Can tour operators grow without relying on OTAs? In this episode of The Best Part of Travel podcast, we explore how private tours and personalized experiences are reshaping the future of travel. Context Travel’s CEO June Chin shares why private, personalized experiences are the key to long-term growth and loyal customers.

Discover:

✅ Why personalization is becoming the competitive edge in travel

✅ How private tours build loyalty and repeat bookings

✅ Why and how the company has avoided distribution through major OTAs (and what they do instead)

✅ Finding the balance between agency partnerships, direct sales, and digital channels

✅ How AI is reshaping search, discovery, and operations—and what “AEO” means for operators

✅ Context’s vision for scaling from 100,000 to 1 million travelers annually by 2030

✅ How Context is seeing triple-digit growth in Japan

✅ The importance of expert guides to maintain high quality experiences

If you’re looking to future-proof your business, this episode offers actionable insights into how personalized travel and direct connections with your customers can fuel sustainable growth.

See also:

👉 Arival research on the rise of the private tour taker

👉Arival research on the 2025 Experiences Traveler

👉 June Chin on the Private Tours, Big Profits panel at Arival 360 | Washington, DC

👉 How generative AI is revolutionizing Travel

👉 Distribution strategy with Arival

People are choosing experiences over things — but what happens when even experiences risk becoming commodities? In this episode of the Best Part of Travel podcast, Joe Pine, co-author of The Experience Economy and author of the forthcoming book on The Transformation Economy, joins hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce to talk about experience design, commoditization, and how tour and activity operators can design experiences that are not just memorable, but life changing.

Key topics include:

• The economic evolution from commodities to goods and services to experiences… to what’s next.

• How travel brands can encourage repeat business by offering experiences focused on personal transformation.

• Commoditization, differentiation and standing out in a “sea of same.”

• What it takes to design travel experiences that are not only memorable, but meaningful — and even transformational.

• The upcoming Arival 360 conference in Washington, D.C.

If you’re in the business of experiences, this conversation will challenge how you think about travel, guests, and the future of the industry.

👉 Resources & Links:

• Escaping the Tour Commoditization Trap: https://arival.travel/article/escaping-the-tour-commoditization-trap/

• The Experience Economy by Joe Pine and James Gilmour: https://www.amazon.ca/Experience-Economy-New-Preface-Authors/dp/1633697975/

• The Transformation Economy book by Joe Pine (forthcoming): https://www.amazon.ca/Transformation-Economy-Guiding-Customers-Aspirations/dp/B0DS4649VL

• Arival 360 | Washington DC and the Executive Summit: https://arival.travel/event/2025-washington-dc/ , https://arival.travel/event/2025-washington-dc-exec-summit/

The Best Part of Travel podcast is brought to you by Arival. Season Two is sponsored by Protect Group.

In this episode of the Best Part of Travel podcast, hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce discuss the current state of AI in the travel experiences sector (and their favourite androids). Joined by special guest Janette Roush, Chief AI Officer at Brand USA, they delve into the opportunities and applications of AI in travel, both practical and creative.

Key topics include:

• the impact of AI on website traffic and trip planning
• the use of AI tools for everything from operations to language translation to content creation (including "Yarn Janette"),
• the importance of AI in destination experiences marketing and discovery,
• women and men in AI and tech,
• the future of AI in travel experiences.

The episode also covers the upcoming AI Forum for Destination Experiences⁠ at Arival 360 | Washington, DC, aimed at helping travel professionals explore and share AI technology knowledge and experiences.

The Best Part of Travel podcast is brought to you by Arival. Season Two is sponsored by Protect Group.

In this episode of the Best Part of Travel podcast, hosted by Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce, we discuss the evolution of online booking systems, or "restech platforms" in the tours, activities and attractions sector of travel, and listen in on a conversation between Andrea Carini, CEO of FareHarbor, the largest restech in the travel experiences space, and Arival CEO Douglas Quinby, which took place at the recent Arival 360 conference in Valencia, Spain.

