We had the good fortune of connecting with Sean McPartlan and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sean, have you ever found yourself in a spot where you had to decide whether to give up or keep going? How did you make the choice?
I made the difficult decision to essentially give up on my travel business, Talk to a Local, because of the pandemic. As international travel came to a screeching halt last year due to COVID, I had to take a step back and consider the long-term implications to the travel industry and whether I should stay the course and hope for a quick recovery of travel or pivot and explore new opportunities.

I decided to pivot the business and focus more on domestic travel, specifically Atlanta tourism, rather than international travel. I am excited to announce my newest entrepreneurial venture, ATL Tours, which offers historical walking tours of Downtown Atlanta. There is so much rich history in the buildings and stories of downtown and I am excited to share that history and my love of this city with visitors and locals alike.

It was not an easy decision to wind down the business that I worked so hard to develop, but it came down to understanding the market dynamics and opportunities and finding a way to still pursue my passions for travel and meeting new people while also being flexible and adapting to the post-COVID world.

If you are new to Atlanta, have friends or family visiting, or just want to learn more about the city you call home, feel free to join me on a Downtown Atlanta walking tour! You can learn more and book a tour at the website, ATLtours.com. I hope to see you soon!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My passion for travel has intensified over time. While a student at Georgia Tech, I had the opportunity to participate in a study abroad program in Europe. That experience planted the seed for my love of travel and my desire to meet people from different backgrounds and cultures. After graduating, I accepted a job at Delta Air Lines, due in large part to the ability to continue to travel and see the world. That position enabled me to travel to over 30 countries and live as an expatriate in Paris for two years. I left Delta in 2018 to start a travel company of my own. I had to put that business on hold due to COVID and am now working as a consultant but I am excited to pick up my entrepreneurial endeavors through ATL tours! It has been a bit of an unconventional career path thus far, but I am excited about continuing to find ways to do what I love, even in the face of curveballs like COVID.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
As someone passionate about the history of Atlanta, I would want to share some of the interesting and quirky history of Atlanta with a friend in town. I would want to take them to the Castleberry Hill and Downtown areas where the city of Atlanta was first established. There’s lots of cool tourist spots in those area but I would make sure to check out an Atlanta United or Falcons game at Mercedes Benz Stadium and then grab a drink at the rooftop bar of the new Reverb hotel. I would want my friend to get a feel for Atlanta’s great beer scene so trips to some of the breweries – Scofflaw, New Realm, Best End, Monday Night, etc. – would be on the schedule. No trip to Atlanta is complete without a visit to Ponce City Market and a stroll on the BeltLine so I would add that to the itinerary, perhaps adding in a picnic at Piedmont Park to fully appreciate the “city in the forest”.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to give a shoutout to Epperly Travel, an Atlanta based travel agency. Lindsey and Jeremy at Epperly were helpful in providing advice and guidance as I developed my travel business. They were selfless with their time and their passion for what they do was evident in my discussions with them. If you are planning those post-COVID vacations and looking for a friendly, knowledgeable travel agency, go check them out!

Website: ATLtours.com

Image Credits
Cameron Venti

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