crafts
Terry Flynn Tours
Art Cruises
The large majority of these offers are group tailored offers, mostly for small groups.
On the industrial niche, services, advisory for FIT (free independent tourism) and attraction mix with creative tourism is practically absent, exception making the Japanese market which has more offers on all these subjects.
FIT services
Industrial Tourism in Japan
Creative Workshops Kyoto
Based onthe opportunities partially revealed by this analysis, and not less on our expertise and love for the subject, we launched the VisitFactories website. Our services are targeting the industrial and creative tourism, FIT and small group market with geographic interest on Europe (Central, Eastern) and the USA. The science, space, submarine and motorsports adventures accessible to the public, the heritage tours and the drive tests offered are other attractions completing our packages.
We started presenting the most relevant attraction mix of our database under the form of sample 8-14 days industrial – cultural tours and creative vacations in or around the same geographic areas. For the covered areas we can also recommend or supply all the other necessary travel solutions to our customers (transportation, accommodation, restauration, shopping, soft adventures, and main cultural and natural attractions).