The Best Part of Travel | Inside the Business of Destination Experiences

In this season premiere of The Best Part of Travel, Arival CEO and co-founder Douglas Quinby sits down with Andres Spitzer, the newly appointed CEO of Civitatis — the leading OTA for Spanish and Portuguese-speaking travelers. With a background spanning entrepreneurship and Amazon, Andres brings a fresh, tech-forward perspective to one of the experiences sector's most distinctive platforms. From radical curation to AI-powered personalization, this is a conversation packed with insights for any operator or industry professional thinking about where the market is headed in 2026 and beyond.
🗺️ Topics we cover:
What makes Civitatis different: Why Civitatis operates as a curated platform — not an open bazaar — and what that means in practice: 37 Colosseum listings versus thousands on other platforms, and why that's very much by design.

Curation in action: Civitatis rejects 70–80% of the activities it receives. Andres breaks down what operators need to know about what gets in — and what gets turned away.

What it takes to succeed on Civitatis: The two things operators who "crush it" on the platform have in common — operational excellence and deep cultural sensitivity for Spanish and Portuguese-speaking travelers.

The OTA–operator tension (and the flywheel): How Andres reframes the perennial tension between platforms and operators, drawing on Amazon's flywheel concept and Civitatis' partner-first approach.

Lessons from Amazon: What Andres actually brought from his time leading product and tech for Amazon Business — and it's not what you'd expect. Hint: it's less about logistics and more about customer obsession.

AI as a superpower, not a replacement: How Civitatis is thinking about AI — not to cut headcount, but to give people superpowers, from voice-to-voice multilingual customer support to personalized feedback reports for operators.

The future of discovery and hyper-personalization: Why conversational AI is fundamentally changing how travelers search for experiences, and what that means for operators and platforms alike.

Growth, profitability and the long game: Why Civitatis is proud to have been profitable from day one, its aggressive growth in Latin America, and how it's thinking about scale without sacrificing quality.

Learn more with these resources: 
🔗 Civitatis 
🔗 Global Operator Landscape Report — featuring new data on the growing role of OTAs in operator revenue 
🔗 Upcoming Arival Events — Valencia, Brisbane & Spokane
The Best Part of Travel podcast is brought to you by Arival. Season Three is sponsored by Protect Group.

In the season two finale of The Best Part of Travel, co-hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce reflect on the standout themes and conversations from the past year. Sharing highlight clips from their favorite episodes, they explore what’s shaping the future of experiences, from trust, differentiation, and quality-driven travel to AI adoption, collaboration between attractions, and human connection. Finally, the episode wraps with a special reveal: an announcement of a newly added Arival event location!

In this episode, we cover (spoilers below):
Why hopefulness, ease, trust and balance are important themes for 2026.

Prioritizing quality experiences and the fiduciary duty to protect guests’ time. 

Getting comfortable with AI usage and how women leaders in tech should approach AI.

Connecting tour products with User Generated Content (UGC), challenges in multi-day booking tech, and working with travel advisors.

Why multi-day travel is having a moment, the loneliness epidemic and the importance of human connection.

Planning ahead for seasonal activations and other special events at visitor attractions, and how getting this right is key to standing out.

How Australian attractions are collaborating and offering bespoke experiences to attract travelers to the country, VIP Experiences at Sydney Opera House and sailing around Sydney Harbour.

Transformational travel, phone-free summer camps and getting offline for real connection
Next Arival event location reveal: Arival Brisbane 2026!

Some resources and other things we mention:
Stephen’s Outlook for 2026 on WebInTravel: https://www.webintravel.com/year-in-review-2025-looking-ahead-to-2026-part-4/ 

Arival research on VIP Experiences at visitor attractions: https://arival.travel/article/attractions-offer-guided-tours-vip-experiences/ 

Arival Brisbane 2026 (first 100 operators to register receive $100 off ticket price): https://arival.travel/event/2026-brisbane/ 

The Best Part of Travel podcast is brought to you by Arival. Season Two is sponsored by Protect Group.

In this episode of The Best Part of Travel, we sit down with Erik Blachford, former Expedia CEO and longtime travel industry leader, to explore what’s really changing in travel experiences — and what’s not. From AI and consolidation to leadership and human connection, this conversation cuts through the hype to focus on what matters most for operators and experience creators in 2026 and beyond.
🧭 Why human-led planning still matters in travel: How discovery, anticipation, and choice are essential to meaningful travel experiences — and why fully automated itineraries miss the point.

🤖 AI’s double-edged impact on travel and experiences: Where AI is already reshaping operations and cost structures, and the looming risks of labor displacement and demand erosion.

📉 The K-shaped travel economy & inequality: Why high-income travelers are pulling ahead, what this means for mid-market operators, and the risk of travel becoming less accessible.

