How to Turn What You Love Into Experiences People Will Pay For

Share your passions, connect with people, and fund your freedom one story at a time.

Pont Saint-Pierre, Garonne River, Toulouse

A couple of summers ago in Toulouse, my husband & I joined a free walking tour led by an American expat who’d clearly fallen in love with medieval France.

For 90 minutes he kept a group of thirty people completely captivated. He had stories, humour, history, the lot.

By the time everyone reached for their wallets, I did some quick maths. If he walked away with less than €500 I’d be amazed.

And that was just his morning tour. He had another one booked for the afternoon.

It struck me that day that experience and passion can convert to serious currency if you use it well.

And you don’t even have to be travelling to cash it in.

Whether you’re on the road, in your hometown, or living somewhere new for a while, experience-based income streams are one of the most rewarding ways to earn flexibly.

What Exactly Is an Experience Based Income Stream?

It’s when you take something you already know, love, or do, and turn it into an experience for others.

It could be walking tours, cooking classes, food tastings, local art workshops, language exchanges, photography walks, or even online sessions teaching a skill or sharing a story.

Instead of selling stuff, you’re sharing moments.

And you don’t need fancy branding or a studio. You can start from your kitchen, your garden, your favourite trail, or your laptop.

Why Experience Based Income Streams Work So Well

• Memories beat materials. People value a story, a laugh, or a moment of discovery far more than another fridge magnet.

• Low barrier to entry. You don’t need big startup costs. Often you can begin with nothing but your time and passion.

• Human connection. Decades of life, work, and people skills mean we’re often natural hosts, storytellers, and teachers.

• Portable by nature. Cooking classes in Thailand one season, food tours in Lisbon the next — you take your hustle wherever you go.

It’s a model that can grow or travel with you, whether it’s part-time, full-time, seasonal, or spontaneous.

Experience Ideas You Can Start Anywhere

You don’t need to live in Rome or Bali to make this work (unless of course you want to). Some of the best experiences are built around everyday life, especially when viewed through someone else’s eyes.

Local experiences:

• A “Secret Corners of Your City” walking tour

• Cheese, wine, or market tastings with local stories

• Garden-to-table workshops, craft classes, or photography walks

• History, architecture, or art tours focused on your passion

• Themed nights — language exchanges, supper clubs, or quiz evenings

Travel-friendly experiences:

• Walking & food tours – History, hidden gems, tapas crawls, wine tastings.

• Workshops & classes – Cooking, photography, painting, craft, dance, yoga, language.

• Adventure activities – Diving, surfing, hiking, cycling, sailing.

• Online experiences – Airbnb’s online platform has people teaching everything from pasta-making in Rome to meditation in Bali over Zoom.

• Day retreats – A mix of activities packaged into a half- or full-day experience.

Real-World Examples

Here are some great examples of experience based businesses that started simply as someone with a passion;

• Devour Tours (Spain, Italy, Portugal, France)
  An expat in Madrid started showing people around tapas bars. Today, it’s one of Europe’s best-known food tour companies — still built on culture, stories, and connection.
  👉 devourtours.com

• Fat Tire Bike Tours (Paris and worldwide)
  What began as one guy leading cycle tours in Paris has grown into a global brand. Even simple ideas like “bike around the city with a guide” can scale.
  👉 fattirebiketours.com

• Airbnb Experiences Hosts
  Thousands of individuals use this platform to turn passion into portable income: a Thai family teaching curry in Chiang Mai, a Japanese calligraphy master in Kyoto, a history buff in Mexico City leading walks through Frida Kahlo’s neighbourhood.
  👉 airbnb.com/experiences

• Phuket Cooking Academy (Thailand)
  A couple relocated to Thailand and built a thriving cooking school. It began with a love of food and culture, and now draws travellers from around the world.
  👉 phuketthaicookingacademy.com

• Sea Bees Diving (Phuket, Thailand)
  My good friends Holger & Helga. German expats who started with teaching scuba have built a well-loved dive company. At its heart, it’s still about sharing the joy of the ocean with travellers from all over.
  👉 sea-bees.com

• Mark Gray’s Photography Tours (Australia & beyond)
  An Australian photographer who runs sold-out workshops in Iceland, Norway, New Zealand, and at home. His tours combine travel, creativity, and tuition — showing how a skill-based hustle can go global.
  👉 markgray.com.au

How to Get Started

The smartest way into this world is to keep it simple. Start with what you know, what you enjoy, and what people already ask you about.

1. Choose your theme.

Think about what people naturally come to you for. Cooking tips, travel advice, creative projects, local stories.

