Tourism Profitability Coaching.

1:1. By someone who has run a tourism business.

I work with Australian tourism operators who know the business could be more profitable, more direct, and less reliant on whichever OTA is taking the biggest cut this year.

Over 20 years inside the industry. I work with the ProfiTune Business Analysis methodology — a system applied to more than 400 businesses over 30 years.

Start with the Tourism Business Health Check

See how I work with operators →

"Sarah truly understands tourism operators and tailors her strategies to deliver real results."
Clayton Priddle, General Manager, Hot Air Ballooning Cairns and Gold Coast

"Sarah truly understands tourism operators and tailors her strategies to deliver real results."
Clayton Priddle, General Manager, Hot Air Ballooning Cairns and Gold Coast

How I Work with Tourism Operators

How we help you become more profitable

Blue financial growth chart with bar graph, line graph, and magnifying glass.

Step 1: 
Diagnose for Clarity First

We review what’s really happening in your business, profit drivers, pricing, workload, systems, sales and performance to identify what’s holding you back.

A digital illustration of a clipboard with checkmarks next to three horizontal list items, some highlighted in purple.

Step 2:
Prioritise - A plan you can actually follow.

You get a clear, practical action plan with priorities for the next 30–90 days. So you stop trying to fix everything at once.

Blue bar chart with an upward trending arrow and a gear icon, representing growth and productivity.

Step 3:
Improve (Profit + systems + consistency)

We work with you to strengthen pricing, packaging, performance and operational structure so the business runs smoother and profit improves.

Silhouette of three people with a gear and arrow symbol, representing team management and growth.

Step 4:

Embed (Team capability + sustainability)
We train you and your team to confidently maintain what’s been built, so results stick and the business doesn’t fall back on you.

More profit. More control. Less overwhelm. A business you can grow.

Get Started : Complete the Free Tourism Business Health Check

"She helped us successfully launch our Jetboat sales, putting in place the right systems and strategies that immediately shifted our results."
Anthony Ardern, Managing Director, The Tour Collective

Two Ways To Work With Me

Which one is right depends on the size of your business.

Two women seated in conversation in a bright, modern lounge area with large windows, a grey sofa, a round wooden coffee table, and a tall, black floor lamp.

The Tourism Profit Program

Twelve weeks of 1:1 coaching with me. One hour a week on Zoom. Built around your Tourism Business Health Check results and the three goals we agree in week one. You finish week 12 with your own 12-month profit plan.

For tourism operators turning over up to $1M

$349 per session. Twelve sessions. Paid weekly.

Explore the Tourism Profit Program

Business Improvement Coaching

For tourism operators turning over $1M and above

The longer engagement I do with more established tourism operators. The pathway has four steps — Health Check, Profitability Clarity Call, Tourism Profit Review, then coaching. Built on the Business Analysis methodology, which I have refined for tourism based on over 20 years of experience.

Investment discussed individually after the Tourism Profit Review.

Explore Business Improvement Coaching

"Working with Sarah Colgate has been transformative for Hot Air Balloon Gold Coast & Cairns. Her deep tourism industry expertise and practical, results-driven approach helped us refine our sales channels, strengthen OTA and trade partnerships, and drive measurable growth in bookings and revenue.

Sarah truly understands tourism operators and tailors her strategies to deliver real results. We highly recommend her to any tourism business looking to increase sales, visibility, and long-term success.”

Clayton Priddle
General Manager - Hot Air Ballooning Cairns and Gold Coast

Group of people riding in a hot air balloon over a green landscape at sunset.

About Sarah Colgate

A woman with blonde hair and blue eyes smiling, wearing a pink sweater, with colorful books in the background.

I am Sarah Colgate, Tourism, Hospitality & Events Growth Specialist. I have spent over 20 years inside the tourism industry — not consulting about it, but inside it.  I ran Aquaduck Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, where I grew revenue 36% in 10 months, improved net profit per passenger 200%, and shifted online sales from 4% to 47% of turnover.


