Arival and TourReview Unveil Finalists for In-Destination Spotlight Awards

Arival, a global leader in insights and events for the tours and activities industry, and TourReview, an online reputation management platform for tours, activities, and attractions operators, have revealed the finalists for their inaugural Arival and TourReview Spotlight Awards. This announcement precedes the upcoming Arival 360 event scheduled for October 9-12 in Orlando, where industry leaders will gather to explore emerging trends shaping the experiences sector.

The Arival and TourReview Spotlight Awards aim to recognize and celebrate in-destination companies that go the extra mile for their customers. These finalists are selected using TourReview’s Business Intelligence and AI platform, which analyzes data from millions of customer reviews across seven major online travel agencies (OTAs) and websites, including Expedia, GetYourGuide, Google, Klook, Tiqets, Tripadvisor (excluding duplicate reviews also on Viator), and Viator. The platform then independently and impartially assesses this data to spotlight top-rated companies.

Douglas Quinby, co-founder and CEO of Arival, emphasized the importance of acknowledging the tours, activities, and attractions sector within the tourism industry, stating, “Central to our mission at Arival is to shine a spotlight on this incredible sector of tourism, a sector that so often gets overlooked by traditional travel industry media and events. Experiences – tours, activities, and attractions – they are the heart of the trip, the reason people travel, and we are thrilled to partner with TourReview to highlight leading experience operators as determined by careful, unbiased analysis of millions of guest reviews.”

Jose Arozarena, CEO of TourReview, highlighted the role of online reviews and references in travelers’ decision-making processes and expressed their commitment to supporting the Spotlight Awards, saying, “The tourism sector is actively growing, and we are honored to support the Spotlight Awards in identifying the top tour operators that are making a difference in customer experiences through our AI technology. TourReview alleviates the challenge of manually sorting through reviews and provides an in-depth analysis to help businesses improve customer service and help increase their customer base.”

The awards are divided into five categories, each further classified into small, medium, and large-sized operators:

1. Sightseeing Tours
2. Culinary Tours & Experiences (covering all food and drink experiences)
3. Adventure Tours & Activities
4. Visitor Attractions (encompassing amusement parks, museums, observation decks, landmarks and monuments, zoos, and aquariums)
5. Day Tours & Excursions

The winners will be officially announced during a special Happy Hour event at the Arival TourReview Spotlight Awards Ceremony, held as part of Arival 360 | Orlando on October 10, 2023.