Overview Summary
Aubrie Canfield and FareHarbor’s Community Manager Rebekah Costley break down FareHarbor’s “Beneath the Surface” market report and the five booking patterns that should reshape how tour operators price, sell, and market for 2026. The session covers what changed across regions in 2025, how operators captured demand through event-driven product launches, why channel mix looks wildly different depending on where you operate, and what booking-window and device data means for conversions.
Key Takeaways
1. Growth is not evenly distributed: Europe surged, the Americas barely moved (04:15)
Europe saw 11–13% growth, compared to 1–3% in the Americas and 3–5% in APAC. The point is not “tourism is up.” The point is operators must plan based on regional demand realities, not global headlines.
2. Domestic travel is the safety net in the Americas (05:25)
With international tourism softening in the Americas, operators are increasingly winning by targeting locals and short-stay travelers. That means products and marketing built for weekend patterns, not once-a-year bucket-list trips.
3. Big events can spike revenue 14–22% if you build the right tours (06:25–07:45)
FareHarbor cited Puerto Rico’s Bad Bunny residency as a clear example: total transaction value rose 14% YoY, and one operator reported 22% more bookings by launching shorter, event-aligned tours that fit tight schedules.
4. Pricing strategy is regional, not universal (09:10)
Average ticket prices varied by region (Americas about $90, APAC about $70, Europe about $55). In 2025, Europe raised prices 8%+ in response to demand, while the Americas stayed close to flat. The takeaway is to price off your market signals, not industry advice.
5. Upsells inside the booking flow drive real revenue without more marketing (11:15)
FareHarbor’s “combos” and cross-sell options produced 6.76% TTV growth for dashboards that enabled them. This is “sell more to the customer who is already buying,” not “spend more to find new customers.”
6. Trip protection is a high-leverage add-on: $10.1M generated in 2025 (13:30)
A simple opt-in checkbox drove $10.1M for operators, with 7.25% of bookings selecting it, especially in May – September. Low operational lift, meaningful revenue.
7. Channel mix depends on where you operate, and Europe is the extreme case (16:30–18:20)
Direct bookings still lead in the Americas, but in Europe direct bookings declined sharply while online affiliates rose. Operators should not copy a channel strategy from another region and expect it to work.
8. Affiliate growth is not just OTAs: “creative affiliates” outperform on trust (19:15–20:30)
Examples included influencers, bartenders using QR codes, and local partner networks. These can bring higher-margin bookings because they behave like personal referrals, not pure marketplace traffic.
9. Walk-up sales need speed: POS/kiosk setups reduce friction and capture impulse buys (21:45)
For high-footfall businesses (cruise ports, tourist districts), faster point-of-sale flows matter. FareHarbor positioned this as a practical way to reduce lines, reduce staff load, and stop losing walk-ups.
10. Booking windows are split: last-minute still dominates, but early planning increased too (25:00)
50% of bookings happen within 72 hours, but early booking windows also grew in 2025. Operators need calendars open far enough ahead for planners, while staying mobile-first for the 72-hour crowd.
11. Waitlists recovered $2M that would otherwise be lost to cancellations (26:30)
If your tours sell out, you need a way to backfill cancellations automatically. Waitlists were framed as “set it once, recover revenue repeatedly.”
12. Mobile drives volume, desktop drives conversions (30:15)
Mobile accounted for 76% of bookings, but desktop converted higher (11.64% desktop vs 9.3% iPhone). Many guests research on mobile and complete on desktop, so both experiences must be clean and trustworthy.
13. Conversion benchmarks only make sense by category (31:20)
Conversion ranged from 17.62% (transport/lodging) down to 5.94% (air tours). Higher-ticket, higher-consideration products will naturally convert lower, so operators should benchmark against their niche, not an overall average.
14. Reduce choice overload: fewer items, better sorting, clearer listings (33:00–34:15)
They recommended limiting booking-flow options (often to around six), sorting by popularity, using subheadings for key info, adding 6+ strong images, showing price previews, and using genuine scarcity messaging when inventory is real.
15. Dynamic pricing works best when it is rule-based, not emotional (37:24–38:10)
The practical model: discount slow periods, raise prices on high-demand slots, and tie changes to triggers like day-of-week or capacity thresholds. Start conservative, measure results, then adjust.