Recognising that 65-70% of experiences are still booked offline, connectivity infrastructure and collaboration are key to supporting the digital transformation of small tour and experience providers. In the third episode of Leading Tourism's Transition experience economy series, Nick Hall and our series co-host, Craig Everett, Co-Founder and CEO of Holibob, delve into the experience ecosystem with Natasha Martin from NEOM Nature Reserve, James Lemon from Stripe and Panos Kokkalis from Marketing Greece. Through their conversation, they explore how technological integrations enable seamless visitor journeys, the development of sustainable and high-value visitor experiences and how to scale distribution.

‍

‍

Powering the Experience Ecosystem

‍

The experience ecosystem is moving from the periphery to the absolute core of why people travel. Yet, for too long, this vital sector has remained stubbornly analogue, a fragmented landscape weighed down by legacy systems. Catalysed by technology and championed by innovative organisations, rapid digitalisation is now taking shape. From streamlining the fundamental act of payment to enabling sophisticated destination management, digital solutions are proving to be indispensable in fundamentally reshaping how destinations, businesses and travellers connect.

‍

James emphasises that payment decisions are "far more strategic" than typically realised. For the thousands of experience providers, payments address critical business needs. Some operators are "losing 20-30% of bookings" simply because customers don't trust their website or can't use their preferred payment method on booking engines. Stripe's focus is on solving this, enabling operators to "act local, think global" by offering familiar payment options, including local methods, international currencies or even "buy now, pay later" options. As James highlights, operators share three key goals:

1. The desire for a strong direct booking proposition to capture the marketing funnel and understand their travellers.
2. The opportunity to drive ancillary sales, personalising stays and influencing where visitors spend money in destinations.
3. Boosting productivity by removing the burden of managing finances and integrations, allowing operators to focus on their core business of creating great experiences.

‍

‍

James envisions the experience economy having a financial infrastructure for payment reconciliation similar to ride-sharing apps, where complex money splitting happens seamlessly behind the scenes, with clear dashboards for operators. He stresses that this technology is "modular" and can be integrated into existing systems or built from scratch, supporting even low-tech businesses. This perspective highlights how modern financial infrastructure can be "at the heart of how [the experience ecosystem] simplifies and scales".

‍

Beyond payments, technology is reshaping product distribution. Panos highlights how understanding the evolving expectations of visitors necessitated delving into digital solutions to make Greece's unique experiences bookable. Despite the fragmented nature of the experience ecosystem, with many booking engines and legacy systems, Marketing Greece has transformed Discover Greece from purely inspirational content to a platform enabling direct booking of 800 handpicked activities. This monumental effort has paid off, transforming the website into a "one-stop shop travel hub" to improve user engagement and boost revenue, with a revenue-sharing model supporting Greek businesses.

‍

‍

On the other hand, technology is empowering the experience economy to support destination management. Natasha describes NEOM's mandate to protect 95% of the area's nature and how insights gleaned from the management of other protected areas are actively shaping the design of the entire experience ecosystem. Working from a blank slate with no legacy technology, digital tools are helping to drive value instead of volume. She identifies three critical elements technology helps control to deliver this "new benchmark in nature-based tourism": access, dispersal and diversity. Technology, through features like check-in functionalities that minimise the need for rangers to be manning gates and differentiated pricing to take seasonality into account, allows NEOM to manage visitor numbers, spread them out across the reserve and offer diverse experiences efficiently in a way that was previously impossible.

‍

Empowering the Ecosystem

‍

Finding technology investments that solve problems for both stakeholders and the destination itself is the priority for competitiveness. While the technology largely exists, a significant hurdle remains around education and enablement. Small businesses need to become more fluent in understanding the importance of technology stack integrations. Both Panos and Natasha agree that DMOs have a "massive role to play" in supporting this uptake of technology through education. Natasha also questions whether implementing centralised technology platforms could be the best use of a DMO's resources in supporting small businesses, taking the burden off operators.

‍

With the opportunity for ancillary revenue being immense - a lesson airlines have mastered - understanding target markets is crucial when determining the most effective technology solutions for enabling the experience economy, as this understanding directly informs how destinations and operators can best reach potential visitors and provide the services they are looking for. Technology facilitates upselling and cross-selling seamlessly into the customer journey, whether suggesting extra activities or enabling easy payment for on-the-spot purchases. James refers to how ski resorts are becoming "travel marketplaces", bundling various services and experiences beyond their core offer, while Disney's Magic Bands enable seamless visitor experiences and instant card-free payment options. For the experience ecosystem to truly reach its potential, businesses need to learn how to foster collaboration and serve a global market with evolving expectations. Panos describes how despite being commonplace for hoteliers to upsell and cross-sell their own amenities, it remains difficult to persuade them to actively promote experiences, even if that would result in visitors potentially staying an extra night. He outlines Marketing Greece's plans to launch a marketplace later this year, aiming to expand experience reach to hotels, airports and airlines, supporting seamless booking and complex revenue splitting.