Topics of discussion include:

• Booking system pricing models, from monthly recurring fees to transaction-based fees.

• The growth of the online travel agency (OTA) market and how this impacts the pricing models and viability of restech platforms, in particular FareHarbor.

• FareHarbor's recent addition of a 2% fee for API/OTA bookings.

• The potential applications of AI in current booking systems, and potential for developing future booking system technology using AI.

• The future of the booking tech and how restech providers and tour and activity operators are adapting to the evolving landscape.

Some resources that we mention:

• Arival Guide: How to Choose a Booking System
• Arival Guide to Booking System Pricing
• Peek "CoPilot" Connects Operators with AI Tools

The Best Part of Travel podcast is brought to you by Arival. Season Two is sponsored by Protect Group.

In this episode of the Best Part of Travel podcast, hosted by Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce, we travel Down Under to delve into Australia's unique approach to cultural attractions tourism and visitor experiences.

Featuring guest interviews with:

• Annabel Sullivan, Executive Officer of Cultural Attractions of Australia;
• Catherine Hughes, Business Development Manager at the Sydney Opera House;
• Mirjam Hilgeman, Museum Shipkeeper at the Australian National Maritime Museum;

The episode covers how Australian attractions are collaborating to attract more travelers to their attractions by offering elevated, immersive experiences for both international and domestic travelers. Discussions include the rise of passion-based travel, the importance of bespoke and VIP experiences, and Arival research on visitor attractions and the affluent traveler.

Some resources we mention:

• The State of Visitor Attractions (Arival report on Attractions):
• More Attractions Offer Guided Tours, VIP Experiences

• The State of Experiences in Australia & New Zealand
• Koalas & the Jurassic Park T-Rex (YouTube)

The Best Part of Travel podcast is brought to you by Arival. Season Two is sponsored by Protect Group.

We’re kicking off the new season of our (re-named and re-launched) Best Part of Travel podcast with an exploration of travel trends in 2025.

In this first episode of season two, your podcast hosts Janelle Visser, Managing Editor of Arival, and industry veteran Stephen Joyce are joined by special guest Dan Christian from the Travel Trends podcast to discuss the top travel trends for 2025 — and what they mean for tour, activity, attraction and experience businesses.

We dive into five key topics, including (spoiler alert):

1. The AI-powered operator: We explore the significant impact of AI on travel planning and booking, and how tour, activity and attraction operators are using AI today.

2. Social video is the new search: We explore the shift towards social media, particularly TikTok, for travel discovery and booking.

3. OTAs Accelerate: We discuss the rising influence of OTAs (Online Travel Agencies), and the importance for operators of getting their pricing right.

4. (Over) Tourism Management Gets Real: Ticket Access & The Destination Shift: We address overtourism and its implications for operators and destinations, and the ongoing challenge of accessing tickets to popular attractions.

5. What (Affluent) Travelers Want: We cover the rise of the affluent traveler, and how their spending power is driving change in experiences, for example towards more private, immersive and community-focused tourism.

Some resources we mention:

Top 5 Travel Trends in 2025 (article by Janelle and Dan): https://arival.travel/article/tourism-trends/

Arival Guide to AI in Experiences: https://arival.travel/research/arival-guide-to-ai-in-experiences/

Optimizing for AI in Search:

https://arival.travel/article/optimizing-tours-for-generative-ai-search/

Social Video Takes on Google:

https://arival.travel/article/hot-topics-social-video/

Arival Guide to OTAs & Digital Distributors:

https://arival.travel/research/arival-guide-to-otas-digital-distributors/

Attraction Ticket Access for Tour Operators:

https://arival.travel/article/attraction-access-for-tour-operators/

The Affluent Traveler:

https://arival.travel/article/affluent-millennials-changing-travel-planning/

The Best Part of Travel podcast is brought to you by Arival. Season Two is sponsored by Protect Group.