Our Story
Building content management solutions for the tours and activities sector of the online travel industry.
Christian Watts
Founder & CEO
Magpie Travel is a San Francisco-based company focused on building content management solutions for the tours and activities sector of the online travel industry. Our goal is to streamline the distribution of product content, allowing tour operators and their partners to work more efficiently.
The Beginning
Christian Watts founded the company in 2019 after years of experience as a tour operator himself. As the founder and CEO of City Sightseeing San Francisco, he saw firsthand the challenges of managing and distributing product content to multiple online resellers. The process was time-consuming and inefficient, leading to a fragmented system where content was difficult to maintain.
Recognizing the need for a better solution, Christian began developing the idea for an independent content management system. This platform was designed to simplify content management for tour operators and create a more efficient distribution channel for their partners.
Our Team
Christian Watts
Founder & CEO
Former founder and CEO of City Sightseeing San Francisco. Christian brings years of hands-on experience as a tour operator to Magpie.
Chris Lovatt
Operations & Technology
Over 20 years in the sightseeing industry spanning sales, operations, and group travel. Previously led operations for a major hop-on hop-off brand in San Francisco before moving into travel technology.
Sarah Nielsen
Partnerships & Growth
Decades of experience in the OTA space, having held account management and destination launch roles at global brands including Expedia, Booking.com, and Orbitz.
Our Founding Team & Investors
We are fortunate to have the support of experienced professionals in the travel and technology sectors who believe in our vision.
Rod Cuthbert
Investor & Advisor
Founder of the online travel agency, Viator.
Kei Shibata
Investor
Co-founder of Venture Republic.
Kenichi Shibata
Investor
Co-founder of Venture Republic.
Our team also includes Jordan Digby, a key technical leader who previously served as the original CTO of Viator. His expertise helps us build a robust platform tailored to the industry's specific needs.
From the perspective of a reseller, Rod understood the difficulty of onboarding quality products. He saw the need for a system that would reduce the administrative burden for all parties involved, leading to more efficient collaboration across the industry. Our platform aims to be that solution, benefiting both operators and their distribution partners by creating a centralized and reliable source for content.
Ready to see what Magpie can do?
Join the tour operators and resellers already using Magpie to simplify content management and distribution.