As the CEO of Empire Tours and Productions, Steven Garcia is currently overlooking the expansion of his company into the European market. This is a great leap forward for a tour company — where he’ll look to expand the company’s offer of eco-friendly city tours. “We can estimate based on our visitor numbers for our walking tours that by operating walking tours instead of bus tours just our company alone has eliminated over 5,000 hours of bus carbon emissions a year,” he says.
Steven has come a long way from shucking oysters as a kid for four dollars an hour. He grew up in New Orleans where his family lived paycheck to paycheck and money was always tight. His parents worked extremely hard as a waiter and teacher, and he learned to be just as hardworking at the ripe age of 12.
Steven’s life took a turn when he finished college and decided to move, with his wife, to Taiwan to teach English. “Because you could go there and it paid good money, back then it was really cheap. This was in the happy days of China. Nobody was worried. We were all friends back then,” Steven recalls.
After randomly meeting some affluent people, Steven impressed them with the knowledge he accumulated in research before the move. They suggested Steven give leading walking tours a try. He did, and it went well; too well to ignore. Soon after, he had a nice influx of customers coming from Hong Kong. He found himself immediately interested in eco-tourism and began to develop his company by building a hostel in a small aboriginal village located on the remote east coast of the island, on a tropical beach in the rainforest.
Steven was soon forced to pivot once again. His son was diagnosed with autism, and he opted to sell his company and relocate back to New Orleans.
“I had gotten back there, and at that time, my forte was more like high-end luxury tourism, and we still do a lot of that,” he says. “But from dealing with those super rich colonials, I was very good at high-end tourism, and just walking around New Orleans, I got a feel, and I realized that. I see these really ugly buses picking up at the Ritz-Carlton and stuff. I see the niche. So I had an idea.”
It didn’t take him long to develop a seven-figure business, going so far as to organize private events for celebrities. The city and state lacked the quality of service for his son. The issue became more pressing and Steven decided the best thing to do for his family was to relocate to Chicago.
Up there, things were different, Chicago had a monopoly of tours. It was non-profit and challenging to compete with. But Steven found a way by leveraging the changing tides in local businesses and his relationship with big tech companies.
“Our whole industry has changed in the last decade to tech. So, 90% of business ten years ago, you got all your business from hotel contracts and time share contracts, travel agents, concierge, and all that. Now, 99% of business is Google, AirBnB, TripAdvisor, or Expedia,” he explains.
With the Chicago Gangsters and Ghosts tours being a hit, Steven and his company eventually expanded into New York and Charlseton. He also has operations based in Appalachia and Wisconsin, but the tours serve a different purpose there. The purpose of operations in these locations offer a slower shift in pace, a rural taste that’s closer to nature. And with the latest expansion into Europe, Empire Tours and Productions are looking to develop even more eco-friendly options for people who want to see big cities.
“We primarily cater to individuals who seek unique and immersive experiences,” Steven says. “Our target audience consists of people who desire more than just a generic bus tour. We understand the importance of providing an enriching and authentic experience, and that has always been our focus.”
