The pandemic and general shutdown of travel gave TourRadar time to pause and reimagine what tourism could be when people were ready to start traveling again. As the industry recovers, CEO and Co-Founder Travis Pittman and his team strongly believe now is the time to be bold, create a new category, and build out a technology platform and business model that moves beyond just being a multi-day tour OTA. At the Adventure Together event in front of hundreds of online and offline travel agencies, tour operators, and DMOs, Travis unveiled the Adventure Booking Platform (ABP) category and B2B Adventure Distribution model.
Prior to the pandemic, TourRadar was a B2C multi-day tour OTA with 2,500 operators listing their products on the site. TourRadar’s inventory of multi-day products is second to none and its B2C business model connects these operators with travelers all over the globe, providing the ability to book high-basket group tours online. After announcing the Adventure Booking Platform category, TourRadar is on a mission to be the first-mover and drive the democratization of adventure tourism, providing a positive impact on people and the planet.
So what is an Adventure Booking Platform exactly? An ABP encompasses both a B2C marketplace and a B2B distribution arm. As the leading ABP, TourRadar is connected to over 2,500 operators whose adventures can be booked directly through the marketplace or alternatively through travel agencies and resellers, previously unbookable via a single platform. In addition to its core business of Group adventures, TourRadar has also rolled out the functionality for travelers to book Private, Tailor-made and Self-guided adventures on the platform.
"Our goal is to rebuild travel in a better way in the post-pandemic world,” said Pittman. “We want more people to get out of the main tourist hubs and experience themselves and the planet on a new more meaningful and sustainable level. There is no better solution to this than organized adventures.”
Why is TourRadar calling multi-day tours, adventures? The company believes more people want to be able to get out of their comfort zones and take big or small adventures close or far away from home. An adventure is a collection of experiences that are fulfilling to the soul and typically put people in touch with nature, local communities, and cultures more responsibly than some of the typical mainstream travel products. Adventures can appeal to all demographics as they can range from a food & wine tour in Tuscany to an Everest base camp trek.
