Nearly seven in 10 tour, activity and attraction operators continue to charge fixed prices throughout the season, despite evidence that most travellers are comfortable with prices changing according to demand, according to new research from Arival.
The “Arival Guide to Modern Pricing in Experiences”, produced in partnership with TourIQ, BlackDog Advertising, Aloja and Walkway, found that 69% of operators still use static pricing, setting a single price regardless of the day, time or level of demand.
The research suggested travellers are more receptive to changing prices than operators might expect, while only 6% have adopted dynamic pricing, where software automatically adjusts prices in response to factors such as bookings, remaining capacity and changing demand.
A further 25% use variable pricing, setting rates in advance according to the season, day of the week or departure time.
Although static pricing remains dominant, the proportion of operators using this approach has fallen from more than 90% when Arival first measured pricing practices in 2019.
Larger businesses are leading the shift, with 44% of operators serving more than 50,000 guests annually using variable or dynamic pricing, compared with 27% of smaller operators.
Adoption also varies by region. The Middle East leads, with 43% of operators using variable or dynamic pricing, followed by North America and Europe, both at 33%.
Australia and New Zealand lag behind, with 77% of operators continuing to use static pricing.
Despite the relatively slow adoption of more flexible pricing models, a quarter of in-destination experience businesses said improving their pricing strategy was a strategic priority this year.
Bruce Rosard, co-founder of Arival, said operators could be missing revenue opportunities by failing to adjust prices according to demand.
“Most operators still charge the same for a sold-out Saturday sunset cruise as they do for a half-empty Tuesday morning, and they’re leaving money behind on both,” he said.