‍

‍

Craig argues strongly that DMOs, despite spending "hundreds of millions of dollars every year to market and promote their destinations", often overlook enabling distribution for the very experiences people travel for. He believes DMOs need to focus more on how they can "empower and enable their ecosystem to distribute more effectively" and help overcome the capability gaps of the small in-house teams of these providers. Panos adds that creating local DMOs could help distribute digital knowledge and content at a grassroots level, supporting the "small family-owned businesses" that often provide the best quality hospitality.

‍

Seamless Bookings and AI Integration

‍

While, as Nick suggests, bookability is arguably a "solved problem" by the industry in large part, the evolution of the experience ecosystem is far from complete. The focus is now shifting to broader distribution and, critically, the ownership of the customer relationship. Relying heavily on OTAs can feel like a reluctant and bitterly accepted necessity for many businesses, with Craig noting that the potential cost of acquisition is sometimes overlooked when businesses rely on OTAs. On the other hand, James highlights that technology empowers operators to drive direct booking opportunities and build relationships with travellers for personalisation and communication throughout the customer lifecycle. Yet, as Craig points out, the experience market's tendency for last-minute bookings, with 75% sold within 72 hours of travel and roughly 50% sold in the destination itself, drives up the cost of acquiring consumers through channels like paid search or more traditional marketing methods. With visitors weighing the opportunity cost of a potential experience against other ways they could spend their limited time, the need for convenience and curation to reduce perceived risk and make informed decisions is a key challenge to experience distribution. This short buying window means businesses need to capture interest and secure bookings quickly, which can be more expensive than marketing products booked with longer lead times. At the same time, James sees opportunities for an insurance product or fintech solutions to help boost visitor confidence and minimise the opportunity cost for visitors.

‍

‍

Given the last-minute nature of bookings, trust will be paramount in these new distribution channels. As James points out, the increasing volume of chargebacks, often arising when experiences don't go as expected, underscores the critical importance of enabling flexibility and assurance to build consumer trust. Similarly, Natasha describes NEOM's approach to creating frameworks for quantifying the quality of experiences. Rather than traditional certifications, "quality standards" are being developed that serve as frameworks for operators and are linked to a "reward system" where higher quality can lead to more visibility or access within NEOM's platforms. Using technology to incentivise high performance and influence behaviour for both visitors and the industry, acting as a virtuous circle with profits invested back into conservation and supporting destination management and the design of innovative experiences.

‍

Looking ahead, the advent of AI and the evolution of social media platforms present the next frontier for the experience ecosystem. James envisions a future where AI agents design entire trip itineraries, seamlessly integrating experiences alongside flights and accommodation. He ponders a "buy button" at the end of such an itinerary, booking everything at once, highlighting the need for modern, integrated financial and booking infrastructure. With trust being key to the purchasing journey, James suggests that AI will likely rely on quality reviews and destination curation to recommend providers. Craig echoes this, noting that the infrastructure behind these evolving search interfaces "needs to be as modern, innovative and seamless" as the consumer-facing technology. He warns that failing to keep pace with evolving technological developments could lead to a "clunky user experience for years to come".

‍

Key Takeaways

‍

The success of the experience ecosystem hinges on achieving seamlessness, not just for the visitor but for the entire network of providers and destination managers. This requires technology that connects disparate parts of the ecosystem, simplifies operations and empowers businesses of all sizes. DMOs, with their inherent reputation and knowledge, are uniquely positioned to be "the connectors and builders of that opportunity", collaborating with technology providers like Holibob and Stripe to create the integrated ecosystems needed for the digital age. Technology investments within the experience economy should focus on ensuring destinations have all of the levers to pull for effective destination management while simultaneously facilitating seamless experiences that equally consider the visitor and the complex ecosystem of providers.

‍

Here are the key takeaways:

1. A crucial shift in mindset is needed for experience providers to embrace ancillary services and offer increased flexibility to unlock new revenue streams and enhance visitor satisfaction.
2. Integrating both local and global payment options is crucial for experience providers to be trusted as a booking channel, requiring detailed knowledge of evolving visitor preferences from different markets.
3. DMOs are pivotal in educating and supporting small businesses to adopt essential tech, fostering a collaborative ecosystem that enhances overall destination competitiveness.
4. Moving beyond a reliance on OTAs for crucial traveller insights, driving direct bookings helps cultivate lasting customer relationships.
5. AI agents are poised to revolutionise trip planning through curating integrated itineraries, while social commerce increasingly becomes a direct purchasing channel, demanding an interconnected booking infrastructure.