Pick something that feels second nature. Cooking, culture, sport, art, wellness, or history all work beautifully, but it needs to light you up first.

2. Design a pilot.

Create one small, testable experience. It could be a two-hour walking tour, a morning photography class, or a half-day food workshop.

Keep it short enough to deliver easily but long enough to be memorable. Add one simple “wow” moment, like a secret spot, a tasting, or some kind of hands-on task that really gives it heart.

3. Pick a platform.

Use sites like Airbnb Experiences, WithLocals, Meetup, or GetYourGuide to list your offer. Each has its own audience:

• Airbnb Experiences suits visitors and travellers.

• Meetup or Facebook Groups work well for locals.

• Eventbrite is great for workshops or classes.

• Or go completely local. Put a flyer in your favourite café or post on community boards.

4. Test it live.

Run your first session with a small group, even if it’s friends, family or neighbours and free! Watch how people interact, note where they smile, ask questions, or seem unsure.

Afterwards, ask for honest feedback. What did they love, what would they change, what would make it worth paying more (or even paying for) next time?

5. Build reviews.

A handful of positive testimonials, ideally with photos, will do more for your bookings than any ad budget. Ask participants to share a quick comment or social post tagging you or your page.

Social proof builds momentum faster than marketing.

6. Refine and repeat.

Tweak timing, flow, and pricing until it feels effortless to deliver. Once you’ve nailed your first version, you can start offering variations, such as themed tours, advanced workshops, or seasonal events.

Keep what works, drop what doesn’t, and evolve naturally.

What About Legalities and Local Work Rules?

This is actually an important question (thanks to Pamela for asking, hence this update the the post.)

If you’re travelling, it’s worth knowing that most countries won’t allow visitors to earn from local work without the proper permit or licence. So before running any paid, in-person experiences, check what’s allowed under your visa or residency status.

That said, there are plenty of creative, legal, and respectful ways to do this kind of work as a nomad:

1. Partner with local operators.

Collaborate with hostels, cafés, coworking spaces, or licensed tour companies. You bring your skill or story; they handle local compliance and payment. Everyone wins.

2. Offer experiences through Airbnb or go fully online.

Platforms like Airbnb Online Experiences make it easy to teach or host remotely, from pasta-making classes to storytelling, photography, or meditation sessions.

Because payments are handled internationally, you can run them legally from almost anywhere (as long as you follow your own country’s tax laws).

Fully digital experiences work the same way — your clients pay online, you deliver via Zoom or another platform, and your income remains remote rather than local.

3. Keep it informal and collaborative.

Run small “community” activities or meetups where the focus is connection, not commerce.

You can take voluntary donations or collaborate with a local who handles bookings if you want to keep it casual.

4. Build at home, deliver abroad.

Test your idea where you already live legally. Once it works, you can scale by setting up a simple business in your home country, processing payments there, and hosting your experiences abroad for pre-booked clients.

This is how many photography, yoga, and creative retreat hosts operate — they sell and run everything through their home base while partnering with licensed locals overseas.

5. Choose nomad-friendly destinations.

Some countries (like Portugal, Croatia, or Costa Rica) have self-employment or digital nomad visas that allow limited local business activity. Others are stricter so always check before you set up shop.

6. Go all in and get the right permits.

If you fall in love with a place (like our walking tour guide clearly did in Toulouse!) and decide to stay, look into proper long-term visas, local business registration, or tour licences. It takes effort, but it opens doors and lets you build something sustainable.

There’s always a way to achieve your end result, you just need to be prepared to do the research and due diligence to make it happen.

The Freedom in Experiences

What I love most about this type of income stream is how it fits real life.

You can run a few tours a week for fun money, or build a full schedule that covers your living costs.

For nomads, it’s the perfect way to connect with locals and travellers alike. For home-based entrepreneurs, it’s a chance to turn your neighbourhood knowledge into income.

Beyond the money, experiences give you purpose. They keep you plugged into the places you travel through and bring you into contact with people you’d never otherwise meet. For many, that sense of connection is as valuable as the income itself.

This may not be a passive way to generate income, but if you love what you’re sharing it’s deeply fulfilling.

Your Turn

Think about one small experience you could create this month.

• Could you lead a walk around your favourite local spot?

• Host a Sunday lunch workshop for people new to your area?

• Teach something you’ve learned over the years — in person or online?

Pick one idea. Sketch it out. Tell a few friends. Then run it once, even if it’s free. You’ll learn more from that single real-world test than from weeks of planning.

At this stage of life, our goal is simple. To generate an income doing what we love and leave a little positivity behind while we’re at it.

Let me know what you’re building in the comments. I’m here to help! 😊

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