Young travelers love guided tours, and agent sales are the most lucrative

The day-tour industry is evolving and thriving, thanks in part to young travelers seeking a new breed of in-destination activities offering culinary and other themed local experiences, according to a report by Arival, a company that studies the tours/activities sector.

And while the bulk of such tours are booked online, the report recommends that operators also establish relationships with traditional travel advisors to reach the highest-spending travelers.

“Travelers who book via a traditional travel trade channel, such as through a travel agent, are the most lucrative tour customers because they spend more than three times that of online bookers,” according to the report.

The report, “Why We Tour: Inside the Mind of the Modern Tour Taker,” is based on a September survey of 1,000 adult U.S. travelers who took at least one overnight trip more than 100 miles from home last year.

Forty-seven percent said they took some kind of guided day tour. And while the stereotypical image of a tour taker may be an older traveler, guided tours are actually more popular among travelers ages 18 to 34 than any other age group, Arival found.

Those younger travelers are driving a renaissance of sorts for the industry.

“Tours today look different than tours from 30 years ago,” the report says. “Conventional sightseeing is giving way to new, immersive experiences. They want to explore spice markets, kayak through pristine lagoons, and view the jungle from a zipline far above the canopy.

Arival said, “The future of touring is bright as long as operators are able to cater their tours to continue to attract younger generations of travelers.”

The bulk of activities are booked online. But the authors note “there are significant variations in booking method by the type of tour being booked. Tours of famous sites and museums are more likely to be booked online; more complex and expensive tour experiences, such as culinary and eco-tours, are more likely to be booked offline.”

Where and in what manner the traveler books also impacts their spending, the report says.

Travelers who book through advisors spend an average of $650 on tours and activities, compared to an average spend of $265 for bookings made on mobile phones, $188 for direct off-line bookings and $185 for those made on computers.

Arival was co-founded in 2017 by former Phocuswright senior researcher Douglas Quinby and partners Bruce Rosard and Alex Kremer to advance the tours, activities and attractions industry, which the group says is travel’s third-largest sector.