Tour Operator

PhocusWire's in-depth coverage of the tour operator sector, featuring news, analysis, interviews, research and more on the brands in multi-day, single-day and packages, including their strategies, executives and positions in the market.

News / Distribution

TUI eyes tours and activities opportunities, makes progress on digital platforms

By Linda Fox | August 16, 2019

TUI is not ruling out further acquisitions in the tours and activities space as it looks to grow its holiday experiences division further. Read More

Interview / Online

STARTUP STAGE: GreatGuides wants adventure travel guides to control their own destiny

By Jill Menze | August 6, 2019

GreatGuides is a marketplace to connect adventure travelers with adventure guides. Guides create and control their itineraries and pricing and keep up to 90% of trip fees. Read More

News / Online

Two-decade-old hotel website LateRooms faces financial collapse

By Linda Fox | August 2, 2019

The LateRooms brand, which is part of the Malvern Group and is currently facing financial difficulties, has somewhat of a checkered back story. Read More

News / Technology

Travelport sells Travelwire brand to Dolphin Dynamics

By Linda Fox | July 17, 2019

U.K-based Dolphin Dynamics is looking to boost its presents in the Nordics through the acquisition of Travelwire from Travelport. Read More

Flywire payment complexities tours and activities

News / Online

Q&A: Payment complexities in the growing tours and activities sector

By Mitra Sorrells | June 28, 2019

Flywire's Colyn Smyth discusses some of the challenges related to payments in the tours and activities space. Read More

News / Technology

Getting out of the way of "innovation" in travel

By Linda Fox | June 26, 2019

Amazon Web Services believes the travel industry is stuck in silos and an “old way of thinking about IT”, with disparate systems that don’t talk to each other. Read More

News / Startups

Duffel raises $21.5M for yet-to-launch distribution platform

By Jill Menze | June 21, 2019

Benchmark, which has invested in companies including Uber, Twitter and Snap, led the Series A round, with participation from Blossom Capital and Index Ventures, which participated in Duffel’s $4.7... Read More

News / Online

Airbnb gets into multiday tours game with launch of Airbnb Adventures

By Jill Menze | June 13, 2019

The adventures, numbering more than 200 at the outset, are available either exclusively to Airbnb or provided by small local operators. Read More

Opinion / Technology

Will sightseeing buses be first to globally scale with autonomous vehicles?

By Alex Bainbridge - Autoura | June 12, 2019

Robo-taxis are a fool's errand. Instead, delivering experiences such as sightseeing via autonomous vehicle makes for a better near-term strategy. Read More

News / Online

VIDEO: Booking.com on its buy or partner strategy for experiences

By Kevin May | June 10, 2019

Booking.com's semi-official entry into the tours and activities sector was notable for many things - not least why did it take so long. Read More

Interview / Technology

In The Big Chair - Jason Morehouse of Checkfront

By Kevin May | June 7, 2019

Since launching in June, 2010, Checkfront has grown from a humble operation in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, to a business that processes over $1 billion in bookings annually, made by tour and... Read More

News / Online

Google shuts Trips app, everything migrates to broader Google Travel platform

By Kevin May | June 6, 2019

The search giant quietly updated the app's help page this week to reveal support for the product will cease after almost three years in the market. Read More