Travel & Tourism Businesses for Sale in California.
The customer is already excited before they show up — what keeps buyers coming back to this category is finding exclusive permits and repeat group clients that lock in revenue before the season even starts.
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Featured Travel & Tourism Businesses in California
Showing 5 of 5 listings
Organic Winery & Olive Mill
Certified organic winery and olive mill operating at 20-30% of production capacity, with 1,000+ club members, a 30-acre event-ready property, and California olive oil demand outstripping supply.
Price-
Revenue$3.7M
EBITDA$231.6K
California’s Premiere Outdoor School Guides
Over twenty years of operating history in the Bay Area outdoor recreation market with a 25-person W2 team, diversified programming across surfing, climbing, and survival courses, and corporate retreat revenue representing a growth lever that could double weekday utilization.
Price$1.3M
Revenue$646.3K
EBITDA$117.9K
Gift Shop Souvenir Wholesaler
One of the largest souvenir importers and distributors in the United States, serving major landmarks, airport concessions, and tourist destinations with in-house designed products, $4-5M in inventory, and 50-70% gross margins.
Price-
Revenue$15M
EBITDA$2.5M
Lakeside Marina Resort & Recreation
A houseboat resort and marina on a major Northern California reservoir generating $4.6M in revenue with EBITDA climbing from $242k in 2024 to $765k in 2026, driven by houseboat rentals, watercraft rentals, an RV campground, and marina services.
Price$4M
Revenue$4.2M
EBITDA$652.6K
Fly Fishing Retailer
Decades-old fly fishing retailer with diversified revenue spanning online retail, guided adventures, private water leases, educational camps, and travel planning, generating $7M in revenue and $1.2M in annual cash flow.
Price-
Revenue$7M
SDE$1.2M
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Due diligence
What to Look For
Practical guidance from hundreds of real acquisition conversations.
Booking automation
- Look for businesses where customers can book, pay, and sign waivers through the website without anyone on the team touching the transaction.
- That level of automation is genuinely rare in experience businesses and means the company can handle more volume without adding headcount.
- Ask how much of total revenue flows through the automated system versus phone or email bookings that require manual follow-up.
- Automated booking also means forward revenue is visible early — you can see what's on the calendar before you close.
Permits and exclusive access
- Ask for a full list of permits with renewal dates and the transfer rules for each one.
- Permits for parks, waterways, or public land that few operators can obtain are one of the most valuable things you can buy in this category — they protect revenue and limit who can compete with you.
- Some parks and local agencies require a new application rather than a straightforward transfer, so confirming timelines early matters.
- Factor permit transfer timelines into your deal structure so nothing delays your ability to operate after closing.
Repeat group revenue
- School groups, corporate clients, and organizations that rebook annually give you forward revenue you can plan around.
- Ask how many of those groups came back last year and what the cancellation rate looked like.
- Multi-year relationships with institutional clients are worth more than individual bookings because they don't require re-selling every season.
- Ask whether any group clients have formal agreements in place, even informal ones, because that tells you how sticky the relationship really is.
Seasonal cash flow patterns
- Ask for monthly financials across at least two full years so you can see the seasonal pattern clearly.
- Look at how the business manages shoulder seasons — through corporate programs, deposits collected in advance, or diversified activities.
- Understanding when cash comes in versus when the big operating expenses hit tells you what working capital you'd need going into your first slow season.
- Businesses that have built off-season revenue streams into the mix are more predictable to run and more attractive to buyers.
Team and operations depth
- Ask whether guides and operations managers run trips and handle dispatch without the owner making the calls.
- A safety record built over many years tells you the procedures and training are real and documented, not just a binder on a shelf.
- Find out whether any key guides are tied specifically to the current owner and what the plan is for keeping them through a transition.
- A team that can crew up for peak season without the owner personally hiring every guide is a strong sign the business will transfer smoothly.
Valuation
What Should You Expect to Pay?
2x-4x
SDE
Owner-operated, seasonal revenue
4x-7x
EBITDA
With management team and year-round bookings
The spread is wide because permits, team depth, and booking automation can dramatically change how transferable the business is and how confident a buyer can be in the revenue continuing.
What drives a premium
Exclusive permits that limit competition from new entrants
Fully automated online booking, payment, and waiver system
Annual corporate and school group contracts with documented renewals
Operations managers who handle scheduling and trips independently
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Thinking About Selling?Read our owner's guide to selling a travel & tourism business, with valuation tips, buyer expectations, and step-by-step advice.
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