Experience Pure Plays Are Winning, OTAs Are Still Catching Up

More than three decades after the experiences category started online, GetYourGuide, Tripadvisor, and Klook are advancing — the big OTAs are still figuring it out.

Europe's GetYourGuide is the most focused on experiences. U.S.-based Tripadvisor is selling its dining platform and still operates hotel search but is pivoting in that direction. APAC's Klook gets the majority of its revenue from experiences, though also sells everything from ground transport to e-SIM cards.

We are call them "specialists" to varying degrees and they are the clear leaders among middlemen in the category. But even they face challenges in a sector where revenue for reserving a walking tour or visit to a well-known landmark is relatively small compared with accommodations’ bookings. Single-day tour operators, many of which are still offline, grab a substantial portion of the bookings directly.

GetYourGuide said it had more than €1 billion ($1.1 billion) in revenue in