The short answer
A tourism business is worth what its maintainable earnings support: the profit that survives a full cycle of seasons and events, after a market wage for the owner. We found no reliable published multiple for Australian tour and experience operators, so this page quotes none. Whether the permits can pass to a buyer decides how much of that value is there to sell.
This page covers day tours, marine and charter tours and activity operators. Accommodation, and any business whose value is mostly land or buildings, is valued differently.
What multiple do tour and experience businesses sell for?
We can quote none reliably. We found no public source that publishes completed sale prices with the sales behind them, so the price is built from five things instead: permits, earnings history, booking channels, vessels and vehicles, and people.
| Factor | Pushes the price up | Pushes the price down |
|---|---|---|
| Permits | Long tenure; regulator agrees the transfer; access capped | Under a year to run; no exclusivity; buyer applies afresh |
| Earnings history | Five or more years of monthly records showing steady earnings | One strong year; thin records; income in a few weeks |
| Booking channels | Repeat and direct bookings; written trade agreements | Most sales through one or two platforms |
| Vessels and vehicles | Surveyed and maintained; no finance owing | Survey or refit due; heavy borrowing |
| People | Several skippers and guides | Owner is the sole skipper or the face of the brand |
How does a valuer treat seasons, weather and the COVID years?
The valuer replaces the latest year's profit with maintainable earnings built from five or more years of monthly bookings and revenue where records exist, so one strong season does not set the price. One-off income and one-off years are adjusted or removed with reasons stated, and government support received in COVID-affected years is separated out. Monthly data matters because holidays, wet seasons and event dates shape the year.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Tourism Satellite Account (December 2025 release) puts national tourism GDP, adjusted for price changes, at $71.1 billion in the year to June 2019, $39.5 billion in the year to June 2021 (about 44 per cent lower) and $78.7 billion in the year to June 2025. An operator's own path depends on its region and markets.
A valuer judges weather by how often it recurs. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority says cyclones and oil spills can severely degrade a tourism site, and a single-site operator cannot spread that risk.
Do permits and licences transfer when a tour business is sold?
Sometimes, and with the regulator's agreement. Whether a particular permit can legally transfer is a question for your lawyer or the regulator; a valuation records the position it assumes. Until a regulator approves, the buyer should treat the permit as unproven, because goodwill resting on a permit is worth paying for when the permit can follow the business. A share sale does not avoid the question under the Reef and South Australian rules below. Other regulators have their own rules.
- ·Great Barrier Reef Marine Park: the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority can approve a transfer applied for at least 20 business days ahead, unless the permission is suspended or about to expire, and must consider the buyer's suitability (Regulations 2019, sections 119 and 120). A company holder must report a change in who holds 50 per cent or more of its voting shares within 20 business days, and the Authority may then modify, suspend or revoke the permission if the company is unsuitable (sections 125 and 127).
- ·Great Barrier Reef terms: tourism permissions run up to eight years, or 20 for high standard tourism operations, so the years left set how long earnings can be counted on (Authority, 2026). Capped special permissions, usually in the Cairns, Hinchinbrook and Whitsunday areas, cannot be applied for in the normal way, may be acquired from an existing holder, and normally need an average of 50 days' use a year to continue (Authority, 2026).
- ·New South Wales: the holder of a 3-year, 5-year or selective Parks Eco Pass licence may apply to transfer it on a change of business ownership if more than a year of the term remains; a 1-year licence is not transferable, and licences are not renewed automatically (NSW handbook, 2026).
- ·Queensland: a Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service commercial activity permit may be transferred, but the buyer must apply and meet suitability requirements, and the seller must settle outstanding returns and payments first (Business Queensland, 2026).
- ·South Australia: a commercial tour operator licence cannot be assigned without prior written consent, at the regulator's absolute discretion, and a change in who controls a company licensee, or in 20 per cent or more of its issued capital, counts as an assignment (licence terms, 2026).
How are boats, vehicles and equipment valued in a tour business?
They are valued as plant and equipment, and the earnings are charged for survey, refit and eventual replacement. Where maintainable earnings barely exceed a fair return on the fleet, little goodwill sits above the fleet's value. A property valuer values any freehold depot or wharf-side premises, and the business valuation charges a market rent as an expense.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) says a certificate of operation for a domestic commercial vessel cannot be transferred, so the buyer applies for its own. A valid certificate of survey can be transferred to the new holder, an expired one cannot, and AMSA must be told within 14 days (AMSA, October 2026).
How do booking channels, insurance and key people affect the price?
Heavy reliance on booking platforms, thin insurance cover or a founder who is the product can each take money off the price. Each dollar booked through an agent is worth less to a buyer than a direct dollar, because commission comes off it and the buyer prices the risk that a platform changes its terms. The published guide from Tourism Australia, read in November 2026, lists commission of 10 to 15 per cent for online travel agents, 20 per cent for wholesalers and 30 per cent for inbound tour operators, as a guide; contracts set the actual rates.
National park licences require public liability cover of at least $10 million in New South Wales and South Australia (NSW handbook and SA licence terms, 2026), and a buyer checks the exclusions.
What should a seller have ready for a buyer?
A seller should have the permits, monthly records and vessel and insurance paperwork ready, because a buyer will want to see the permits early:
- ·Permit documents, conditions, expiry dates and regulator correspondence
- ·Five or more years of monthly bookings and revenue by channel, with commission and closures noted
- ·Vessel and vehicle register, survey and AMSA certificates, safety management system, maintenance, finance
- ·Insurance schedules, claims history, crew contracts, and forward bookings and deposits held
A worked example: normalising a day-tour operator
Illustration only: every figure is made up, including the multiple, and none describes a client. A day-tour operator with one vessel and an owner-skipper reports earnings before the owner's wage, interest, tax and depreciation of $240,000, $200,000 (a six-week cyclone closure), $260,000 and $420,000 over four years. The last year includes a one-off charter that added $120,000 to earnings, so it is restated to $300,000, and the four-year average is $250,000. The cyclone year stays in, because weather recurs.
A market wage for the skipper of $110,000 and $30,000 a year for survey and refit costs leave maintainable earnings of $110,000 ($250,000 less $110,000 less $30,000). At an assumed multiple of 3, the business is worth $330,000. The vessel and equipment are worth $150,000, so $180,000 rests on the permit and the brand. Using the record year alone ($420,000 less $110,000 less $30,000, times 3) would give $840,000. If the permit did not transfer, a buyer would be pricing the vessel, not the business.
When the number has consequences
A formal valuation is worth commissioning when someone else will test the number: a sale or purchase, a partner or shareholder buyout, a restructure or related-party transfer, a CGT event including the small business CGT concessions, or a deceased estate.
Oliver Group prepares independent valuations only. We are not a tax agent and do not give tax, legal or financial advice: your accountant and lawyer apply the valuation in their own fields. Reports follow the guidelines of APES 225 Valuation Services, and a report is not written to a predetermined number.
Oliver Group's fees are set by the annual turnover of the business: a Small Business Valuation is $1,495 + GST for turnover under $2 million, a Medium Business Valuation is $2,495 + GST for turnover between $2 million and $3 million, a Large Business Valuation is $3,495 + GST for turnover between $3 million and $10 million, and above $10 million the fee is quoted in writing before work starts. A small-business report is delivered in 2 business days and a medium- or large-business report in 3 business days; above $10 million the delivery date is agreed before commencement. Delivery time starts once payment and all required information have been received. The fee is fixed in writing before work begins and never depends on the concluded value.