The Erosion of Authenticity in the Post-COVID Tour Industry: An Analysis
The Local Tour Industry’s Plight Post-COVID
As industries everywhere grapple with the aftermath of COVID-19, the tour sector has witnessed the aggressive encroachment of large, national enterprises into local markets across the U.S. Disturbingly, these entities often display a distinct absence of genuine ties or commitment to the communities they operate within. Their tactics range from misrepresenting historical facts to failing to uphold service commitments, exploiting local brand identities, hacking attempts to local websites, manipulating reviews, evading local taxes and engaging in deceitful online practices. Profit, it seems, trumps authenticity.
The Pervasive Influence of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs): The Enablers
These big players owe much of their success to the proliferation of Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), with Viator standing out as being particularly prominent. A subsidiary of TripAdvisor, Viator has become the hidden intermediary for many consumers who believe they’re purchasing through platforms like Groupon, Expedia, Priceline, Booking.com and other retailers. When you buy through most third-party platforms you may be actually buying through Viator because most third-party platforms in the travel industry fall under the umbrella of the same one corporation that has been renaming itself since it conquered the travel industry in the 1990’s.. While TripAdvisor primarily offers a platform for users to review services, it subtly funnels potential customers to Viator for actual bookings. This integration between review platforms and booking channels has muddied the waters of unbiased customer feedback.
Previously, Viator and TripAdvisor held tours to high standards. But this changed around the onset of the pandemic when the corporations endeavored to recoup lost profits. One example is the introduction of the ‘accelerate program’. Now, to feature on Viator/Groupon/Expedia and TripAdvisor or their other partners, tour companies must relinquish a minimum of 27% of each ticket sale. This commission escalates with increased visibility, peaking at a staggering 50%. It is evident within the industry that those businesses who choose to give the platform 40% or more per ticket – the platform will suppress negative reviews and boost their position on the platform. This model raises the uncomfortable question: Can reviews be truly objective when they are potentially influenced by financial arrangements?
The Review Discrepancy: A Red Flag
These concerns gain weight when one observes glaring discrepancies in company ratings across different platforms. For instance, a company that enjoys a 5-star rating on Viator might languish with a mere 3-stars on other review sites like Yelp, Facebook, and Google that are not part of the Viator corporation. This stark contrast begs the question: Are the higher ratings on Viator a direct consequence of the hefty commissions paid to the platform? And if so, what does this mean for the unsuspecting consumer relying on these reviews?
The Struggles of Authentic Local Operators
Local tour operators, often deeply embedded in their communities, face an uphill battle in this altered landscape. Their commitment to providing authentic experiences—whether it’s collaborating with local museums, paying to enter locations, or compensating their staff well—comes at a tangible financial responsibility. These genuine efforts affect the profit margins. The million dollar franchise tour companies operating nationally, not locally, are able to engage in the aggressive “pay-to-play” model now used by Viator, Expedia, Groupon and TripAdvisor to name a few.
It’s worth noting that while industry behemoths like Disney or Six Flags can comfortably absorb OTA, Online Ticket Agencies, commissions, smaller ventures can not.
Google’s Role: The Search Engine’s Complicity
Further skewing the playing field is Google’s evolving search algorithm. Historically a bastion for organic results, recent trends see paid listings increasingly overshadowing genuine, organic content. This shift has enabled platforms like Viator and its partners booking.com, priceline.com, vrbo.com, etc to dominate the virtual advertising landscape. Consequently, businesses emphasizing quality over profit margins find themselves marginalized, their voices drowned out by the cacophony of paid advertisements.
In an average search for a tour the customer will find the ads positioned as follows: Starting from the top, there’s a Viator ad, followed by a TripAdvisor ad, then a Groupon ad, an Expedia ad,, and a “Get Your Guide” ad (a newer player in America; their exact affiliation is unclear).
A fertile ground for scams and forgery, Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings has a new best friend.
The first nationally franchised ghost tour chain was Ghost City Tours. US Ghost Adventures soon followed and then Nightly Spirits and in anticipation of the upcoming Halloween season 2023 just last week, Zombie Tours. Navigating through corporate loopholes, some of these companies operate without licenses and pay no state taxes.
The franchise tours are vicious, using deep pockets to blanket the internet with their information, using third party platforms because they are easily manipulated because money, not the customer, is the end game. Out of the country tech individuals are paid to spend the day leaving fake 5-star reviews on those same platforms. Even when an advertised tour never took place or no guide appeared, the companies still make money because if you read the disclaimer in small print there are no refunds.
Needless to say, the angry customers called and confronted the local tours, who traditionally have direct contact with their customers and of course the corporations were using their business name.
The owner of the local tour business is often also the researcher and writer of the tour, the guide, and customer service person. In bigger cities there are more guides, but one constant is the people giving the tours have done their local research to proudly tell their city or towns unique history.
About 3-years ago, corporate franchise companies began replicating and exploiting the local ghost tour businesses. They leave from the same location at the same time and use the exact name of the existing local tour company to intentionally confuse the customer. The reason they use the local company name is because they have optimal SEO, having been in business for a long time. Spies from the franchise ghost tours take the local tour, record them, and send the stories to the out-of-state headquarters. Literally copying the same stories and going to the same locations. The tragedy is the guides hired through Indeed and trained remotely can’t seem to tell a story or get the facts correct.
It’s time for a change from the handful of conglomerates that took over the tourism industry in the 1990;s. It’s not the 90’s anymore
Conclusion: A Call to Preserve Authenticity
To distill this complex scenario: The relentless pursuit of profit, both by sprawling corporations and enablers like Viator and Google, is steadily eroding the soul of local, genuine tour experiences. As consumers, recognizing and challenging this dynamic becomes our responsibility. If authentic, heartfelt experiences hold value, it’s imperative to rally behind local tour operators, ensuring their stories aren’t lost in the tumult of commercialization.
If you want to look into this scam industry DO NOT use Wikipedia. According to Wikipedia they use Wiki-PR, a public relations firm specializing in subverting content for business interests.
This is a quote from Wikipedia “Priceline (and all of the companies above) is one of the companies accused of using the services of Wiki-PR, a public relations firm specialized in editing Wikipedia that has been accused of subverting Wikipedia content for business interest.[29][30]”.
Liberty TripAdvisor Holdings owns: CruiseCritic.com, HolidayLettings.com, SeatGuru.com, Viator.com
Expedia Group owns: hotels.com, booking.com, vrbo.com, travelocity.com, orbitzcom, cheaptickets.com, carrentals.com, expediacruises.com
Booking Holdings (BKNG) owns: priceline.com, booking.com, kayak.com, cheapflights.com, agoda.com, rentlecars.com, mundi.com, momondo.com
copyright 2023
