There is plenty happening within the travel trade and tourism space at the moment, given the current geopolitical situation, rising fuel costs and decreasing international travel sentiment. With more Aussies seeking home grown experiences, Travel Weekly speaks with John Boris, president of Australia’s largest experience network, Big Red Group, on what’s in the pipeline for 2026.
With outbound travel fluctuating, where do experiences fit in the advisor sales mix right now?
Experience-led travel continues to rise, emerging as the primary driver behind travel decisions. With outbound travel facing an array of headwinds, we anticipate a substantial uplift in both inter- and intra-state travel – fuelled by the experiences travellers want to pursue. Across RedBalloon.com.au Adrenaline.com.au, and ExperienceOz.com.au, we offer more than 13,000 experiences, double that of our nearest global competitors, and we expect domestic experience consumption to grow strongly as a result.
Are you seeing a structural shift toward domestic and in-destination experiences as a revenue driver for advisors?
Yes, experiences continue to grow in importance across the travel ecosystem. As the largest experience network in ANZ, we are seeing meaningful growth in experience revenue for both domestic and international advisors.
While the fastest-growing segment of our business over the past several years has been advisor-led international inbound, which has grown at over +50% per annum, our domestic business across all brands continues to perform strongly. In 2025, we served over one million experiences, and year-to-date, we are seeing 20% growth – heavily driven by the domestic market seeking in-destination experiences.
How does your B2B ecosystem translate into real earnings for agents?
Our B2B offerings drive high volumes and meaningful commissions for our agent partners. Local Agent encompasses a network of 1,500 tour desks and white-label solutions across ANZ, with agents earning commissions on all sales made through our platform. Our international inbound business works with hundreds of agents globally and has been growing at over 50% per annum.
Across these channels, we reach experience seekers at every touchpoint – at home, in-market, and overseas – giving us access to tens of millions of domestic and international travellers who purchase hundreds of thousands of experiences across ANZ. This translates into meaningful earnings for our agents and, just as importantly, for domestic experience providers.
Through tools like Local Agent and your wholesale API, how can advisors practically increase commissions and basket size?
Local Agent and our international inbound wholesale API capture demand from two vital markets – in-destination and overseas. Agents who integrate our wholesale API are able to secure bookings well in advance of travellers arriving into ANZ, while Local Agent enables advisors to capitalise on last-minute, in-market demand. Together, these tools drive incremental revenue for both agents and operators by capturing purchases at both ends of the journey – pre-arrival and at the point of experience.
Are experiences becoming the ‘new margin opportunity’ for advisors?
Absolutely. The average traveller – domestic or international – purchases two to three experiences per trip, and the majority of these are still booked offline. For over 25 years, we have been leading the charge to bring the experience marketplace online, and agents should be a much bigger part of that journey. By collaborating with agents, we can collectively capture more of the economics of the experience economy – while delivering customers a seamless, end-to-end experience.
With flights and accommodation margins tightening, how significant is the revenue upside from experiences, and where are the biggest gaps advisors can tap into?
The experience market in ANZ is robust and growing. With the Australian and New Zealand experience economy valued in the billions of dollars, it represents a genuine and largely untapped revenue opportunity for travel advisors.
What makes this so compelling is the booking behaviour gap: globally, nearly two-thirds of experiences are still booked offline, yet experiences are an essential part of every trip. That disconnect is exactly where the opportunity lies.
At BRG, we continue to expand our consumer and B2B network to drive online sales of experiences wherever and whenever our customers want to purchase. For advisors, the message is clear – upselling experiences should be an essential part of every itinerary, not an afterthought.
Whether it’s a Great Barrier Reef dive, a Māori cultural tour, or a sommelier-led wine experience in the Yarra Valley, these are the moments travellers remember – and they’re where the margin is.
What are travellers actually booking on the ground right now?
Travellers are increasingly booking a mix of high-impact adventure activities and experiential gifting products across the Big Red Group portfolio.
Demand is strongest across the Aquarium & Zoos (+347%) category, alongside rapid growth in adventure experiences such as Quad Biking (+252%), Fishing (+91%), and Jet Skiing (+31%), highlighting a clear preference for immersive, experience-led activities.
We’re also seeing Wine & Dine experiences ticking up with travellers leaning into Eating Out (+23%), Picnics (+17%), and Romantic Dining (+11%) this year. Additionally, the Getaways category has experienced a surge in bookings with Off-grid cabins (+68%), City getaways (+59%), and Coastal & beach escapes (+39%), all standing out.
What trends are emerging in domestic and short-haul experiences?
At Big Red Group, we’re seeing domestic and short-haul travel shifting toward experience-dense itineraries focused on convenience and variety. We’re seeing the average length of stay for domestic travel in some metros shrink below three days and incorporate two or more experiences.
Travellers are increasingly prioritising accessible entertainment and nature-based activities, with growth in live shows and theatre (+29%), cruises (+8%), and theme parks (+3%). At the same time, there is a growing demand for flexible gifting (Gift Vouchers +354%), indicating a clear preference for local, easily accessible experiences without timeliness.
What’s the biggest mindset shift advisors need to make? Particularly, if experiences are no longer just an add-on but a core part of trip design, how should advisors rethink when and how they sell them across the customer journey?
Stop thinking about experiences as optional extras and start treating them as a core part of the sale. Incorporating experiences into every booking isn’t just good for the traveller – it’s easy and lucrative for the advisor.
The tools are already there. Whether it’s ingesting our API for seamless integration into existing platforms or using Local Agent for a simple plug-and-play solution, advisors can start generating incremental revenue and profit with minimal friction. More importantly, it makes the traveller’s journey complete – and a complete journey means happier clients, stronger reviews, and more repeat bookings. The advisors who thrive will be the ones who see experiences not as an add-on, but as the heart of what travel is really about.
