Tours & Activities

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PhocusWire's in-depth coverage of the tours, activities and activities sector is produced in partnership with Arival, the essential resource for the in-destination experiences industry.

News / Online

Warning: the big challenges for anyone involved in P2P tour and activity marketplaces

By Alex Bainbridge | August 28, 2013

There has been plenty of coverage in recent months about the development and fate of person-to-person online marketplaces in the travel industry - not all of it particularly positive. Read More

News / Online

Vayable pivots from guide marketplace to trip concierge

By Sean O'Neil | August 23, 2013

The US-based startup has unveiled its revamped website, which emphasizes its June pivot from being a destination tours and activities marketplace to a custom tours and vacations search engine.... Read More

News / Online

Reality check - local tourism is not ready for mobile payments

By Stephen Joyce | August 15, 2013

I recognize that as a technologist it's easy for me to get caught up in the latest and greatest new technologies and apparent innovation sweeping across the industry. Read More

News / Online

Poshvine wants to become the social travel concierge for things-to-do in a destination

By Karthick Prabu | August 9, 2013

A recent addition to the tours and activities sector is India-based PoshVine, a company that provides in-destination experiences to travellers. Read More

News / Online

Guidexplorer links travelers to tour guides, providing an online sales platform for guides

By Nick Vivion | July 15, 2013

A new startup called Guidexplorer is tackling the tour guide challenge by creating space for both guides to sell their services and travelers to secure services directly online. Read More

News / Online

How much is on the table with destination services for travel companies? [Hint: it's huge]

By Kevin May | July 2, 2013

A study by Euromonitor estimated the total leisure spend on travel and destination-related products was a massive Euro 2.5 trillion during 2012. Read More

News / Online

Indiescapes wants to bring local authenticity to travel and banish the boring trip

By Karthick Prabu | June 21, 2013

Are the regular tourist destinations boring? Travellers want something more than that and they need authentic local experiences? Read More

News / Online

TourRadar woos ex-Expedia CEO as part of angel investment round to boost consumer tools

By Kevin May | June 10, 2013

Former Expedia CEO Erik Blachford is one of a number of big names putting some angel investment into tours and activities service TourRadar. Read More

Here's the first iPhone app for finding tour guides: LocalGuiding

By Sean O'Neil | June 6, 2013

LocalGuiding says its new iPhone app is the world's first for finding and hiring local guides. The slick but simple app lists about 4,000 guides in more than 100 countries. Read More

News / Online

Seismic shift: Airbnb will let hosts sell tours and activities

By Kevin May | May 1, 2013

Airbnb was essentially always about being a marketplace to let home-owners earn some extra money by renting out a spare room or an entire property. But the model is slowly evolving. Read More

News / Online

No need to cry about the Berlin startup scene after the GetYourGuide-Gidsy deal

By PhocusWire | April 30, 2013

Last week news arrived that Gidsy, the de facto poster-child of the Berlin startup scene was being acquired and subsumed by fellow Berlin travel experience platform GetYourGuide. Read More

News

Done deal: GetYourGuide buys Gidsy

By Kevin May | April 24, 2013

More interesting moves in the tours and activities wing of the industry as GetYourGuide makes its first acquisition and snaps up fellow European startup Gidsy. Read More

News / Online

Gunyah tour distribution service closes down, WHL pledges to relaunch it with new focus

By Kevin May | April 7, 2013

Despite just 12 months ago there being talk of a pretty confident future ahead, tour distribution platform startup Gunyah has shut its doors - temporarily, at least. Read More

News / Online

Zozi captures $10 million funding round, threatens more disruption in the activity sector

By Kevin May | April 4, 2013

Almost two years since bagging a $7 million series B funding round to boost its then local deals business, Zozi has secured another $10 million from some of its original investors and a string of... Read More