Arival launches Spotlight Awards, honoring the most outstanding companies in the experiential sector

Arival, a world leader in the tours and activities industry, today launched an innovative new recognition program, the Arival and TourReview Spotlight Awards. The launch comes ahead of the Arival 360 event, which will take place in Orlando from October 9-12 and will bring together hundreds of industry leaders to address the emerging trends that are shaping the experience industry.

There are two different types of prizes within the program. First, the Arival TourReview Spotlight Awards, presented in partnership with TourReview, which will be based on aggregated data from several major review sites, OTAs, and millions of customer reviews from across the industry. Second, the Arival Spotlight Awards, which will be based on nominations judged by an impartial panel of expert judges. The first will be the first of its kind in the industry, with results based entirely on market data.

Douglas Quinby, Managing Director of Arival, said: "As a global authority on travel, activities and attractions research, we see every day how companies large and small are advancing the destination experience industry. They are taking risks, innovating with products, breaking down industry barriers and promoting eye-opening and life-changing cultural exchanges.It's clearly a pivotal time for the role of experiences in travel, which is why we believe it's important to recognize and reward those who go above and beyond and drive the change we are seeing.

Data-Driven Awards: A One-of-a-Kind Recognition Program

The Arival TourReview Spotlight Awards are an initiative in collaboration with TourReview, a global opinion management platform. By aggregating TourReview customer data across dozens of sites and millions of customer reviews, Arival will be able to identify and recognize operators who are constantly wowing customers. The Arival TourReview Spotlight Awards are completely unbiased, independent and purely data-driven - a unique award method in the experience industry.

José Arozarena, founder of TourReview, added: “It is exciting that we are able to use our data-driven technology to recognize companies that consistently receive the best traveler reviews through our new Spotlight Awards. Our in-depth understanding of tourist satisfaction led us to develop TourReview, a software that consolidates millions of reviews from various platforms into one easy-to-use dashboard. Through our platform, all tour operators can access their data, filter it for insights, and pinpoint areas for improvement in customer satisfaction.”

The Arival Spotlight Awards will honor the best of the travel, activities and experiences industry: companies that reflect the growing innovation, creativity, diversity, specialization and technology within the tour operator industry. There are five award categories:

Award for Tourism Innovator
Award for Technological Pioneer
Award for Inclusive Operator
Award for Commitment to Community and Social Purposes
Award for Industry Advancement Champion

Nominations for the Arival Spotlight Awards are now open and the submission period ends on Friday, September 15, 2023.

The Inaugural Arival & TourReview Spotlight Awards will be presented at Arival 360 in Orlando, during a special Happy Hour event on Tuesday, October 10, 2023.