Operator Stories

Designing tours to tell the untold, authentic stories: from Badass Women’s History to the Gayborhood with Rebecca Fisher, Founder of Beyond the Bell

Immersive experiences have the power to bridge divides and bring people together to explore and play — a unity through experience that’s desperately needed as election season is underway in…

How one Israel-based operator is weathering the current travel disruption, and when they expect travelers to return to the region

Some operators are responding to the devastating impacts of the war in Israel and Gaza by continuing to build bridges and focus on helping communities. Here’s how.

The results are in! Learn more about the awards and see the complete list of winners in each category here

A new volcano in Iceland has meant a potential eruption of profit for operators and OTAs who are quick to act. But you don’t need a volcano to take advantage…

Operators are feeling the impacts of climate change, from wildfires to heat waves to hurricanes. Here’s how some operators are helping in the short term… and planning to adapt in…

Operators weigh in on the marketing strategies helping them ride the wave of increased demand for beer, wine and food tours in advance of the Culinary Experiences Forum at Arival…

Owner and GM of Arigato Travel discusses the impact on operators and the changing traveler trends of the tourism rebound in Japan, and tips on content marketing to different age…

How one Middle East-based operator has excelled in growing their direct bookings by leaning into influencer marketing, and is now expanding into Asia

Phare Circus has built a successful travel experiences business around a social mission of uplifting and empowering Cambodia’s youth. Hear their story at Arival Activate|Bangkok 2023

How The Tour Guy went from panhandling outside the Colosseum to building a big tours and activities business through direct bookings

Founder weighs in on the impact of adopting an online booking system, the resulting growth, and other hot topics, from Arival 360 | Berlin 2023

Our industry needs to reimagine sustainable travel as a means to increasing profitability. Here’s how one bike tour operator is doing just that.

As the demand for niche tourism experiences grows, operators like Carol El Hawary of Literary Tours Egypt are bringing stories to life to attract real-world tourism

After finalizing their first acquisitions of tour companies in Seattle and Miami, the 60-city-strong brand is hungry for more. Here’s what they’re looking for, and a few things to think…

The founder of Philly Experiences and “Hood Tours” shares how intentionally facilitating uncomfortable conversations on tour can help create transformational experiences

While the widespread devastation of Hurricane Ian is still being assessed, some operators have lost everything — and are doing everything they can to help. Here’s what you can do…

Three things immersive art and experiences can teach us about what 21st century travelers are looking for, with Meow Wolf’s Vince Kadlubek and ARTECHOUSE’s Adrian Jones.

Visitors flock to Dubai for the world-famous visitor attractions, but few get to connect with local Emirati culture. One woman entrepreneur set out to change that with Meet The Locals

Diverse recruitment and increasing experience ownership by minorities are two of the areas Leon Burnette and the Tourism Pathways Project focus on to bring equity to the travel industry

While self-guided audio tours have been around as long as the Walkman, technology is bringing a new level of interactivity

Skepticism of virtual tours may be widespread but Prague City Adventures have seen success even if the market shrinks as travel returns

Spain-based food tour operator Devour Tours has joined City Experiences’ growing portfolio of land-based experiences

Small groups, locals, direct booking? Not for ghost tour operator Auld Reekie Tours. They’re all in on OTAs, international visitors, and bigger groups

Selling a business takes longer than you think, and can have financial, as well as legal and emotional, implications

Local and regional travelers have taken to Malahat SkyWalk in droves, but it needed to be sensitive to the situation, keep marketing tight and make sure the community were on…

Intrepid Travel’s campaign is helping vaccinate those in remote communities, educate people and raise awareness of the need for vaccine equity

Operators should be leveraging customer UGC in their marketing. Here’s how Flytographer gathers and deploys authentic content at scale

Lauren Hefferon of Ciclismo Classico on passion, marketing and getting back to basics

Outdoor operators are looking at a strong summer season. Brandon Gonski of Glacier Raft Company shares his tips to make sure it’s successful

Preparing to reopen your tour, attraction or experience may feel like a daunting task. Arival spoke to Key West Food Tours and Savannah Taste Experience to find out what to…

The CEO of Eating Europe is preparing for Arival’s Spring into Summer Forum. He tells us why 2021 will be hard work, but better than 2020.

Uncertainty abounds when thinking about the summer season. We chatted with tour operator veteran and business advisor Trisha Fridrich to help you get a grasp on how to prepare.

We hear from three operators in varying degrees of planning and development for their summer seasons.

How Israel’s national parks system got online in a matter of weeks to reopen this summer.

How Overland Ireland is building a whole new product line for 2021.

This year has been tough on even the most iconic of attractions. Here’s how one of New York’s top attractions adapted to reopen in 2020.

Four operator stories from Arival 360 that will simply inspire the heck out of you.

Move quickly. Have an experimental mindset. And stop selling what your customers aren’t buying.

One offshoot of the COVID-19 pandemic could be the dramatic acceleration of online booking in tours and attractions.

Big Bus, the iconic “HOHO” or hop-on/hop-off operator, is moving to timed tickets and – in some locations – no HOHO when it resumes with safety guidelines at reduced capacity.

While these are unprecedented times, we need concrete steps to survive, revive, and grow in the times to follow.