While most of us in tours and attractions are familiar with the bigger global online travel agency (OTA) brands, such as GetYourGuide, Viator, TUI Musement, Headout, Airbnb, Expedia, Booking.com, Groupon and others, there are a growing number of OTAs specifically focused on the Asia Pacific region.
OTAs were the fastest growing booking channel pre-pandemic, and even more so as our industry speeds toward recovery. OTA gross bookings will grow far faster than other channels, achieving 152% growth over 2019 levels in just a few short years, Arival research shows.
For tour operators and activity and attraction suppliers looking to grow their bookings through distribution, expanding to new regions or reaching out to new customer segments within Asia Pacific, take note of these OTAs. Many are focused on offering tours, activities and attractions within particular regions or destinations within APAC, and/or a particular geographic customer market.
Many of these OTAs will be present at our upcoming Asia Pacific event. Join us at Arival Activate | Bangkok 2023 to connect with them in-person and learn more about the distribution landscape in APAC.
No company has paid Arival to be included on this list; these are presented in alphabetical order (within each category). Have we missed a brand? Let us know: [email protected]
Regional OTAs focused on tours and activities
The following are large, growing OTAs based in APAC that focus specifically on the Asia Pacific traveler market, and list tours, activities, attractions and experiences for destinations primarily in the Asia Pacific region.
KKDay
Based in Taipei with offices throughout East and Southeast Asia, KKDay is an OTA focused on experiences for Asian travelers to Asia and select global destinations. There are over 30,000 experiences on KKDay’s platform, representing over 90 countries.
Klook
Headquartered in Hong Kong, Klook is a tours and activities OTA for Asian travelers to destinations throughout Asia and (more recently) global destinations. Their primary customer base is young travelers, aged 20-45, and they list nearly 500,000 activities in over 1000 destinations. (Don’t miss Klook COO Wilfred Fan on the main stage at Arival Activate | Bangkok 2023!)
Regional online travel sites with a tours and attractions division:
These online travel sites may be more generally focused on flights, accommodations and/or other transportation primarily in APAC, however they have some form of experience booking options through their platforms.
MakeMyTrip
MakeMyTrip is an OTA for Indian travelers with an activities division for booking experiences in India and internationally. They list over 18,000 activities in over 100 cities throughout India, Asia and globally.
Pelago
Pelago is a tours and experiences OTA under Singapore Airlines, for travel within the Asia Pacific and to several European and U.S. destinations — anywhere Singapore Airlines flies. Pelago launched in beta in 2020 and officially in 2021, and currently lists over 2000 experiences.
Rakuten Travel Experiences
Formerly Voyagin, the travel experiences branch of Japan-based e-commerce site Rakuten is an OTA for travel to Japan, Asia, and select destinations globally. Rakuten Travel Experiences lists activities in over 750 destinations, and benefits from Rakuten’s wide reach of 100 million users in Japan and 1.5 billion globally.
Traveloka
Traveloka is a general travel OTA based in Indonesia and focused on Southeast Asian travelers and destinations, which has an activities division for booking “Xperiences.” Xperiences operates in seven Southeast Asian countries, and boasts 50 million active users and 500,000 bookings daily.
Trip.com
Formerly Ctrip, Trip.com is the largest OTA serving the Chinese traveler market. Attractions and tours are bookable through the travel guide section of their site. Trip.com boasts over 400 million users worldwide, with over 200,000 tours, activities and attractions bookable in over 170 countries and 2000 destinations globally.
Yatra
Based in India, Yatra is a general travel OTA for Indian travelers that includes a division for booking activities to a handful of destinations around India, Dubai and Southeast Asia, and another division for “monuments” which sells tickets to cultural attractions around India.
Join us at an upcoming Arival event to connect, learn, & grow your tours, activities, & attractions business
Country or region-specific OTAs: Australia & New Zealand
If you are looking to grow your bookings from particular markets, who may want to have a look at these OTAs that specialize in specific countries or regions in Asia Pacific.
