How TourRadar’s Integration Solutions Will Revolutionize the Distribution of Adventures
In a recent Q&A session with TourRadar’s Product Manager Patrick, he shared an inside look at the company’s various technical solutions and how they enable businesses around the world to easily package and sell adventures. Read on to find out more!
How does the current market look and what has TourRadar done to stay ahead?
Although the tourism market has always had a high number of operators, the challenge is that they either don’t have integrations or use different systems so there isn’t one single standard for how data is provided and tours are booked. This creates a fragmented landscape that makes it difficult to integrate the various types of operators with distribution partners. However, now there is a solution. TourRadar’s Adventure Booking Platform (ABP) connects businesses with a global network of operators and provides them the ability to search, view, and book adventures.
It took many years of hard work to get to this point. We reached out to each operator individually, analyzed their systems, and then determined how to best connect them to TourRadar’s ABP. This involved not only connecting operators’ APIs, but also onboarding those without integrations to create a standardized process. Moreover, our Content team curated the information and focused on setting up a standardized way to display the different operator-supplied information on our platform. This resulted in a smooth, straightforward customer journey, making it easy for travelers to search, compare, and book adventures all around the world. And it doesn’t end here. Our ABP is now open to businesses worldwide who’d also like to sell and package our adventures or simply use our affiliate program to expand their product portfolio and earn incremental revenue.
What are the different TourRadar B2B commercial models?
We offer three models: affiliate, wholesale, and direct. Companies fall into one (or more) of these models based on their relation to the operators and their goals going forward. For example, a small travel blog could be an affiliate, whereas a larger partner, who already has a contract with operators but wants to use our ABP to streamline connectivity and processes, could use the direct model. In fact, a single business could even have different contract types, such as 10 direct contracts with specific operators and then a wholesale contract for the rest. The wholesale contract is particularly beneficial for companies who haven’t worked with operators before because it gives them easy access to all of our inventory and creates a seamless payment process, in which they pay TourRadar instead of paying the operator directly.
Depending on the type and goals of individual partners, we can offer a variety of technical solutions. These are aimed at partners both with a tech-affinity and those without. So, a travel agent with less technical capabilities, or an Online Travel Agent with its own booking system, can both benefit from TourRadar’s ABP.
What technical solutions does TourRadar offer its partners?
Every partner is different. While some need quick solutions that don’t require much tech involvement, other partners require a more bespoke solution to integrate our inventory into their own platform. Therefore, TourRadar provides different technical solutions that can easily be switched over time should the needs of a business change. Before delving into the two solutions, it’s important to first mention how they were created. It started with our team outlining the entire TourRadar customer journey from the initial search query to booking an adventure. From there, we determined that the journey usually begins with a search page, where the customer can narrow the search by applying different filters and receive a high-level overview in the form of a list of suitable adventures. Next, a tour detail page provides all the relevant information about a specific adventure, including available departure dates. Finally, the journey concludes with a booking page that displays the total price as well as the steps to actually book the adventure.
After mapping the entire customer journey, we created solutions that enable our partners to easily replicate this flow by either leveraging the existing TourRadar platform or by building their own user flow using our partner API. These partner solution types include White-label and API access. With the White-label option, businesses can leverage our Adventure Booking Platform and customize the look and feel to match their brand. In terms of API integration, our solutions allow businesses to use their own interface and software tools to access our inventory and booking engine. If you’re ready to work with us, head over to our partner solutions page.
How can businesses benefit from working with TourRadar and using an API integration or a White-label solution?
Businesses benefit by receiving the following:
- a world-class messaging platform that connects them with operators and customers
- commercial agreements with over 2,500 operators worldwide
- commission on every booking
- tech onboarding support and a dedicated TourRadar Business Development Manager (BDM) to advise on strategies for maximizing sales
- 24/7 help from the TourRadar Customer Support team
In addition to these benefits, businesses also have the flexibility to choose, or even switch, between two great solutions: White-label and API integration. The former is quick and easy to start with because it allows businesses to take our ready-made product and simply add their own branding and identity. Moreover, it saves them the financial and human resources — as well as countless hours — that would’ve been needed to create a solution from scratch, making it much quicker to go-to-market. Similar to our TourRadar White-label solution, our API integration enables companies to collaborate with just one adventure aggregator rather than working individually with 2,500 operators. It also gives businesses the freedom to customize the user experience in a way that works best for them.
Want to know more?
Register now for Adventure Together to discover the future of the travel industry and how an Adventure Booking Platform can take your business to the next level!
