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About Real Rome Tours

Real Rome Tours was begun in 2007, as a response to a growing need in the market for an honest tour operator, which would look after the needs of its clients ahead of its own. The market had become overcrowded, mostly with illegal “companies”, which did have a tour operator licence, did not use licenced tour guides, did not register as a legal entity and so did not pay taxes or insurance for their groups. Therefore, there was a great risk to the millions of visitors to Rome each year, who were unaware of the true nature of these online fraudulent companies, and the risks they unwittingly undertook when booking tours with them.

Because of the competitive nature of the industry, legal and properly-run companies were unable to match the tour fees charged by the illegal companies, who obviously did not have the expenses normally associated with running a proper tour operator business. They thrived while the legal companies suffered, encouraging many to abandon their policies of honesty and customer care, instead looking for ways of cutting costs so as to remain competitive.

When we entered this market in 2007, we decided from the beginning to do everything by the book, and also outlined a series of policies that we would always remain faithful to. These were; to listen to the customer and put them first always, to keep groups small and interactive, and to deal with customers on a one-to-one basis. We have always remained true to these objectives, and will continue to do so. While we have had to cut down on certain expenses in order to remain competitive on price, none of these costs have a direct effect on our operation; for example, we make a major saving by not having an office in the centre of Rome, but handling all of our bookings by email and phone. While this means that we do not have a walk-in office, it also allows us to keep our costs, and therefore our fees, as low as possible.

We are a small company, therefore, with a small team of friendly, professional and qualified guides. When you phone or email us, you will most likely speak to me, Gerard, the manager of the company! I handle all administrative and organisational details, and let the guides do what they do best, teach!

So, enough about us, please read on to see how we arrange our tours …