Online travel agencies (OTAs) are gaining traction in the booming tours and activities sector.
According to the State of Experiences report from Arival, 37% of bookings were attributed to OTAs in 2025, up from 33% in 2024 and 28% in 2023.
Tour and activity operators, however, reported a drop in bookings on their websites (down from 29% to 25%) and direct offline channels (down from 16% to 15%) from 2024 to 2025.
While walk-ups to ticket offices maintained the largest booking share for attractions (28%), Arival noted that OTAs also tripled their share in this category, growing from 8% in 2019 to 24% in 2025.
The data was collected from an online survey Arival conducted between August and November 2025. The survey was offered in six languages—English, French, German, Italian, Japanese and Spanish—with Arival receiving 5,664 “qualified responses” from operators and travel experiences companies.
The data suggests that operators need to be mindful of how they work with OTAs, leveraging them strictly as performance marketing channels for profitable sales, Arival said.
The report also recommended that operators develop a marketing strategy using AI and social media and work with rising players such as destination management companies, multiday tour operators and travel agents.
Marketing shifts
Arival also honed in on marketing, as most operators cited growing direct website bookings as their top tech priority. However, only 22% said they find their current strategies “very effective.”
Most of the focus is on social media and search, with organic Instagram, Facebook and Google/SEO flagged as the only channels used by a majority of surveyed operators. A third of tour and activity operators and half of attractions said they used SEM and paid social.
Operators of all categories and sizes are feeling the strain of AI’s effect on search, higher costs and changes in traveler discovery, Arival pointed out. Rising costs, specifically, “are pushing many operators toward greater OTA dependency by necessity.”
Arival reiterated the need to be strategic about OTAs and marketing, also recommending that operators prioritize AI in marketing and channel diversification. The company further encouraged operators to anticipate “higher acquisition costs and less predictable conversions.”