Skift Take
25 Moments that Mattered in 2015: To make our selection of 25 moments, we thought back to the stories that drove reader engagement and sparked discussion among both travel experts and the general public. Some stories were quick blips that represented bigger things while others were narratives that built slowly through out the year. Each one, though, spoke to where we are right now when it comes to the big business of global travel.
Tours and activities startups have spent nearly five years trying to live up to the promise laid out for them in widely mis-interpreted Phocuwright study that projected a $4.1 billion opportunity in the sector (which some read as $27 billion).
And although the peer-to-peer players flamed out and consumers still have yet to embrace any of the tours and activities startups, they are raising more money and seeing interest from larger digital players.
In November GetYourGuide raised an additional $50 million in a Series C round, bringing its total to $95 million raised. TripAdvisor is seeing its $200 million purchase of Viator begin to pay off as revenues from this business line grow. At Expedia, CEO Dara Khosrowshahi spent over $6 million to advertise Expedia’s tours offering, and told investors, too, that he was “Very excited about our tours business.”
Now we just need to see consumers show similar excitement.
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Tags: 25 moments 2015, getyourguide, tours and activities, viator
Photo credit: The European tours and activities site GetYourGuide raised an impressive round this year. GetYourGuide