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Christopher J. Falvey, Partner of Unique NOLA Tours

Christopher J. Falvey, Co-Founder of Unique NOLA Tours

What's your industry?

Travel and Tourism

How did you end up sitting where you are today?

Christopher J. Falvey is the co-owner of Unique NOLA Tours. Having a passion for everything New Orleans in the many decades before he moved to the city in 2006, he saw a need for more intimate experiences for the millions of tourists that come to the city. He soon found that to be more rewarding than the software development company he had founded in 2001. Christopher has two decades of experience building companies from the ground up in myriad sectors such as tourism, accounting, and the record industry.

What kind of work does your daily role involve?

I spend most of my day on inside sales for larger groups seeking private tours, as well I handle our marketing and outreach.

What gets you excited about your industry?

The thing that I love most is being able to give corporate groups something fun to be able to look forward to when coming to New Orleans

What's the best advice anyone ever gave you on your journey in business?

I've received the advice through a sort of osmosis... but understanding failure is such a common thing that you need to be able to quickly move on from failures, and never take them emotionally for more than a few minutes.

What's the most challenging project or situation you've overcome to date?

COVID! We're in tourism! Talk about existential threat! However being in the crosshairs of hurricanes, we have a plan for said existential threats. Just not so much the 2-3 year long ones.

Are you using any AI tools right now to help grow your business or, if not, do you plan to use any this year?

Yes, we've used AI imagery for some ads for our ghost tours. I've looked into AI text, but I don't feel right with not giving our authentic, human spin on anything I write.

Overall, do you see AI as a good thing for business?

Yes. This may be a bit reductive, but it is going to happen, it is going to be a major change on par with the internet itself (or, at least, a revolution such as all of social media within the confines of the internet.) Therefore the question can't be "is it good" but rather "it has to be good, because this will be how business is run."

Overall, do you see AI as a threat or an opportunity in business?

Opportunity. I come from the tech space, I ran a software company for the better part of two decades. Every revolution is a threat and opportunity depending on how you grasp it. So, it can only be an opportunity in my mind.