Tourists Opting for Private Tours in Lesser-Known Cities

25.08.2023 - 13:07 / skift.com / Selene Brophy

The appeal of France’s Paris or Portugal’s Lisbon often overshadows cities like Nice or Faro. However, lesser-known cities are seeing new demand as summer travel hits its stride.

The surge in travel to record highs means crowds of tourists, long queues, and the in-destination stress and congestion that goes along with it. These second-tier cities offer culture and attractions without the crowds, according to Matthijs Keij, CEO of Withlocals.   

Withlocals has expanded to 106 such cities in 2023, with the booking revenue growth in these new cities doubling from 6% in April to 12% in June.

“Our average revenue per booking is higher by 30% in these cities compared to the bigger cities in Europe like Paris and Rome,” said Withlocals chief growth officer Shradha Bhatia.

Bhatia outlined how Withlocals no longer needs to compete in the overcrowded first-tier cities of Paris or Barcelona for example, with demand for private tours in more second-tier cities such as Nice or Malaga decreasing its reliance on these popular destinations, as outlined in its Top 10 secondary cities table below.

According to Skift Research’s recent State of Travel 2023 report, seven of the top 10 most searched destinations for the peak 2023 travel period are in Europe. 

Keij added that second-tier cities in Asia, like Thailand, Vietnam, and Malaysia, are also witnessing a tourism resurgence. “If you go to Thailand, Bangkok is your entry point, but then in Chiang Mai for instance in the north of the country, private tours are offering access to often lesser-known attractions,” said Keij.

“We’ve noticed that people are personalizing tours to understand their family traditions and lineage, day trips, languages and passions,” said Bhatia.

Withlocals data also showed that second-tier cities were popular with cruise passengers. “We also noticed a lot of travelers booking multiple tours in a single trip across destinations covered by their cruise lines,” she added.

“Beauty is a subjective opinion,” said Darko Batinić, who has been a private tour guide for about 10 years in Split in Croatia, a second-tier city to Dubrovnik.

Batinić offers four guided tours, with the bulk of his Withlocals guest bookings from the U.S. His Split History Tour and the Krka Waterfalls Tour are the most popular.

Batinić claimed he completes about 40 tours per month, mostly with families and an average group size of 3 to 5 people. He charges about $100 for a regular 3-hour tour, with apps like Withlocals charging 25-30% commission.

While he is listed with several tours and activities sites, including Tours by Locals, he said most tours are booked through the recommendations of people in his town and referrals from his guests.

“Good marketing is important.” he