Capturing Experiential Travel – By Duane Overgaard

A new wave of digital payment innovation is making transactions faster, safer, and more efficient for travel and hotels, virtual credit cards are leading the charge.

For decades, air, hotel, and car bookings defined the structure of most trips, with experiences often treated as a secondary choice—something travelers added on after the essential logistics were in place. That model is changing rapidly. Today, experiences are no longer an afterthought. They are becoming the reason people travel in the first place.

Research confirms this shift. Travelers increasingly make destination choices based on the activities they can enjoy once they arrive. A joint study from Skift and McKinsey found that experiences now represent a global market exceeding $1 trillion annually, with structured, paid activities such as tours, events, and attractions accounting for roughly a quarter of that value. Younger generations in particular are prioritizing experiences above other categories of spend, with over half of Gen Z travelers reporting that they would rather reduce their budget for flights, food, or shopping than cut back on activities during their trip. The trend shows no signs of slowing, and it is reshaping the way the industry must think about distribution, partnerships, and customer engagement.

The rise of experiential travel is fueled by more than just shifting consumer values. Social media has become a powerful amplifier, transforming moments into signals of cultural relevance and personal identity. A photo taken at a concert, a cooking class, or a guided hike is not simply a memory—it becomes part of a traveler’s narrative and an influence on their peers’ decisions. This dynamic has created a self-reinforcing loop, where demand for unique, authentic moments continues to accelerate. For suppliers, distributors, and technology providers, this presents both an opportunity and a challenge.

The opportunity is evident: experiences drive engagement, loyalty, and incremental spend. Packages that include experiences consistently achieve higher satisfaction ratings, with net promoter scores as much as 15 to 20 points higher than those without. The challenge, however, lies in the fragmented structure of the sector. Unlike air travel, which consolidates around a relatively small number of carriers, or hotels, which can be organized by chain and segment, experiences are delivered by millions of small operators across the globe. Many are local businesses, sometimes run by a single individual, who are passionate about their craft but lack the digital infrastructure to connect efficiently with international travelers.

This fragmentation has real consequences. Despite the size of the market, nearly half of all experience bookings still occur offline, either through hotel concierges, local agents, or direct walk-ups. Even online, discovery can be frustrating. For a traveler planning a visit to Paris, the number of available tours of the Eiffel Tower has grown from 244 in 2019 to over 765 today. Without effective curation, travelers are faced with overwhelming lists, often with inconsistent descriptions, variable quality standards, and unclear expectations. For distributors such as airlines, hotels, and online travel platforms, this creates a complex balancing act: how to provide meaningful, trustworthy options at scale without overwhelming the customer or compromising margins.

The complexity of this challenge is precisely why technology must take center stage. Experiences need to be integrated into the booking journey with the same reliability and seamlessness as flights and hotels. Doing so requires platforms that can normalize fragmented supply, aggregate it at scale, and deliver it in a way that feels curated and relevant to the traveler.

At DerbySoft, this has been a guiding principle. We view connectivity as the foundation of modern travel distribution. By integrating disparate systems and enabling real-time availability, we create the infrastructure that allows experiences to be surfaced where travelers are already making decisions, whether that is when booking a flight, reserving a hotel room, or browsing a travel app in-destination. Without this kind of intelligent connectivity, the industry cannot deliver on the promise of experiential travel at scale.

But connectivity alone is not enough. The discovery process must also evolve. Travelers expect experiences to be easy to find, tailored to their interests, and presented in a way that reduces decision fatigue. Insights from McKinsey highlight how traveler preferences fall into distinct profiles—from “social adventurers” who plan every detail in advance, to “relaxed researchers” who prefer spontaneous booking after arrival. This diversity requires more than a static listing of activities. It calls for platforms that can leverage data, AI, and personalization to anticipate what will resonate with each traveler at the right moment.

Timing plays a critical role. Whereas flights and hotels are often secured months in advance, experiences are frequently booked last-minute or even while on-site. This introduces additional complexity into distribution, as platforms must support both advance planning and spontaneous decision-making. A traveler might want to book a culinary class months ahead to secure a spot, but decide on a walking tour the same morning based on weather or mood. Systems that cannot accommodate this flexibility risk missing out on a significant portion of demand.

Thematic travel adds another layer of opportunity and complexity. Major events such as concerts or sporting competitions can drive surges in demand, with travelers spending over $1,000 on hotels, dining, and transport when attending. Yet these opportunities are time-bound and episodic. Unlike evergreen attractions, they require distribution platforms to quickly adapt inventory and marketing strategies to capture demand in narrow windows. Again, only flexible, well-integrated platforms can make this commercially viable for operators and distributors alike.

For hotels and airlines, integrating experiences into their core offerings is not just a matter of ancillary revenue, it is becoming essential to their value proposition. Hotels can use experiences to differentiate their brand and enhance loyalty programs. Airlines can bundle experiences into packages, provide in-destination options during layovers, or use them to add value to frequent flyer programs. Both sectors stand to benefit from higher margins and improved customer satisfaction if experiences are seamlessly included in the booking journey.

This is the future DerbySoft is working toward: a connected ecosystem where experiences are no longer siloed but fully integrated into travel distribution. Our platform enables suppliers to extend their reach, distributors to broaden their value proposition, and travelers to access curated, bookable options without friction. The result is a win for all stakeholders, operators gain visibility, distributors generate new revenue streams, and travelers enjoy a trip that feels more meaningful and complete.

The growth of experiential travel is not a passing trend; it reflects a structural shift in consumer behavior and expectations. Spending on experiences has outpaced spending on physical products by a wide margin, increasing 65 percent since 2019. Experiences are becoming the currency of travel, shaping both demand and loyalty. The industry’s challenge is to ensure that this demand is met with systems that are as seamless and scalable as the experiences themselves are memorable.

The market is large, fragmented, and still maturing. That combination creates both risk and extraordinary opportunity. As travel continues to evolve, those who succeed in capturing the experiential segment will not only tap into significant revenue potential but also redefine what it means to deliver value in travel. The key is technology that makes the complex simple, the fragmented whole, and the overwhelming accessible.

Experiences are no longer peripheral to travel. They are central. The industry must rise to the occasion, and DerbySoft is committed to building the foundation that makes it possible.

About the Author

Duane Overgaard is the Divisional CEO, Hospitality, of DerbySoft. With over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry, he has a diverse skill set that includes account management, business development, and contract negotiation. Duane has held various leadership positions at renowned companies such as Sabre Corporation, Wyndham International, and Hilton Hotels & Resorts, where he has demonstrated expertise in hotel management and marketing strategy. He is known for his strong team-building and competitive analysis skills. Duane is currently based in the Dallas area of the United States.