Hot trends across the tours and travel activities sector for 2020
by Startacus Admin
Simone Semprini, CEO and co-founder of TourScanner, shares his tips on the hot trends to hit the tours and travel activities sector for 2020!
Have no doubt about it, one of the most popular segments in the travel industry is the tour and travel activities sector. The boom in tours and activity bookings online has pushed analysts to pay closer attention to the thriving space to keep close track of developments.
From being a co-founder who has developed a solution to finding the best tours available at the lowest cost across the globe, I have accumulated extensive experience that has enabled me to predict hot trends across the sector for this year. Some of those trends are:
European destinations - many will still lead, but new destinations are growing faster
If there’s anything my experience as a co-founder has taught me, it’s that European destinations and world-famous attractions play the most 
important role in the tours and activities market. Europe accounts for most of the top destinations, but “new destinations” such as Dubai and Bali are already in the top 10.
Established attractions, such as the Vatican Museums, Sagrada Familia or Warner Bros Studio in London attract thousands of visitors per day and this is not going to change soon.
On the other hand, there are new kinds of activities that are growing very fast thanks to social media. These include Instagram Tours in Bali and Desert Safaris in Dubai.
The number of online players within the tour activities booking space will increase
There are a host of websites selling tours and travel activities, many of which have only emerged over the past two years. In 2020, I predict the market will continue to grow: some global players will compete to have the most extensive catalogue while small players will focus on providing the best value in their niche.
Online penetration will increase
While most tours and activity transactions continue to happen offline, the market is quickly shifting online: more travellers want to purchase tours & tickets in advance and more suppliers are looking for increased visibility through online channels. In 2020 this pattern will accelerate and accelerate 
the number of tour comparison sites to the market.
Mobile booking share will continue to grow
One thing I have discovered through my company’s website analytics is that different devices are used for alternative purposes. While smartphones are predominantly used for broad research and last-minute/in-destination booking, desktops remain a key trend when it comes to advance planning and reservation of expensive tours. Almost half of the bookings are made via portable devices (mobiles and tablets). In 2020,I expect this percentage will increase.
There will be a shift from Millennials to Generation Z
Most travellers purchasing tours & activities are part of the millennial generation (from 25 years to 45), but Generation Z is right behind them. Younger generations are always more interested in experiencing every inch of each destination and will 
always pay more attention to getting the best tours at the best price.
Dynamic pricing will be more visible
Until today, the majority of tours have had a fixed price, defined once per year or season. Today, many tour operators use software that facilitates the possibility to change the price of a single day, depending on supply and demand. Moreover, online resellers are always using increased discounts and acquiring special offers as a means of attracting new customers. As a result I would recommend travellers should start using search engines such as TourScanner to be able to compare the deals of multiple websites and tour operators.
About TourScanner
TourScanner is an established search engine for tours and travel activities, offering over half a million experiences in 10,000 destinations worldwide, from sightseeing tours to outdoor activities, day trips and food experiences.
Subscribe to our newsletter
If you would like to receive our startup themed newsletter, full of the latest startup opportunities, events, news, stories, tips and advice, then sign up here.
Software has become a powerful tool for businesses to harness. here are 4 software essentials your startup could adopt right now.
The Dublin-based MedTech company that is enabling remote monitoring of those with mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms who are in self-isolation
The new FinTech platform that provides “the easy way to sell your unused and unwanted foreign cash currency at the best rates”.
In order to combat some of the impact caused by the coronavirus, many tourism focused attractions are turning to tech solutions. Here's a few!
The Trinity College spinout that has created a cost-effective hand hygiene training system teaching the WHO technique…
The lowdown on Budget Music Videos, the Belfast-based startup that will help you make a music video in a matter of minutes
BMW’s Innovation Lab next two sprints focuses on improving internal customer-led efficiencies or tech solutions that provide valuable data insights and analytics
WebARX create a COVID-19 cyber threats page to collect all the cyber attacks and online threats surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic
Require external capital to fund growth and worried about the potential impact coronavirus may have on your funding plans?
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chivas Divides its $1m No-Strings Venture Fund Between 26 Startups
Published on: 31st January 2020
.png)
If you would like to enable commenting via your Startacus account, please enable Disqus functionality in your Account Settings.
- Chivas Venture divides this year's $1m Venture Fund between 26 global Startups 23rd Mar 2020 In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Chivas Divides its $1m No-Strings Venture Fund Between 26 Startups
- The open-source design of emergency ventilators for COVID-19 patients 20th Mar 2020 World Wide Community of over 500 designers engineers & medics finalising prototypes for safe scalable manufacture & rapid field deployment..
- Positive-ish reaction from small business and startup community to UK Chancellor’s Corona budget 11th Mar 2020 New UK Chancellor Rishi Sunak just delivered his first UK Budget. We took a look at first reactions from small business and startup leaders.
- Hyper-realistic plant-based meat company THIS™ raises £4.7m 11th Mar 2020 Major investment news for THIS™, arguably the world's most realistic meat alternative company, to help it keep up with growing demand
