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TripAdvisor will start offering what they call Sponsored Placements for tours and experiences at the top of some search results. The announcement, which was emailed to TripAdvisor operators Tuesday, is the latest development in a simmering drama around TripAdvisor’s strategic plans for Bokun.

How one business grew in a small market, by embracing culinary and authentic experiences, using savvy marketing, and getting creative. Here’s their story.

The New Year means all too many predictions and “year in review” articles. We don’t want to add to the media fluff. But here are 12 trends we think every creator and seller of Tours, Activities, Attractions & Events should pay attention to this year. We don’t know how each of these will unfold, but…

No part of the travel industry is facing more challenges and change than tour operating. New technology, changes in what young travelers want from their trips, and the rise of online booking and online travel agencies (OTAs) are compelling tour companies to change what they offer and how they offer it.

Change is never easy. For in-destination operators around the world, the need to innovate has never been greater. For Dan Rogoski, president of The Ride in New York City, that meant transforming one of the oldest types of experiences around: the bus tour.

Dubai Tourism announced a plan to launch an online hub for operators and distributors, called the ‘Online Marketplace’. The service will begin in January 2019. According to their announcement, the marketplace will attempt to connect the city’s attractions and experiences within a technological framework as well as to a global network of resellers.

The business of getting customers in the door has always been a challenge for operators, even a company selling a product as beloved as chocolate. In this operator profile, a small German chocolate museum describes how, by changing their focus on customers, they grew by 400%.

GlobalTix, a Singapore-headquartered software startup for attractions ticketing and distribution, has raised US $9 million in series A funding from Tin Men Capital. The funding is the latest in a series of investments into startups providing distribution and ticketing technology specifically for attractions and events.

We have a plan for how life will go, but it rarely works out exactly how we thought. In this operator profile, Tom Medin of Local Tastes of the City Tours explains how embracing that can lead to success in life and business.

We hear it all the time: ‘supplier.’ It’s a long-standing travel industry vernacular for any owner of a travel product, be it an airline, a hotel, a tour bus or an attraction. It’s time we retire that term. Here’s why: