TripShock 2021 Overview and What’s in Store for 2022
The last two years have been a douseys for the travel industry. If you had asked us in january of 2019, where the industry would be in 2022, no one would have guessed that we would soon be facing a worldwide pandemic, massive shutdowns, and severe limits on global travel. As part of the new Covid reality, as of May 2021 over 70% of tour operators were conducting activities with masks and over 80% of attractions, Arival reported.
On a positive note, as Arival reported earlier this year in their Operator Outlook report, the United States was ahead of international markets in reopening tourism. This presented a unique opportunity for US based tour and activity providers as many US travelers opted for US destinations over international trips. Arival, one of the leading authorities on the tour and activity industry, conducts regular in depth surveys to keep it’s finger on the pulse of what is happening right now in the world of in destination experiences. You don’t want to miss out on their industry reports, available for free on their website.
Table of Contents
- DMOs Show Optimism for 2022, and Operator’s Adapt
- Water Based Activities See Massive Growth
- TripShock Continues NationWide Expansion and Adds new API connections
DMOs Show Optimism for 2022, and Operator’s Adapt
The National Tour Association found that DMOs are slightly more optimistic than tour providers reporting the following in July of 2021:
“On a scale of 0 to 10 (most optimistic), DMOs’ forecast for next year averaged 9.2, tour suppliers were at 8.8, and the tour operators’ outlook is slightly behind, at 7.8. In terms of catching up to pre-pandemic metrics, more DMOs (58%) are optimistic that they will outperform 2019 numbers this year or next than are tour suppliers (57%) and operators (36%). 2023 is projected by half of the responding tour operators to be the year that outperforms 2019.”
But tour operators are doing their best to keep up with the changing climate, 65% said they had modified their itineraries for 2021, and 55% reported that they will make modifications in 2022.
A full report of the National Tour Associations findings can be found here: Tour Operators Retooling Itineraries, looking forward to 2022.
Water Based Activities See Massive Growth
While It’s been easy to see the negative impacts of COVID-19, Watersports operators have a much different story to tell. In a survey conducted in partnership between TripShock and Arival, it was found that 28% of travelers in 2021 were booking watersports activities, up from 13% in 2019. An astonishing 56% of watersports and boat tour operators reported growth in 2020. See a full report from Arival: Water-based Tours & Activities’ Wild Ride in 5 Charts.
TripShock Continues NationWide Expansion and Adds new API connections
At TripShock, we also experienced growth in 2021, blowing 2020 and 2019’s numbers out of the park! We’ve also added 12 new destinations including San Antonio, Austin, Houston, Boston, Charleston, West Palm, and more! We’ve also welcomed over 100 partners like Get Up and Go Kayaking, Double Fun Watersports, and South Carolina Watersports, along with hundreds of new activities! To help us offer better service to our partners, we launched API integrations with Rezdy and Bókun and are hard at work on an integration with Xola. Stay tuned for lots of new offerings in 2022!
If you would like to learn more about the benefits of being a TripShock partner and supercharging your sales in 2022, visit our tour operator page.