Business

Cancellations in Travel Experiences: Adding Context to a Widely Misread Metric

Some of the most valuable industry insights don’t come from bold statements or polished conclusions, but from a simple, well-placed question. Let's talk about cancellations in travel experiences.

When Globick published its Travel Experiences 2025 study, one specific data point immediately stood out. Not because it was presented as a headline, but because it challenged a widely held assumption across the experiences industry: overall cancellation rates appeared lower than what is often assumed.

That observation caught the attention of Douglas Quinby at Arival. Rather than taking the figure at face value — or dismissing it as an outlier — the reaction was the right one: let’s understand what’s behind it.

So we went back to the data together.

Looking beyond the surface number of cancellations in travel experiences

The initial figure was based on a broad dataset of 200,000 experience bookings in 2025, and at an aggregate level it showed an overall cancellation rate of 6%. On its own, that number felt counterintuitive when compared with the perception many have of cancellations in travel experiences.

But cancellations, like most metrics in travel distribution, rarely tell the full story when viewed in isolation.

Once non-cancellable products — such as attraction tickets and city passes — were removed from the dataset, the picture changed quickly. Cancellation rates rose to 11.5%, revealing how much product composition influences any headline figure.

That first adjustment already pointed to a key insight: cancellations in travel experiences are not a uniform phenomenon. What is being sold matters as much as how often it is cancelled.

Booking timing adds another layer

As the analysis went deeper, one of the strongest correlations emerged between cancellation rates and advance booking windows.

Bookings made further in advance showed a much higher likelihood of being cancelled. Channels typically associated with long lead times, such as DMCs and traditional retail travel agencies, reached cancellation rates of up to 19.4%. By contrast, bookings made closer to the experience date — more common in consumer-facing online channels — showed materially lower cancellation rates, around 10.3% once non-cancellable products were excluded.

This distinction is critical because it reframes a common narrative. Flexible cancellation policies and consumer messaging certainly play a role, but timing and commitment are just as influential. Travelers who book closer to the experience date are, quite simply, less likely to cancel.

Why context matters

Seen through this lens, cancellations in travel experiences stop being a single metric and become a behaviour shaped by multiple variables: product type, booking window and commercial context.

When these factors are flattened into one percentage, it becomes easy to draw the wrong conclusions — about performance, risk, or where problems really lie. The deeper analysis shows that what initially looks like a contradiction is, in fact, a matter of missing context.

A broader industry blind spot

One thing became clear throughout this process: despite how frequently cancellations are discussed, there is still very little shared, benchmark-level data available across the industry. As a result, cancellations remain one of the most expensive blind spots, often managed through intuition rather than evidence.

The article published by Arival is valuable not only for the conclusions it draws, but for the process behind it: questioning assumptions, revisiting the data, and adding the context needed to interpret a single number correctly.

You can read the full analysis on Arival, based on Globick’s Travel Experiences 2025 research.

by Georgina

The global experiences market is consolidating as a fragmented, dynamic, and high-value segment: connectivity is key to grow at scale

The experiences segment continues to consolidate its position as one of the most active and diversified drivers of the travel industry. This is shown in the new report “Travel Experiences 2025: Insights on Traveler Behavior and Market Trends,” based on more than 200,000 bookings made between January and August 2025 (compared to the same period in 2024) within the Globick network, the B2B connectivity platform that simplifies the access to the supply of tourist experiences through a single technical integration.

The study offers a clear view of actual traveler behavior and current purchasing dynamics. The data shows a deeply fragmented market, where different patterns of anticipation coexist, spending levels are stable, behaviors differ between B2C and B2B channels, and there is notable seasonal variability. This diversity requires industry players to adopt a more flexible approach and a technological infrastructure capable of adapting to multiple booking flows.

The average time to purchase is 39 days, reflecting a trend toward earlier planning compared to 2024. Even so, last-minute behavior remains relevant, especially in summer, when it peaked at 23% of bookings. The cancellation rate remains stable at around 6%, an indicator that highlights the growing importance of flexibility as a decision-making criterion for travelers.

The report also reveals a strong geographical concentration. Italy, Spain, the United States, and France account for almost 80% of bookings, in line with the most visited destinations globally according to the UNWTO. Among these, the United States stands out in particular for its higher average spend, reinforcing its role as a key market for premium experiences. 

In economic terms, the average ticket price stands at €88 and the spend per booking is around €200, a figure that points to couples traveling as the predominant format for the consumption of experiences.

Cultural experiences continue to lead demand, with products such as the New York Explorer Pass, the Alhambra and Nasrid Palaces in Granada, the Palace of Versailles in Paris, the Best of Rome Pass, and the Anne Frank Walking Tour in Amsterdam among the most booked globally. At the same time, categories such as gastronomy, outdoor activities, and nature are showing sustained growth, driven by the search for more authentic, healthy experiences linked to the local lifestyle.

