NIGP 96180: Tour Guide Services

NIGP 96180 Tour Guide Services, an Item code, encompasses the procurement of organized guided experiences and transportation services for educational, recreational, and cultural tours operated by state and local governments. Recent state and local solicitations show the code capturing charter transportation, water-based tour operations, park tours, and study abroad program coordination—services where a government agency or educational institution contracts with a vendor to conduct structured, guided experiences for students, adult groups, or the public. The issuing bodies are diverse: city recreation departments, county solid waste and natural resource management agencies, county parks and facilities authorities, and public universities. Governments contract for tour guide services to leverage specialized expertise and dedicated transportation capacity while maintaining operational focus on their core missions—a pattern visible across park systems, environmental education facilities, and higher education institutions.

Recent activity spans Florida and Texas, with concentrated solicitations from Pinellas County (charter transportation for solid waste facility tours, ITQ 260749ITQ, due October 6, 2026), Sarasota County (commercial water-based charter boat and tour operator permits, IFB 262874FB, due August 18, 2026), the City of DeBary, Florida (park irrigation improvements involving tour coordination, IFB 0315, due April 10, 2015), and University of Houston-Downtown (faculty-led study abroad program in Spain and Portugal, RFP 784-27-2725, due September 1, 2026, with target budget approximately $4,000 per participant). Set-asides appear selectively: Pinellas County granted five-percent preference to Certified Small Business Enterprises bidding within the first five business days, while Sarasota County's permit program included no local or American business preferences due to grant funding constraints. Insurance requirements are substantial across opportunities, typically requiring commercial general liability of $1 million per occurrence, workers' compensation where applicable, and specialized marine or professional liability for water-based and education-focused operations.