Travel Megatrends 2017: Tours and Activities Are Finally Coming Into Their Own
Skift Take
Airbnb’s entry into the tours and activities market certainly brings the sector to the fore. If Airbnb sticks with a strategy to curate its tours and activities, going with unique and off-the-beaten-path experiences, then that is still important for the sector given Airbnb’s scale, but self-limiting. Competition is certainly a healthy thing and all the players will have to up their games.
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Earlier this month we released our annual travel industry trends forecast, Skift Megatrends 2017. You can read about each of the trends on Skift, or download a copy of our magazine here.
Download Your Copy of Skift Megatrends 2017
Big travel brands, including TripAdvisor, Airbnb, Google, Expedia, and to a lesser extent, Booking.com, are finally embracing online bookable tours and activities, signaling that the sector is finally becoming a focal point for the largest online travel companies.
For example, TripAdvisor's non-hotel segment — including vacation rentals, restaurants, and attractions — grew 35 percent in the third quarter of 2016 to $101 million, while TripAdvisor's hotel segment, which is more than three
