OTAs make huge inroads in ‘attraction’ ticket sales: Arival  

Visitor attractions have seen a dramatic shift in distribution, with online travel agencies (OTAs) more than doubling their share of bookings since 2019.  New research released by Arival, the  research authority and community for the tours, activities, and attractions sector, reveals that OTAs now deliver 18% of all attraction bookings globally from less than 10% before the pandemic.

Arival’s new research, ‘The State of Visitor Attractions’, delves into the big changes in distribution, ticketing technology, operations and marketing sweeping across the sector. Ticket distribution for visitor attractions – which include cultural sites and monuments, museums, zoos and aquariums, observation decks and amusement parks – has undergone dramatic change over the past five years.

“Visitor attractions have long been key drivers of tourism, the very reason to visit a place,” said Douglas Quinby, co-founder and CEO of Arival.  “Traveller demand to see the great sites is boundless, but the availability of tickets, and the travel industry’s technical ability to access them is not.  The big online travel experiences marketplaces recognize this, and they’ve made significant investments to be able to offer attraction tickets, in some cases in spite of – rather than in partnership with – the attractions themselves.  There remains much work to be done to connect attractions to the global travel distribution ecosystem.”

Arival’s report, based on a survey of nearly 700 visitor attractions worldwide, reveals that despite the growth of OTAs and attraction websites, offline ticket sales remain by far the largest point of sale. Technology remains a limiting factor. One in three attractions to not use a modern online ticketing system and do not have online connectivity to reseller partners.

Findings from the report will be explored in more detail at the upcoming Arival 360 event in Valencia, taking place from April 28-30 at the Valencia Conference Centre.  This must-attend European gathering – which has previously been held in Berlin – will bring together creators and sellers of tours, activities, experiences, and attractions to learn, connect, and grow their businesses.