The Tour Guy studies how people really travel, drawing on our own traveler surveys as well as outside data sources. Our research covers everything from whether travelers want day trips to which museums they rate highest. This page gathers all of our studies in one place, and each one shares its key findings and sources. Journalists and writers are welcome to cite our findings with attribution.
Who We Are
The Tour Guy began in 2008, when co-founder and CEO Sean Finelli left his Wall Street career to explore his cultural roots in Italy and started guiding travelers across Rome, earning the nickname “The Roman Guy.” In 2012, licensed tour guide and linguist Brandon Shaw joined as co-founder, and the company expanded to Florence, Venice, Milan, Paris, London, Barcelona, and beyond, officially becoming The Tour Guy in 2019. Today we run owned and partner tours in cities across Europe and are expanding into the USA.
Why We Do This Research
Both of our co-founders started out as tour guides, which gave them a front-row view of what frustrates travelers and what makes a trip worth it. Our research applies that same instinct at scale: instead of guessing what travelers want, we ask them.
- Data you can trust. We combine our own traveler surveys with outside sources, and every study shows where its numbers come from.
- Questions travelers actually ask. We study the decisions people struggle with most, like whether a day trip is worth a day out of the city.
- Insight from the industry. We run tours every day, so we can add context that a standalone poll can’t.
Discover Our Recent Work
Browse our latest studies below. Each one answers a question we hear from travelers all the time.
Europe’s 15 Best Museums for American Travelers, Ranked
Our new ranking of 47 of Europe’s most visited museums, based on U.S. Google searches, visitor ratings, and the ticket prices Americans pay, shows that the museums worth building a trip around aren’t always the busiest.
Key findings:
- The Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel take #1, with 46% more U.S. searches than the Louvre.
- The Louvre has the strongest satisfaction score in the ranking: 4.7 stars across 378,000+ Google reviews.
- 6 of the top 15 museums are free, and 5 of them are in the U.K.
- Paris and London lead with 3 museums each in the top 15.
- Krakow’s Wawel Royal Castle gets 1/48th of the Vatican’s U.S. searches but has the third-highest satisfaction score.
85% of Travelers Take Day Trips as Bookings Grow 110%
Our September 2026 survey of travelers who visited Europe in the past 12 months, paired with our own booking data, shows day trips are booming as travelers adapt to crowded city centers.
Key findings:
- 85.4% of travelers take day trips when visiting a destination.
- Day trip bookings are up 110.7% year over year.
- 64.9% go to see the countryside, seaside, and natural landscapes.
- One in four day trips sold in 2026 is a brand-new experience.
- Sintra, the Tuscany villages, and Mont-Saint-Michel are the fastest-growing day trips.
93% of Travelers Say Logistics Keep Them From Relaxing
Our 2026 Travel Logistics Study of leisure travelers shows that planning, not choosing where to go, is now the biggest source of travel stress.
Key findings:
- 93% of travelers say logistics reduce their ability to relax while traveling.
- 55% name transportation as the most stressful part of a trip.
- Another 37% point to moving between destinations as the biggest challenge.
- 74% are more likely to book when travel logistics are simplified.
More Resources
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Latest From The Tour Guy
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Continue Reading How To Visit the Crown Jewels in the Tower of London: Tickets, Tips & Tours
Best Crown Jewels Tours to Take in London & Why
The best Crown Jewels tours in London make one of the city’s top sights easy to enjoy. Inside the Tower of London, the Imperial State Crown and the Sovereign’s Sceptre sit behind thick glass, and they look even better in person than in photos. A moving walkway keeps the line flowing past the main display,…
Continue Reading Best Crown Jewels Tours to Take in London & Why
