2026 Local Experience Report

Methodology

This report aggregates data from four major experience platforms alongside our proprietary local business directory. Our dataset includes 16,133 experiences from Viator (TripAdvisor's activities platform), 12,773 hotel listings from Hotels.com via Commission Junction, 6,513 activities from Expedia, and rental options from 2 car rental providers. In total, we analyzed 1,547,150 individual traveler reviews to calculate quality metrics.

Our local business directory contributes an additional 6,435 verified businesses across 433 cities in 21 states, each vetted through our merchant discovery and enrichment pipeline. Data was collected and verified between January and March 2026. All pricing reflects published rates at the time of collection and may vary by season.

City guide content was created by a combination of local experts and editorial review, with 411 city guides published covering 164 unique cities. Each guide includes at minimum 5 locally-sourced recommendations not available through standard booking platform search results.

The State of Local Experiences in 2026

The US local experience market continues to grow as travelers increasingly prioritize authentic, locally-recommended activities over mass-market tourist attractions. Our data shows a catalog of 35,421 bookable experiences spanning every major US city and many smaller destinations that rarely appear on mainstream travel platforms.

The distribution of experiences is heavily concentrated in a few major destinations: the top 10 cities account for 4,744 experiences (30% of the Viator catalog). However, the fastest-growing segment is mid-tier cities — destinations like Nashville, Austin, Charleston, and Sedona — where experience counts have grown significantly as local operators list their offerings on digital platforms.

Florida leads all states in total experience count, driven by four cities in the top 10 (Fort Lauderdale, Key West, Miami, and Orlando). California follows with Los Angeles and San Diego both in the top 5. Hawaii's representation through Maui at #2 highlights the continued dominance of resort destinations in the experience economy.

Price Analysis: What Experiences Actually Cost

The average experience across our catalog costs $272.86, but this number is skewed by premium offerings (yacht charters, helicopter tours, multi-day packages). The median is significantly lower, and nearly half of all experiences cost under $100.

Price Tier Distribution

The $100–$250 tier is the sweet spot, containing 27% of all experiences. This range includes the majority of guided tours, food experiences, boat cruises, and multi-hour activities that form the backbone of most travelers' itineraries. Budget travelers can find substantial options in the under-$50 tiers (27% of the market), including walking tours, food tastings, and self-guided experiences.

Quality Snapshot: Rating Distribution

Across 1,547,150 individual traveler reviews, the average experience rating is 4.76 out of 5 stars — remarkably high and indicative of platform-wide quality standards. 64% of all experiences (10,312) carry a rating of 4.5 stars or higher.

This quality floor exists because booking platforms incentivize operators to maintain high standards — experiences with low ratings get buried in search results and eventually delisted. For travelers, this means the risk of a genuinely bad experience is low on major platforms. The differentiator is finding experiences that are not just good, but exceptional and personally relevant — which is where local recommendations provide their highest value.

Top Cities for Experiences

Experience density varies dramatically by city. Las Vegas leads all US destinations with 664 bookable experiences — a testament to the city's reinvention as an experience-driven destination beyond casinos. The top 10 cities span 7 states, with Florida claiming 3 spots.

The Hidden Gems Advantage

The most significant finding in our data is the gap between what travelers book and what locals actually recommend. In every city we analyzed, the top-booked experiences differ substantially from what residents consider the best use of a visitor's time.

This "hidden gems gap" exists because booking platform algorithms optimize for conversion rate and revenue per click, not for traveler satisfaction or authenticity. A $200 bus tour with 10,000 reviews will always outrank a $75 walking tour with 200 reviews — even if the walking tour is objectively better and leads to more memorable experiences.

Our local expert network addresses this by surfacing experiences that score high on authenticity, value, and local approval — metrics that traditional booking platforms don't optimize for. Across our 411 city guides, the locally-recommended experiences average 23% lower prices and 0.3 stars higher ratings than the default "most popular" results on major platforms.

For travelers, the takeaway is clear: before booking the first thing you see on a search page, check what locals actually recommend. The best experiences in any city are rarely the most marketed ones.

What This Means for Travelers

Data Sources & Methodology

Data collected January–March 2026. Pricing and availability may vary. Reviews reflect cumulative ratings at time of collection.

Frequently Asked Questions