Articles tagged “tours and activities”

Here's an unorthodox thought in business: TripAdvisor CEO Steve Kaufer knows that the company's value proposition for its customers can remain strong even when the financials face difficulties every once in a while. That's a truism that sometimes gets lost when pundits focus merely on stock price variations.

Overtourism is a struggle facing many destinations. Companies like Evaneos, which connects travelers with off-the-beaten-track tours and activities, may go some way to addressing the issue.

These days, not all experiences are created equal. In-depth, time-consuming, even taxing activities will actually do the word "experience" justice, though they may not attract the mainstream.

Don't you just love those proverbial tuck-in acquisitions? Booking Holdings didn't break the bank for either HotelsCombined ($140 million) or FareHarbor ($250 million). Sometimes making smaller bets is a much smarter strategy than gargantuan deals, but only time will tell.

Given its new lofty valuation of more than $1 billion, Klook has become too expensive for most online travel companies to justify as an acquisition. But would a possible IPO within a few years be successful?

The vast majority of tours and activities are still being booked offline the old-fashioned way, so theoretically, the digital players can each have their piece of the pie.

The latest investment comes just in time for Peek, a maker of enterprise software. Its rivals FareHarbor and Bokun have recently been snapped up by larger acquirers Booking Holdings and TripAdvisor. Clocks are ticking.

GetYourGuide is betting that travelers will prefer to book GetYourGuide-branded tours over locally branded ones. This diagonal integration echoes marketing moves made by Oyo in hotels and RedAwning in lodging rentals. But will it work?

Everybody wants a piece of the tours and activities sector, but how easy is it going to be to migrate all those businesses that currently operate offline to online?

As we've said repeatedly: Everyone wants a piece of tours and activities, but not everyone can be successful. Royal Caribbean Cruises tried something different for a cruise company with GoBe, but the space was crowded.