The results are in for the Arival TourReview Spotlight Awards, and we’re excited to announce the top 10 finalists for each category.
These North American finalists were chosen through a data-driven, independent and impartial analysis of customer reviews across multiple major review sites, online travel agencies (OTAs) and millions of customer reviews, powered by review management platform TourReview. This process enabled us to identify the tour, activity and attraction operators consistently going above and beyond for their customers.
(Note: these awards are separate from the Arival Spotlight Awards, for which anyone can apply or nominate a company. The winners will be selected by a panel of experienced and impartial judges. Nominations for these awards are open until Friday, September 15, 2023: apply/nominate here.)
We will be announcing the winners for each category at Arival 360 | Orlando, on Tuesday, October 10th, 2023.
Congratulations to all the finalists!
Arival TourReview Spotlight Awards: Finalists
All finalists are listed by category and company size in alphabetical order. Companies were grouped into five categories:
- Sightseeing Tours,
- Culinary Tours & Experiences,
- Adventure Tours & Activities,
- Visitor Attractions, and
- Day Tours & Excursions.
Company size was determined by number of reviews during the one-year period from August 1, 2022 to July 31, 2023:
- Small: 250-1,000 reviews
- Medium: 1,001-5,000 reviews
- Large: more than 5,000 reviews
Learn more about the methodology here.
Sightseeing Tours Award Finalists
This category includes companies that run tours within a city or destination with a primary emphasis on sightseeing, such as walking tours, urban cycling and hiking tours, segway tours, local driving or bus tours and city cruises or boat tours where the primary purpose is sightseeing.
Culinary Tours & Experiences Award Finalists
This category includes companies offering experiences with a primary focus on food and/or beverages, such as food tours, tasting experiences, brewery tours, winery tours and cooking experiences.
*Note: Maui Chocolate Tour is closed indefinitely due to the recent Maui wildfire. In the meantime they have spearheaded a community effort to support local small businesses including tour operators: Lahaina Strong Global Marketplace.
Adventure Tours & Activities Award Finalists
This category includes companies offering experiences with a focus on active outdoor adventure activities. This includes water sports and rentals, hiking, kayaking, rafting, off-roading, whale watching, hot air ballooning, and a range of water- and land-based adventure tours.
Visitor Attraction Award Finalists
This category is for ticketed attractions both private and public, including amusement parks, museums, observation decks, landmarks and monuments, zoos and aquariums.
Day Tours & Excursions Award Finalists
This category is for companies offering day tours & excursions which include transportation to destinations primarily outside of the city, such as by bus or boat.
Arival TourReview Spotlight Awards: Methodology
The Arival TourReview Spotlight Awards are based on careful analysis of 32,000 tour, activity and attraction product listings for North America.*
The award criteria are based on statistical analysis of the volume of reviews and aggregate customer rating (average review score on a scale of 1 to 5). TourReview compiled comprehensive review data on all 32,000 product listings between August 1, 2022 and July 31, 2023, from seven major online travel agencies and review websites.
Because of the significant differences in review volume and ratings for small and large operators, Arival and TourReview developed three segments based on review volume:
- Small: 250-1,000 reviews during the one-year period
- Medium: 1,001-5,000 reviews
- Large: more than 5,000 reviews
Learn more about the methodology for the award selection process here.
*While the awards presented in Orlando will be based on North American customer data (including Canada, U.S. and Mexico), we plan to present awards for other regional markets as well, starting with Europe at Arival 360 | Berlin in March 2024.
The Arival & TourReview Awards at Arival 360 | Orlando
All finalists will be contacted by Arival—and we’ll be unveiling the winners at the upcoming Arival 360 | Orlando event during the Arival TourReview Spotlight Awards Ceremony, on Tuesday, October 10, 2023. While you do not have to be present to receive an award, we hope to see you there!
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