Travel’s third-largest sector faces its defining decade

While in-destination experiences keep growing at rates faster than the overall travel industry, there are still many issues to solve before becoming fully digitized, organized and profitable. But one look at the addressable market indicates huge potential for the next decade and beyond according to Phocuswright and Arival’s latest research report, The Outlook for Travel Experiences 2019-2029. How the sector embraces these opportunities to build rich, sustainable businesses will define its future.

• Experiences reached $271bn in 2025, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and growing faster than the broader travel industry
• The sector is projected to exceed $340bn by 2029, with an 8% nominal CAGR from 2023–2029 – compared with 5% for travel overall
• Online channels are scaling rapidly, rising from 17% of bookings in 2019 to a projected 42% by 2029
• OTAs are the fastest-growing channel, with gross bookings expected to increase more than fivefold from 2019 to 2029
• The sector is still significantly under-digitized, with just 33% of gross bookings taking place through online channels in 2025, compared to 64% for the global travel industry

The Outlook for Travel Experiences 2019-2029 is part of a joint research project with Phocuswright and Arival. Learn more about Arival here.

Research Project Sponsor: Civitatis

Civitatis is the leading global marketplace for tours and activities in Spanish and Portuguese. With a curated catalog in 4,200+ destinations and 5 million verified reviews, it connects 1.2 million travelers monthly with top-tier experiences. As the industry benchmark for Spain and Latin America, its mission is to "fill the trip" for millions worldwide.

Key questions addressed by this report include:

• How is the global experiences sector evolving from recovery to sustained expansion? Which regions and categories are gaining momentum, and what structural forces are reshaping demand?
• How quickly is distribution shifting online, and what does that mean for operators, OTAs and direct channels?
• What operational and economic challenges continue to limit scale and profitability in this fragmented market?
• How will technology — including AI-driven discovery, dynamic pricing and agent-enabled commerce — influence the future structure of distribution and marketplace power?

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