Online Travel Agencies like Viator, GetYourGuide, and Expedia have transformed how travellers discover and book tours. But for operators, the commission model has become increasingly punishing. At 20–30% per booking, OTAs are essentially a silent business partner taking a third of your revenue — without sharing any of your costs.
The operators who are winning right now are the ones building their own direct booking channels. Here are five proven strategies to get there.
Most tour operator websites are built to impress, not to convert. Beautiful photos, but no urgency. Lots of information, but no clear next step. The single highest-leverage thing you can do is redesign your site around one goal: getting visitors to book. That means a prominent, fast booking widget, social proof above the fold, clear pricing, and a "book direct and save" offer that makes bypassing OTAs feel like a no-brainer.
When someone searches "Gold Coast whale watching tour" on Google, Viator is bidding to appear first. So is GetYourGuide. But you can outbid them for searches specific to your brand and tour type — at a fraction of the commission cost. A well-targeted Google Ads campaign with a $500–$1,000/month budget can easily generate a positive ROI versus paying 25% on every Viator booking.
Every customer who books through an OTA is a missed relationship. Start capturing email addresses at every touchpoint — post-tour surveys, website popups offering a discount code, booking confirmations asking for a review. A list of 3,000 past customers is a direct marketing channel that costs nothing to use and compounds over time. OTAs can't take that away from you.
Most people who land on your website don't book on the first visit. They browse, get distracted, and end up back on Viator a day later. Facebook and Instagram retargeting ads follow those visitors and bring them back to your site — with a specific offer — before they've had a chance to book elsewhere. Retargeting is one of the highest-ROI ad formats available to tour operators.
OTAs dominate the high-volume, generic search terms. But you can own the long-tail. Blog posts like "Best family tours on the Gold Coast" or "Hidden hinterland experiences near Surfers Paradise" attract travellers who are still in research mode — before they've committed to an OTA. When your content shows up first, they land on your site, not Viator's.
🔑 The key insight: You don't need to replace OTA volume overnight. Even shifting 30% of bookings to direct in year one can add tens of thousands of dollars back to your bottom line.
These five strategies work best together. Google Ads drives new visitors. Your website converts them. Retargeting brings back the ones who didn't convert first time. Email nurtures them for their next trip. Content builds organic traffic that compounds over months and years.
The operators who implement even three of these consistently are the ones who, two years from now, look back and wonder why they ever gave Viator 25%.
Technology Three works exclusively with Australian travel operators. We build and manage direct booking pipelines — from strategy to execution — with one goal: more revenue in your pocket, less going to OTAs.
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