Editor's note: this post is an excerpt from The Large Marketplace Comparison Guide which you can read now.

Online Travel Agents (OTAs) act as online marketplaces where tour and activity suppliers from all over the world can list their services. OTAs then spend a lot of time and money aggregating services from all over the world and marketing their inventory to a global customer base.

These marketplaces are large, huge in fact. They are established online and partner with top players in the industry, getting your products in front of a broader audience. This can be difficult for companies who want to stand out from the competition, as to get on the "Recommended" list can be tough. On the other hand, large marketplaces are susceptible to more regional competition as well as more curated, niche marketplaces.

With the advancements in travel technology, long gone are the days you have to call a customer to ask for their credit card details or have them send it to you via email. Today, we have much safer, much more secure methods for customers to pay for your services.

For suppliers who accept payments online, have you ever wondered if it was possible to apply different payment plans to your tours and activities?

If you are a tour guide, then you are most likely one very busy person. Your days will be full of meeting new people, keeping said people as safe as possible, and providing an incredible, memorable experience over and over again. It’s one of the most rewarding jobs in the world, but it's also very demanding, especially during the high season.

In every part of our lives, gadgets are continually being developed to make things that little bit easier. For tour guides, it's no different, and to make your life even easier, I have researched and whittled down the must-have gadgets for you. 

Here are 8 gadgets that every busy tour guide should have:

Editor's note: this post is an excerpt from our Travel Trends Report 2018 which you can access now.

From 2017 to 2022, Euromonitor International predicts continued growth of 8.4% in the number of Chinese outbound travelers, reaching a whopping 128 million outbound trips by 2022. With a growing middle class, researchers also expect China to be one of the largest contributors to the tourism sector in the coming years.

2018 will be the EU-China Tourism Year where the European Commission and the European Tourism Commission will work closely with China National Tourism Administration to promote European destinations to Chinese travelers.

This partnership will strengthen ties between Europe and China (a smart move considering South Korea’s sharp decline in Chinese visitors when the Chinese government imposed a travel ban on the country due to political tensions), and aims to make it easier for Chinese travelers to explore Europe by increasing the number of connecting flights and improving visa application processes.

Editor's note: This post is an excerpt from our Travel Trends Report 2018, written by Lucy Fuggle. You can access the report now. 

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) tourism has experienced a significant increase in recent years, and we can only foresee more growth. Why? It makes social and financial sense.

Up to 7% of adults are estimated to identify as LGBTQ. And as the Second Global Report on LGBTQ Tourism by UNWTO and IGLTA explains, the LGBTQ segment is recognized to travel more often and demonstrate higher-than-average patterns of spending.

Last month, we hosted a webinar all about SEO in 2018. The webinar was delivered by Marcelo, our in-house SEO expert who deals with spreadsheets and Google Analytics all day. He also has extensive experience in the area, having previously worked with brands like HSBC and Volvo.

It was our largest webinar to date, with over 600 signups. It was a great session and I thought it would be great to share some insights from the session.

We're excited to announce two new marketplaces that have been added to TrekkSoft's Channel Manager - Tiqets and Civitatis.

Tiqets is the leading provider for tickets to top attractions, events, tours and activities while Civitatis is the largest online travel marketplace for the Spanish speaking market. 

For those unfamiliar with these marketplaces, here's a snapshot of each one and what your listing could look like on their platforms.

With the high season just around the corner, it may seem like the right time to stop promotion and rely on the influx of impending tourism. In reality, it is more vital than ever to make your tours and activities stand out from the competition to achieve the best possible results.

Phocuswright’s travel research states 'the tours and activities market is estimated to reach $183 Billion by 2020.' This figure is led by higher tourism and more competitors in the marketplace. 

Another Phocuswright study of the U.S. Consumer confirmed that '80% of U.S. travelers participated in some type of tour, activity, event or ticketed attraction of their last trip.' That’s a big statistic if you consider that out of every 5 travelers, 4 are potential customers for your business.

We are delighted to share that UK-based Digital Ticketing Systems, DigiTickets are now part of the TrekkSoft Group.

Digital Ticketing Systems Ltd (DigiTickets) started in 2010 and specialises in ticketing, EPOS and membership solutions to leisure attractions and events, based primarily in the UK and Ireland. The company supplies solutions to more than 400 clients including Cadbury World, Dublin Zoo, Design Museum and the National Marine Aquarium.

Over the last several years, tours, activities, and attractions have been the travel industry’s fastest growing sector. Online sales continue to increase at a rapid pace according to Phocuswright’s definitive study, and as such, there is a visible shift in the marketplace. Big players TripAdvisor acquired Viator and more recently Bókun, Airbnb launched ‘experiences’ and Expedia created ‘Things to do’, plus startups have raised more than $250 million in the last 15 months.

In 2017, guides and operators added 30,000 new experiences on TripAdvisor alone, increasing the number of available tours and attractions by 50%. CEO, Stephen Kaufer, commented at the 2016 Skift Global Forum that they are “looking forward to profitability in the non-hotel segment. And it would be fair to point to attractions as a very big and very interesting growth driver in that non-hotels category.”