Tours & Activities

In partnership with

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

Outdoor sports booking platform Captain Experiences reels in $2M

By Kathryn Walson | March 14, 2023

While the Austin, Texas-based startup is currently catering to the fishing and hunting verticals, it plans to expand across all outdoor sports and geographies. Read More

News / Startups

Travel startups consider cost of SVB collapse

By Linda Fox | March 13, 2023

News of SVB’s demise left the startup world reeling, with the bank said to work with more than 50% of U.S. startups and 40% of U.K. startups. Many feared they would be unable to make March’s payroll. Read More

Interview / Startups

STARTUP STAGE: Awai seeks to simplify travel booking with one-stop shop

By Kathryn Walson | March 13, 2023

The Melbourne-based startup says it saves consumers time, money and headaches during trip planning, while removing the need for travel agents. Read More

News / Startups

Wheel the World lands $6M to boost accessibility in travel

By Kathryn Walson | March 10, 2023

Founded in 2018, the San Francisco-based startup plans to expand its listings with the goal of having 12,000 travelers book through its platform by December 2024. Read More

News / Technology

TourConnect releases booking automation tool

By Derek Catron | March 9, 2023

The reservations-focused tool drastically reduces time spent manually processing email bookings by using intelligent technology. Read More

News / Online

When will travel agencies deliver the “Connected Trip”?

By Christian Watts - Magpie | March 6, 2023

Will it be Booking.com, Expedia or an AI startup that finally develops an app that helps you from the start of booking a trip until you get home again? Read More

News / Online

RocketRez acquisition adds AI tech to guest experience

By Kathryn Walson | March 3, 2023

TourOpp Go! says its chatbot technology automates communication between tourist attractions and ticket buyers. Read More

News / Startups

BinBin swoops up GO Sharing in micromobility consolidation

By Linda Fox | February 28, 2023

The deal gives Turkey-based BinBin a foothold in West Europe after its recent growth in Eastern Europe, but the two companies will operate separately. Read More

Interview / Startups

STARTUP STAGE: Travel platform Mapathink targets Southeast Asia

By Kathryn Walson | February 27, 2023

By disrupting the travel ancillary services market, Mapathink says it is looking at a huge addressable market. Read More

News / Startups

El Camino Travel raises $1.1M following pivot to focus on women travelers

By Mitra Sorrells | February 24, 2023

El Camino Travel says it will use the funding to further develop its technology and build awareness of its brand as a “premium marketplace for women travelers." Read More

News / Technology

Magpie launches new tool for tour operators built on ChatGPT

By Mitra Sorrells | February 23, 2023

Magpie's ChatGPT-based “product optimization tool” is intended to help tour and activity suppliers create better quality marketing content, including titles, descriptions, keywords and... Read More

News / Online

Viator accounted for more than one-third of Tripadvisor’s revenue in 2022

By Mitra Sorrells | February 14, 2023

Viator brought in $493 million in revenue in 2022, up 168% year-over-year, and more than half the $966 million in revenue brought in by Tripadvisor Core. Read More

From Our Partners / Online

ITB Berlin returns in-person for first time since 2019

By ITB Berlin | February 14, 2023

ITB Berlin returns to Messe Berlin March 7 to 9 with travel tech providers from more than 30 countries. Read More

destination marketing organizations redirect tourists 2

News / Online

Strategies destinations are using to disperse tourists

By Kathryn Walson | February 13, 2023

DMOs are using creative marketing strategies to nudge travelers to explore less crowded areas, but the effort also requires planning and support to ensure the dispersion doesn’t create problems of its... Read More