In this episode of The Best Part of Travel, we sit down with James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Travel, to explore why multi-day tours are taking off, and how authentic small group experiences, people-first leadership and a thoughtfully integrated climate strategy have been essential to Intrepid’s success.

🗺️ Topics we cover:

• The rise of multi-day tours & meaningful travel: Travelers are increasingly seeking authentic experiences that foster real human connection — and finding them in small group tours.

• Brand identity & post-pandemic growth: How Intrepid Travel has grown since the pandemic by focusing on “conscious travelers,” and the importance of having an engaged workforce that believes in your brand.

• Growing with purpose… and profit: Why Intrepid Travel is moving away from carbon offsetting to focus on “Travel for Good” and positive impacts, and how “baking sustainability in” to their products has helped them grow their bottom line.

• Thoughtful AI adoption: How Intrepid travel is approaching AI while maintaining its focus on the importance of human connection.

• Urban Adventures & brand strategy: How Intrepid Travel has adapted its day tour brand to amplify its brand and build awareness about its multi-day offerings.

• Leadership in action: James Thornton’s and Intrepid’s people-first approach to leadership and teams, and the importance of diversity of age, gender, country of origin and so on in building a strong leadership team.

• The future of small group travel: and why James Thornton is optimistic about the power of human connection, especially with the challenges in the world today, such as the toxic news cycle, geopolitical uncertainty and the loneliness pandemic.

Learn more with these resources:

🔗 Intrepid Travel

🔗 ⁠The Multi-Day Moment: On the rise of multi-day travel and the top challenges and opportunities of this rapidly-growing sector of travel experiences.

🔗Join the next Multi-Day Track at ⁠Arival 360 | Valencia

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

The world of multi-day tours is changing fast — and the technology powering it is evolving just as quickly.

In this episode, your podcast co-hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce dive into the tech side of the increasingly popular world of multi-day travel, exploring how distribution and booking tech are evolving to move multi-day forward.

First up, Travis Pittman, CEO and Co-Founder of TourRadar, shares how his company is redefining how travelers discover and book multi-day tours online, connecting operators to influencer content with "Moments" — and why partnerships, flexibility, and sustainability are key to the next wave of growth.

Next, Erika Sternburg, Director of Strategic Accounts at WeTravel, joins to talk about what makes multi-day operations so complex — and how tech companies like hers are rising to the challenge. From online booking and payments to partner networks and travel advisors, Erika takes us behind the scenes of how WeTravel is building tech that empowers multi-day operators to connect the dots across the global travel ecosystem.

If you’ve ever wondered how distribution and tech is developing for multi-day tours, this is the episode to listen to.

🗺️ Topics we cover:

• Why multi-day travel is the next big opportunity for tour operators

• How TourRadar's new "Moments" is connecting user-generated content with bookable experiences

• The complexities behind managing multi-supplier, multi-currency, cross-border trips

• WeTravel’s “Partner Hub” and the bridge between day tour and activity operators and multi-day operators

• The rise of passion- and interest-based travel (from knitting to cycling to safaris!)

• What’s next for the multi-day travel tech & distribution landscape

Learn more with these resources:

🔗 The Multi-Day Moment

🔗 The Multi-Day Track at Arival 360 | Washington DC

🔗 TourRadar Moments

🔗 WeTravel

🔗 Join the next Multi-Day Track at Arival 360 | Valencia

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

What’s the secret behind Secret Food Tours — one of the fastest-growing culinary experience brands in the world? Co-founders Oliver Mernick-Levene and Nico Jacquart join The Best Part of Travel co-hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce to share how they scaled from one city to over 100, all while keeping each experience personal, local, and delicious.

They open up about building their own tech, staying cautious about AI, and their two-pronged approach of organic growth and acquisition. Plus: their favorite food stories (yes, that's where the sea urchin comes in), and the secret to getting 50,000 five-star reviews.

🎧 Listen/watch for:

• 🍴 The origin story — from a London pub to a global food tour brand
• 🌍 How they plan to launch 30+ new cities every year
• 🤖 Data, AI, and the limits of automation in experiential travel
• 🫶 Keeping the personal, local flavor while going global
• 💬 Their secret to collecting thousands of five-star reviews
• 👥 How co-founders balance each other in growth and decision-making
• 🥧 Why culinary tourism’s “pie” is getting bigger for everyone

See also:

 👉Arival research on the fastest-growing experiences categories (including food tours!)

👉What to Expect When You're Expecting... to Buy or Sell

👉Secret Food Tours has an Appetite for Acquisitions

👉Try Haggis for yourself with Secret Food Tours Edinburgh

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

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.

In this episode, Stephen Joyce and Janelle Visser recap the first season of the Arival Voice of Experiences podcast. They discuss their favourite episodes, the variety of content they covered, as well as the top five episodes from Season One by listener ranking.

The top five episodes mentioned feature the following guests: 5) Peter Brown from Big Bus Tours, 4) Christian Watts from Magpie Travel, 3) Kelsey Tonner from Guest Focus, 2) Emmanuel Marot from Google, and 1) Johannes Reck from GetYourGuide.

Reviewing clips from these conversations, they highlight the importance of elevating the guest experience, the potential of AI in the tours and activities industry, the advantages of working in the corporate sales niche, and the potential of AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini. They also highlight the importance of personalization and elevating experiences in order to stand out both to AI-generated search results and to human travelers. The conversation touches on the challenges of bias in AI models and the need for unique and valuable content to improve visibility.

Key Takeaways:

You can find out more about and connect with the speakers here:

You can find out more about Arival research and events here:

Connect with the hosts of The Voice of Experiences, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Stephen Joyce⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Janelle Visser⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

If you are not an ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Arival Insider Pro⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, consider joining to get access to all of the Arival research and don't forget to join us at one of ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠our upcoming events⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠!