Discover The Potential of eCommerce Tourism Marketplace in 2024

Last Updated: 6th June, 2024

As humans, traveling fans an innate desire to explore, and experience new worlds, beyond the mundane routine of everyday life. In the social media-driven era of today, the allure of a dream destination featured in a YouTube video, or the search for the perfect Instagram post, sparks this desire to go and explore. 

In this digital journey of a traveler ― from desire to action, online travel and tourism businesses thrive by connecting the traveler with travel-related products and services. From travel accessories to souvenirs to experiences and everything in between, such websites give their customers a visual roadmap, adding predictability to their plans ― and in the process of generating revenue for their services. Significantly, the global online travel market size is estimated to reach $1,835.6 billion by 2031, with a CAGR of 14.8% from 2024 to 2031. Read all about how to start online tourism business in 2024. 

How Does a Travel Marketplace Work? 

A travel and tourism online marketplace is an eCommerce website that connects travelers with businesses and service providers in their travel destination. These can include transportation providers, lodging, restaurants and food joints, experiential activities, and even local retail outlets. The website typically offers various travel-related products, services and activities that travelers can prearrange online, through the website itself. 

In such a platform, the retailers or service providers, create their profiles and list the services or products they wish to provide. This listing includes all details of the services or products, along with the prices and availability details. After this is done, the travelers can search for services/products based on their destination, travel dates, budget, and other preferences, and then buy the ones that meet their needs.

For buying, the travelers then pay for the chosen product or service via a checkout page. This process involves the services of a payment gateway in the case of card payments or bank transfers. Otherwise, a website may choose to offer eWallet transfers as well. Once the payment is completed the customers receive their chosen commodity. 

How Does a Travel Marketplace Make Money? 

A travel marketplace is a two-sided business. It earns revenue via the following ways: 

• Commissions: Each time there is a successful transaction on the eCommerce platform, the business earns revenue in the form of a fixed commission. 
• Subscriptions: The eCommerce business can also offer subscription services in exchange for bundled services or discounts. This revenue channel offers a recurring revenue stream for the business. 
• PPC and monetizing website advertisements: The online business also has the opportunity to earn revenue by monetizing website assets such as banners. 

Ideas to Start an Online Travel and Tourism Business 

As we discussed above, the online tourism industry caters to multiple needs of the traveler. So rather than covering everything, and losing focus, eCommerce Tourism platforms have had success by focusing on providing specific solutions to user needs with what they have to offer. This also helps in market positioning–making it easier for travelers to identify the business with a specific purpose. So if you want to learn how to start online tourism business, read about these business ideas in the online tourism industry: 

Travel Accessories Marketplace 

For example: Away, GoTravel 

One of the important facilitators to good travel experiences is travel accessories. For instance, inappropriate luggage solutions can mar the whole journey while well-designed products allow for convenience. Similarly for other travel accessories. Moreover, such marketplaces also give the option to source all such needs from one eCommerce platform. 

Away, a US-based marketplace platform offers trendy and innovative luggage products. It offers multiple solutions to fulfill the needs of travelers. Luggage, organizers, wine carriers, and much more, it caters to the travel needs of the customers. 

Similarly, Go Travel is an eCommerce platform for all sorts of travel accessories like power solutions, sleeping pillows, neck rests, gadgets, and similar travel-related products. 

Marketplace for Adventure Gear 

For Example: Moosejaw 

Adventure travel involves the use of specialized equipment and products. These can include hiking gear, tools for climbing, water sports gear, and more. A specialized shop for these products gives buyers all the products for their adventure travel from a single platform. Entrepreneurs considering building a marketplace for adventure gear can onboard leading brands for such products, thus allowing buyers to source all adventure-related needs from renowned brands, from the platform. 

Moosejaw is an omnichannel adventure platform, that offers a host of products for Adventure travel activities. Having been in business since the year 1992, it includes multiple product categories that span a wide range of adventure activities. 

Marketplace for camping 

For example: Hipcamp

Camping in itself a recreational activity that necessitates the buyers to look for multiple products. To start with there is gear needed for the activity, then camps and related paraphernalia like chargers, bedding, lights, and more are needed. Furthermore, online marketplaces can also feature camp sites availability, RV parking sites, RVs, and more for travelers to explore. Hipcamp connects travelers with campsites, RV parks, treehouses, and more. 

Online Travel Accommodation Marketplace 

For Example: Airbnb 

Suitable accommodation is one of the top priorities for travelers. In scenarios where hotels may be less suited owing to the duration of stay, size of the property, budget considerations, location, or other factors ― apartments and local housing present better-suited lodging alternatives. For the apartment owners as well, the option to earn revenue from their available rooms, apartments, etc. is an attractive option. Online travel accommodation marketplaces liaison these users with their eCommerce platform. 

Airbnb bridges this gap, addressing the needs of the travelers who want the accommodation, and the owners of the property by giving them a platform to connect. This business model has further potential for growth as well, especially in countries where Airbnb does not have a presence. 

Online Tour and Activities Marketplace

For Example: Viator 

Local experiences form a big part of destination travel. eCommerce platforms have started to cater to this growing demand. An online tour and activities marketplace connects travelers with a range of tours, activities, and immersive cultural experiences. It bridges the gap between tourists seeking unique adventures and the local service providers offering them. Travelers can easily research, compare, and book a variety of options ― from guided city tours and culinary experiences to outdoor adventures and hands-on workshops. 

With the continued rise in the demand for experiential travel, the potential for growth of an online tour and activities marketplace is significant. Viator is one such tour and activities marketplace. It is an undertaking by Tripadvisor. As more travelers turn to digital channels to search, discover, and plan their entire itinerary for travel ― tours and activities marketplaces like Viator can become an essential medium to fulfill their needs. 

How to Create a Tourism Website?

There are two ways to create an online tourism marketplace.

1. Custom-made eCommerce Platform: In this approach, the tourism marketplace platform will be developed from the ground up. To achieve this, you may want to hire an in-house team or outsource your requirements to an eCommerce development company. That said, each aspect spanning from feature integrations to coding and testing of the platform will be executed by the developers. Since these services will be on a per-hour basis, the total cost can reach anywhere between $10k – $500k. Furthermore, it is a lengthy process increasing the product’s time-to-market.

2. Turnkey eCommerce Solution: Leveraging turnkey eCommerce software is another approach ideal for building an online tourism marketplace. It comprises all the essential eCommerce features required to easily run a tourism platform. Additional customizations are supported to fit your specific needs. Using such ready-to-use software reduces the time-to-market, helping you get your online tourism platform up and running within a few days.

How can YoKart help? 

YoKart is a customizable marketplace software that comes with these essentials for a robust eCommerce marketplace platform: 

• Essential eCommerce features. 
• Multi-vendor support 
• Support for multiple revenue streams. 
• Multiple payment gateways and business APIs pre-integrated. 
• Flexible underpinnings that allow ease of third-party API integration 
• Tested high performance and a secure system. 

Moreover, the software is backed by an in-house team for customization and after-sales support. This makes it convenient to tailor the software to specific business needs.

Voyij – An example of Custom End-to-End Travel Marketplace Powered by Yo!Kart

Voyij, a pioneering eCommerce platform established in 2014 in Alaska by siblings Greg and Olivia Klupar, offers tour and retail bookings and commemorative merchandise sales in Alaska. It allows travelers to book adventure activities in Alaska using a booking calendar. 

Additionally, it also lets them buy merchandise in advance using a unique functionality BOPIS. which includes a vast assortment of locally sourced gifts, and rare collectibles from Alaska. Thus Voyij lets travelers plan their complete vacation using the eCommerce platform. Voyij has been custom-developed by customizing the versatile turnkey solution YoKart 

Wrapping Up 

The online Tourism niche in eCommerce has a promising future and tourism marketplaces present an opportunity to set up their tourism marketplaces. In this blog, you have the information on how to start an online tourism business with the popularly adopted business ideas. However, in eCommerce, the scope for further business innovation is certainly there. 

YoKart gives you the capabilities to create a tourism website. To leverage business innovation with a specific eCommerce platform, you can also discuss the customization of the solution. Get in touch with the team, and visualize how your business idea will work with a self-paced demo of YoKart. 

FAQs:

Q1. How much does it cost to build a travel/tourism marketplace platform?

Ans: The cost to build a tourism marketplace platform depends on multiple factors including features required, design complexity, and scalability preferences. The aspects such as development, payment processing, and maintenance contribute to the cost. Besides, selecting between a custom-built approach and turnkey eCommerce software is vital to getting a clear cost estimate. For details, visit here.

Q2. Is there any specific B2B travel eCommerce software available?

Ans: There are plenty of B2B eCommerce software available to streamline and enhance business-to-business transactions within the travel industry. One such software, YoKart B2B, stands out for its comprehensive features, facilitating efficient management of bookings, payments, inventory, and communications among travel agents, suppliers, and distributors. Its user-friendly interface and customizable solutions make it a valuable asset for simplified B2B travel operations.

Q3. How to choose a technology partner to build your travel/tourism marketplace?

Ans: Selecting a tech partner to build your travel marketplace involves several key considerations. Evaluate the experience of tech firms and their expertise in delivering scalable solutions and providing intuitive booking systems. Verify their capability to adapt to evolving trends in the travel industry. Furthermore, assess their communication, customer service, and commitment to long-term collaboration for a successful venture.