TripAdvisor signals importance of tours and activities with TV ad launch

TripAdvisor is trying a new strategy to encourage travelers to book tours and activities on its platform.

Across the United States, TripAdvisor is now running a series of television ads to promote its Experiences business.

The ads will show TripAdvisor’s “spokes-owl Little Wiser” enjoying some of the platform’s bookable experiences in New York and New Orleans, such as a bike tour of Central Park and a cooking class in New Orleans.

The launch of the ads to push Experiences follows a similar strategy in recent years to invest in TV campaigns - a program that was originally designed to highlight its hotel business.

The moves comes in the same year as TripAdvisor's concerted effort to ramp up its technical provision in the sector through the acquisition of Bokun.

“We’ve seen steep growth in our Experiences business over the last two years, and yet nearly 80% of tours, activities and experiences bookings travelers make still happen offline,” says Dermot Halpin, president of Experiences and Vacation Rentals at TripAdvisor.

“We’re launching an Experiences-dedicated TV advertising campaign to let travelers know there’s a better way. On TripAdvisor, they can discover and book the world’s largest selection of things to do, avoid the lines and get the flexibility they need to have a fantastic vacation with our 24-hour cancellation policy.”

TripAdvisor says it has more than 120,000 bookable experiences live on the site. The ads are running across a mix of media outlets in the U.S.

Last month, the company unveiled its plans for a social network to allow users to connect with fellow travelers as well as publishers and influencers.