Beyond the data described in the report, the conclusions point to a challenge shared by the entire sector: a highly fragmented experiences market, with multiple booking logics, different behaviors by channel, and a growing need for accurate and up-to-date information. For distributors, OTAs, and platforms to operate efficiently in this context, the industry needs a technological infrastructure capable of offering stable, scalable, and real-time connectivity.

It is in this scenario that Globick consolidates its role as Experiences Supplier Manager, a figure that goes beyond the traditional concept of aggregator or hub. Globick manages connectivity between experiences sellers and suppliers through a single API that unifies the technical relationship with suppliers, eliminates the burden of developing and maintaining dozens of integrations, and ensures that each connection performs at the levels required by the industry. And all this as a pure technological intermediary, allowing experience distributors to maintain or establish their own commercial conditions with suppliers.

As Xavier Boixeda, CEO of Globick, explains: “Today, the distribution of experiences requires precision, speed, and scalability. Our role is not to add more layers, but to make everything work better. As Experiences Supplier Manager, we centralize the connection with suppliers so that our partners can focus on growing, improving margins, and offering better experiences to travelers, without having to take on the technical complexity behind it.”

Globick's positioning as an Experiences Supplier Manager responds directly to what the industry is asking for: a simpler, faster, and more efficient way to connect distributors with suppliers. With more than 50 active APIs and 15 new integrations added in 2025 alone, the company is establishing itself as the technological infrastructure that enables the global distribution of experiences to scale without friction, without disproportionate technical costs, and without losing commercial control.

by Georgina

Globick, Juniper Travel Technology, and GoNexus Group have partnered to drive global B2B experiences

PALMA, SPAIN / CANCUN, MEXICO – NexusCube, the B2B division of GoNexus Group, and Juniper Travel Technology, a renowned global leader in travel technology, have formally entered into a strategic agreement with Globick, a prominent B2B connectivity platform for tours and experiences. This collaboration marks a significant step for NexusCube in its endeavor to establish itself as the leading company in the B2B distribution of travel experiences and mobility with more than 17,000 B2B travel partners worldwide.

“With this agreement, Globick will support the acceleration of new integrations with experience providers,” said Roberto Bermúdez, Managing Director of Nexus Cube & Director of Juniper Experiences by NexusTours. “This agreement positions us as one of the largest providers of experience and mobility services in the B2B world. Thanks to our scalable and efficient technology, combined with NexusCube’s robust distribution network of 17,000 B2B travel buyers, including OTAs, tour operators, and retail travel agencies worldwide, we enable the travel sector to offer these products to its customers and partners”, he added.

Juniper’s technology, through its specialized division, Juniper Experiences by NexusTours and NexusCube, will leverage its extensive distribution capacity in the B2B segment. At the same time, Globick will ensure access to its comprehensive portfolio of API integrations to supplier’s booking technology. These additions will complement NexusCube’s extensive portfolio of +220,000 experiences, +8,000 mobility options in +1,000 airports, and +3,000 theme parks. “Our goal is to offer our technology to empower the marketplace, enabling increased supply from operators without the complexities of API development and integrations”, commented Xavier Boixeda, CEO of Globick.

Our companies are committed to evolving the experiences and mobility market by providing access to an increasingly broad range of products using the best connection technology. “We are convinced that this alliance will not only expand the offering for our clients but also create new opportunities to expand their businesses globally with a scalable and efficient solution,” stated Juan Mateos, CEO of Juniper Travel Technology.

This agreement underscores the mission of NexusCube, Juniper Travel Technology and Globick to lead the experiences and mobility market, making it easier for travelers around the world to access innovative and relevant products that transform their journeys into unforgettable experiences.

by acarques

Globick joins ITB Berlin 2025 as part of the Spanish TravelTech Pavilion

Barcelona, February 2025 — Globick will be attending ITB Berlin 2025, one of the world’s leading travel trade shows, as part of the Spanish TravelTech Pavilion organized by ICEX and SEGITTUR, in collaboration with the Economic and Trade Commission of Spain in Berlin.

From March 4–6, Globick will showcase its connectivity platform for tours, activities, and attractions at the ICEX Pavilion, joining a selected group of twelve Spanish TravelTech companies that are helping redefine the digital future of tourism.

The pavilion brings together some of Spain’s most innovative technology providers, including ADESTIC, Bioscore Sustainability, Doblemente, INSYDE, PaynoPain, Bytetravel, Bookline.ai, Eccocar, Hoteligy, Nubart, Turbosuite — and Globick.

As a B2B connectivity hub, Globick enables travel sellers to access a growing global network of experiences suppliers through a single API connection, reducing technical overhead and accelerating distribution scalability.

Visit Globick at ITB Berlin 2025 — Spanish TravelTech Pavilion (ICEX Stand)

To schedule a meeting, contact us at hello@globick.com

by acarques