Online booking in tourism: 6 statistics you should know

Guided tour, excursion, outdoor activity, food or agritourism experience: whatever you offer, the way people book has changed. Today’s visitor plans on their phone, often at the last minute, and expects to confirm a spot in seconds. For a local tourism business, an online booking system is no longer a luxury — it’s the main sales channel. Here’s why, in numbers.

1. Travel is booked online — massively

In 2025, about 70% of travel bookings are made online. The tours and experiences segment is growing fast, projected toward nearly US$300 billion, driven by demand for authentic and local activities. If your activity can’t be booked online, it’s simply absent at the moment the visitor decides.

2. Visitors book on their phone

Mobile dominates: more than half of travel bookings are now made on a mobile device, and over 8 in 10 travelers research their activities on their phone. In practice, your booking page must be fast and simple on a small screen — a tourist hesitating between two excursions will pick the one they can book without friction, right now.

3. Last-minute has become the norm

In 2025, 27% of bookings happen within 7 days of travel, up from the year before. These visitors won’t leave a message and wait for a callback: they want to see your real-time availability and book on the spot, in the evening or on the weekend. An online system works 24/7, even when your office is closed.

4. Visitors plan ahead… and want to do it themselves

Conversely, a large share of customers arrange everything before departure: 64% of Gen Z and 57% of Millennial travelers book their activities in advance (museums, experiences, tours). Between last-minute and advance planning, there’s one common thread: self-service booking. Offering both means losing neither audience.

5. Every direct booking is one less commission

This is the angle too many businesses overlook. Online travel agencies (OTAs) typically charge between 15% and 30% commission per booking. They bring visibility, but every sale through them eats into your margin. By building your own direct booking channel, you keep the customer relationship — and the revenue. Especially since direct bookings on operator websites have declined (from 29% to 25% in one year): those who don’t make direct booking easy are ceding ground to intermediaries.

6. Less logistics, more time in the field

Handling calls, confirming spots, sending reminders, adjusting groups based on the weather: in a small tourism team, that eats up hours. By automating confirmations, reminders and capacity management, an online booking system reduces no-shows and gives you back time — the time you’d rather spend welcoming visitors than managing a calendar.

In short

Activity tourism plays out online, on mobile, often at the last minute. A booking system meets that reality, captures visitors around the clock, and above all lets you build a direct channel that escapes the big platforms’ commissions.

With PRÉSENCE, built for local organizations and businesses, you offer simple, direct online booking — ticketing, automated reminders and capacity management — without handing a cut of every sale to an intermediary.