Trivago Partners With TUI For Attractions as Online Players Bulk Up
Skift Take
In addition to its new partnership with TUI, Trivago is betting on travel inspiration to spur nearby weekend getaways. From Tripadvisor to Google Flights and mostly forgotten travel startups, the prospect of both nurturing bucket list dreams and converting lookers into bookers has never worked out very well.
When various coronavirus lockdowns in Europe fade away, tours and activities operators will find an assortment of new distribution partners with the latest being hotel-searcher Trivago through a partnership with TUI.
The TUI-Trivago deal follows last week's announcement that Booking.com added Tripadvisor's Viator as an attractions provider. Booking.com, which opted last year to all but cease building its own tour business, partnered with TUI in 2020 in a deal that has parallels to the one that TUI and Trivago announced Tuesday.
It's difficult to see what the upside might be for travelers discovering tours and activities on Expedia Group-controlled Trivago versus Booking Holdings' Booking.com. A TUI spokesperson said both Trivago and Booking.com would both get access to the same roster of TUI source tours and activities.
However, a Trivago spokesperson said "the key benefit to Trivago users is the opportunity to integrate the offering into our existing and future products."
A new Activities section on Trivago's website will
