Articles tagged “tours and activities”

TUI/Musement's new strategic partnership with Booking.com has the potential to reshuffle the powers that be in tours and activities, especially in Europe. But TUI doesn't have a stellar track record in online offerings, and much of the promise will depend on its execution.

The recovery for sightseeing, attractions, and experiences is still in early stages in Europe and North America. But it is happening faster than expected in some segments and countries.

Tech innovator and industry leader Livn is doubling down on its API infrastructure to help re-normalize touring and travel activities in the post-pandemic world.

Tourism is now having its OCD moment in the face of the coronavirus. Will new sanitation protocols in the tourism sector buy peace of mind for travelers post-pandemic or usher in a new age of travel anxiety?

It is highly risky for Airbnb to pivot to compete directly as an online travel agency, and it needs to seriously think about whether its sharing model truly extends to the activity, experience provider because in reality it doesn't.

Operators of tours, activities, and attractions are taking a crash course in online classes, virtual tours, and digital souvenir sales. We doubt these efforts can fully replace the revenue of in-person experiences. Yet there are needs to fill. Many housebound people and remote teams could use the human connection, while many hosts are eager for income.

Whether building tours and activities or vacation rentals, acquiring companies soon find out that this stuff isn't as easy as it looked. From confidential internal documents obtained by Skift, it's clear Booking.com found out that scaling experiences on its own wouldn't be a cakewalk, and it's turning to Musement to kick off a preferred partnership strategy instead.

Direct bookings have been harder for smaller hotels and mom-and-pop tour operators to get than for the big guys. Still, tech providers, such as Sojern, Xola, and Destinia, aim to democratize online marketing tools.

Rather than boycotting travel to Myanmar entirely, a more responsible form of tourism would be to avoid unethical establishments while supporting good practices on the ground.

Tripadvisor is trying to squeeze more revenue and profits out of its newly restructured tours and activities business. There's a danger, though, that well-funded rivals might undercut Tripadvisor's efforts.