In tours and attractions, not all bookings are equal.
A booking that comes through your own website is different from one that comes through an OTA. And that is different again from a booking made by a hotel, concierge, travel agent, or local partner.
They all bring in revenue, but they come with different costs, different levels of control, and different operational demands.
That matters because many operators do not just need more bookings. They need a better mix of bookings, with systems that can support them properly.
And that is becoming more important as digital sales keep growing. Online travel bookings worldwide are forecast to reach $1.07 trillion in 2025, while Arival reports that OTAs accounted for 37% of experiences bookings in 2025.
The short version
- Direct bookings come straight to you
- OTA bookings come through online travel agencies like Viator or GetYourGuide
- Reseller bookings come through partners such as hotels, concierges, travel agents, visitor centres, or other local sellers
Each one has a different role to play.
A simple example
Imagine you run a sightseeing bus tour.
Three people book the same 2pm departure:
- One books on your website
- One books through Viator
- One buys through a hotel partner
Operationally, all three need a seat on the same departure.
Commercially, though, they are very different bookings.
One may bring the best margin.
One may help you reach travellers who would never have found you directly.
One may come from a partner relationship you want to grow.
That is why the difference matters.
Problems checklist for operators
If you are trying to work out where to focus, start here.
Your direct booking setup may need attention if:
In short, customers are finding you, but your own channel is not converting as well as it should.
Your OTA setup may need attention if:
In short, OTAs are bringing volume, but not enough control.
Your reseller setup may need attention if:
- Partners still book through manual processes
- Hotel or trade sales are hard to track
- Commission structures are awkward to manage
- Resellers cannot access live availability easily
- Your team spends too much time on admin
- The channel has potential, but the process is too messy to scale
In short, the partner network may be valuable, but the setup behind it is doing too much by hand.
You may need to review your whole channel mix if:
- No one can clearly say which channels are most profitable
- Sales are growing, but admin is growing too
- Direct, OTA, and reseller channels feel disconnected
- Different teams are working from different assumptions
- Your business has grown faster than the systems behind it
That last one is common.
The bottom line: which channel is best?
Usually, it is not about picking one.
- Direct bookings often give you more control and better margin.
- OTAs can give you reach and demand.
- Resellers can strengthen partnerships and local distribution.
The better question is this:
Do we have the right mix, and do we have the systems to manage it well?
For growing operators, success is about making sure different types of demand can flow into the business cleanly, profitably, and without creating unnecessary admin behind the scenes.
At Palisis, we work with operators managing a mix of direct sales, OTAs, and reseller relationships across multiple products and channels.
If some parts of that mix feel smooth and others feel harder than they should, it may be worth looking more closely at where the friction is really coming from.
Contact Palisis and learn more about how your business can grow through the perfect channel mix!