This section includes OTAs that serve the Australia and New Zealand traveler market, and/or travelers to the Australia and New Zealand regions. Consider working with these OTAs if you want to expand into the Australia and New Zealand markets.
Adrenaline
Adrenaline is an Australia-based OTA focused on offering over 2,500 adventure experiences to travelers visiting Australia, from hot air balloon rides to white water rafting to theme park passes.
ExperienceOZ
ExperienceOZ is an Australia-based OTA focused on tours, activities and attractions, targeted to domestic travelers in Australia and New Zealand. Over 2000 experiences are listed on their platform.
Red Balloon
RedBalloon is an OTA based in Australia focused on experiences and activities, with an emphasis on gifting experiences. RedBalloon — along with Adrenaline and ExperienceOZ — is part of Big Red Group, which lists over 14,000 experiences in Australia and New Zealand across its platforms.
Travello
Travello is an Australia-based OTA for tours and activities and a social network for travelers. Travello — and its experiences marketplace Backpacker Deals — lists experiences primarily in Australia and New Zealand, as well as a selection of experiences in other destinations globally. Travello has users in 180 countries and a monthly reach of 40 million people. (Learn more about Travello on Arival here.)
Country or region-specific OTAs: East & Southeast Asia
This section includes OTAs that serve the East and Southeast Asian traveler market, and/or travelers to the East and Southeast Asian regions. Consider working with these OTAs if you want to expand into particular markets in East and Southeast Asia.
MyRealTrip
MyRealTrip is a tours and attractions OTA for Korean travelers to destinations both regional in APAC and to global destinations.
TakeMeTour
TakeMeTour is a Thailand-based OTA focused on tours and experiences with locals, and lists over 1000 experiences in destinations across Thailand and Southeast Asia.
Veltra
Veltra is a Japan-based OTA for Japanese and international travelers, with over 13,000 experiences in over 4,500 destinations around Japan, Hawaii, and a selection of other international destinations. Founded in 1991, Veltra was a pioneer for online tour and activity booking as one of the first OTAs to enable travelers to book experiences online.
WAUG
WAUG is a Korea-based tours and activities OTA for travel to Asian destinations, with experience listings in 187 in cities across Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, as well as a growing number of destinations globally.
Country or region-specific OTAs: Southwest, South & Central Asia
This section includes OTAs that serve the Southwest, South and Central Asia traveler market, and/or travelers to these regions. Consider working with these OTAs if you want to expand into particular markets in these regions.
Indy Guide
Indy Guide is a regional OTA, based in Switzerland but focused on tours with local guides in Central Asia for international travelers. Indy Guide lists experiences with over 2000 local providers throughout 15 Central Asian countries.
Thrillark
Thrillark is a Dubai-based tours, activities and attractions OTA focused on city experiences in the UAE and select international destinations. Thrillark currently has about 250 listings for tours, activities and attraction tickets in Dubai and the surrounding region.
Thrillophilia
Thrillophilia is an India-based tours and activities OTA targeted to Indian travelers for travel around India and to select destinations around Asia and globally. Thrillophilia lists over 12,000 activities from over 5000 suppliers in over 125 destinations, with approximately 3.5 million monthly users. (Learn more about Thrillophilia on Arival here).
Have we missed a brand? Let us know: [email protected].
Learn More at Arival Activate | Bangkok 2023
Join us at Arival Activate | Bangkok on June 12-14, 2023 to connect in person with leaders from many of the OTAs on this list and to learn more about online travel agencies and other distribution channels and strategies with a special focus on Asia Pacific.
Klook’s COO Wilfred Fan will be sharing insights and discussing key trends on the main stage, and speaking on a panel alongside leaders from GetYourGuide and BeMyGuest about mastering the OTA relationship. Additionally, we’ll hear from Travello CEO and co-founder Ryan Hanley and Thrillophilia CEO and co-founder Chitra Gurnari Daga on the business decisions and strategies that enabled them to survive and thrive during the pandemic.
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