During COVID I went to bat for tourism operators — meeting with government ministers, politicians and key stakeholders to get help for the mum and dad operators who needed it. That experience confirmed what I had already seen — the financial fragility of most tourism businesses is structural, not bad luck. And it is fixable.

Learn more

Clients

  • A person ziplining over a lush green forest, wearing a blue helmet and safety gear.

    Tree Top Challenge

  • A couple in white clothing sharing a kiss on a sailboat during sunset with city skyline in the background.

    Sun Sailing Gold Coast

  • Logo of Redland City Council featuring a blue dragon with green and yellow accents and the text 'Redland City Council' below.

    Redlands City Council - Destination Redlands Coast

  • Clients of Sarah Colgate, showcasing successful Tourism Business Growth Strategies and transformation.

    The Tour Collective

  • Clients of Sarah Colgate, showcasing successful Tourism Business Growth Strategies and transformation.

    The Breakers Apartments

  • Clients of Sarah Colgate, showcasing successful Tourism Business Growth Strategies and transformation.

    Go Vertical Stand Up Paddle & Kayak

  • Clients of Sarah Colgate, showcasing successful Tourism Business Growth Strategies and transformation.

    Misty View Cottages Apartment

  • Clients of Sarah Colgate, showcasing successful Tourism Business Growth Strategies and transformation.

    Hot Air Balloon Gold Coast & Cairns

  • Clients of Sarah Colgate, showcasing successful Tourism Business Growth Strategies and transformation.

    Love The Spit

  • Montville Country Cabins

  • Living room with two white sofas, a black rug, a marble coffee table, a flat-screen TV, and ocean view through large windows

    Dorchester on the Beach

  • A group of people riding a green and black AEROJET speed boat on the water, wearing life jackets and enjoying the ride under a clear blue sky.

    Arro Jet Boating

  • Aerial view of a large white and blue yacht in water, with smaller boats nearby, and a pier with rectangular structures. The text overlay says "See More Ton" with blue wavy lines.

    See Moreton

  • A city skyline with tall modern skyscrapers along a waterfront, a blue and white boat on calm water, and a clear blue sky.

    HOPO Sightseeing Cruises

  • Group of four tourists standing by a stone railing overlooking the ocean, with a white tour van parked nearby on a sunny day.

    Oceania Tours Melbourne

  • Adventure Art Photography - Sarah Colgate Exceptional Experiences

    Adventure Art Photography

Frequently Asked Questions

  • It is the most common thing I see. You are booked out, the phone is running hot, and the bank balance still does not reflect the work. Almost always it comes down to product-level profit. You know your total revenue, but you do not know which tour or product is actually earning its keep once you take out the commission, the guides, and the cost of running a smaller-than-average group. One of them is usually carrying the others. Most operators have never calculated the contribution margin on each product at their average group size. That is the number worth finding first.

  • You do not fix OTA dependency by walking away from the platforms.

    You fix it by knowing what each channel actually costs you per booking, then shifting the mix on purpose.

    When I ran Aquaduck I moved online sales from 4% to 47% of turnover, and the point was never to ditch the OTAs.

    It was to stop letting them set the terms.

    The first step is a true cost-per-booking number for every channel you use. Most operators are surprised by which channel is really the expensive one.

  • No. I work with operators across two paths depending on the size of the business. If you are turning over up to $1M and still in the day-to-day, the Tourism Profit Program is the right starting point. If you are above $1M with a bigger team and bigger decisions ahead, Business Improvement Coaching is built for that. Either way, the starting point is the same: the free Tourism Business Health Check, then a Profitability Clarity Call with me.

  • I have been the operator, not the consultant who studied it from the outside. I have owned and run tourism businesses for over 20 years. I carried the risk, made the payroll, and paid the OTA commissions, same as you. I work in real numbers, in your language, on your business. That is the difference.

  • The free Tourism Business Health Check. It takes about ten minutes and it tells us both where your business actually stands. From there we have a Profitability Clarity Call. No pitch, no report. Just a clear picture of where you are and what is worth fixing first.

    Take the free Tourism Business Health Check