The travel value chain has finally begun to understand the opportunity to generate incremental revenue from in-destination tours, activities and dining, and the competition to provide these services has never been more intense. Phocuswright estimates that the global tours and activities market will reach US$183 billion by 2020. The competitive landscape is broad and fierce, ranging from traditional and online travel agents, to hoteliers, tours and activity aggregators, and the online powerhouse, Google. Given the fragmentation and competition in the in-destination activity space, who will ultimately be the victor?

Tours, activities and attractions is one of TripAdvisor’s fastest growing segments, and the company’s CEO has stated that “Things to Do” could be TripAdvisor’s next billion dollar category.

While the travel industry tends to be preoccupied with what’s happening in air and hotel, it’s the activities on the ground that inspire travelers to go places. Travel activities, the aggregate of in-destination spend on tours, activities, attractions and events, is the third-largest travel segment and accounts for 10% of global travel revenue. This report explores the state of travel activities to assess the market landscape, the challenges ahead and the opportunities for distribution in the broader travel marketplace.