🌍 Overtourism, climate pressure & regulation: How environmental limits and policy decisions are reshaping destinations, pricing, and long-term growth potential.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Human connection as the true differentiator: Why tours and activities function more like art than infrastructure — and why authenticity can’t be automated.

📵 The growing demand for digital detox and IRL (in-real-life) experiences: What screen-free environments, summer camps, and shared disconnection teach us about the future of experiences in an increasingly digital age.

💡 What this means for operators & leaders: Practical insights on where to focus, how to build resilience, and why leadership today starts with the product and the people.

Some resources and other things we mention:
6 Major Themes & Megatrends for Experiences in 2026: https://arival.travel/article/tourism-trends/ 

Arival Summary Report from the Executive Summit on the Future of Experiences: https://arival.travel/research/executive-summit-2025-the-future-of-experiences-summary-report/ 

Beyond Capacity: Managing Demand at Europe’s Top Attractions (Arival report on overtourism): https://arival.travel/research/beyond-capacity-managing-demand-at-europes-top-attractions/ 

Medical referrals for outdoor experiences in Sweden: https://the-european.eu/story-51483/fancy-a-sauna-on-prescription-sweden-becomes-the-first-country-doctors-can-recommend-for-your-health.html 

Join the next Executive Summit in Valencia: https://arival.travel/event/2026-valencia-exec-summit/ 

Upcoming Arival events: https://arival.travel/all-events-dashboard/  

The Best Part of Travel podcast is brought to you by Arival. Season Two is sponsored by Protect Group.

In this episode of The Best Part of Travel, your hosts Janelle Visser and Stephen Joyce sit down with Haley Ward, VP of Sales at Hudson Yards Experiences, to unpack how one of New York City’s most iconic attractions—Edge NYC—drives demand, delivers exceptional moments, and keeps guests coming back.
Haley shares how her team uses seasonal activations—including wildly popular concepts like Pinkmas—to transform the experience, create new reasons to visit, and keep the attraction relevant in every season. From premium upgrades to immersive pop-ups and strategic brand partnerships, we explore how Hudson Yards maintains its position as a must-visit NYC experience.
Whether you're a tour, activity, or attraction operator, this conversation offers inspiration and practical strategies for refreshing your product, engaging new audiences, and standing out in a competitive market.
In this episode, we cover:
Seasonal activations that drive revenue and repeat visitation, including the creative thinking behind events like Pinkmas.

How Edge positions itself within one of the largest and most innovative mixed-use developments in the U.S.

What modern guests expect, from premium add-ons to memorable, Instagram-worthy moments.

The role of events, partnerships, and curated pop-ups in keeping an attraction fresh year-round.

Women in leadership & team culture: creating safety, confidence, and opportunity for emerging leaders in tourism.

Leadership advice for operators (and everyone, really), including overcoming imposter syndrome, giving yourself a “pep talk,” and inspiring new leaders at every level.

Actionable advice for tour, activity, and attraction operators looking to elevate their products through creativity and collaboration.

Some resources and other things we mention:
🔗 Pinkmas at Edge 
🔗 The Event-Driven Traveler report 
🔗 Glasgow Willy Wonka Experiences (What NOT to do!)  
🔗 Inside Enterprise Attractions report 
🔗 Upcoming Arival Events

The Best Part of Travel podcast is brought to you by Arival. Season Two is sponsored by Protect Group.

In this episode of The Best Part of Travel, we sit down with James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Travel, to explore why multi-day tours are taking off, and how authentic small group experiences, people-first leadership and a thoughtfully integrated climate strategy have been essential to Intrepid’s success.

🗺️ Topics we cover:
The rise of multi-day tours & meaningful travel: Travelers are increasingly seeking authentic experiences that foster real human connection — and finding them in small group tours.
Brand identity & post-pandemic growth: How Intrepid Travel has grown since the pandemic by focusing on “conscious travelers,” and the importance of having an engaged workforce that believes in your brand.
Growing with purpose… and profit: Why Intrepid Travel is moving away from carbon offsetting to focus on “Travel for Good” and positive impacts, and how “baking sustainability in” to their products has helped them grow their bottom line.
Thoughtful AI adoption: How Intrepid travel is approaching AI while maintaining its focus on the importance of human connection.
Urban Adventures & brand strategy: How Intrepid Travel has adapted its day tour brand to amplify its brand and build awareness about its multi-day offerings.
Leadership in action: James Thornton’s and Intrepid’s people-first approach to leadership and teams, and the importance of diversity of age, gender, country of origin and so on in building a strong leadership team.
The future of small group travel: and why James Thornton is optimistic about the power of human connection, especially with the challenges in the world today, such as the toxic news cycle, geopolitical uncertainty and the loneliness pandemic.
Learn more with these resources:
🔗 Intrepid Travel
🔗 ⁠The Multi-Day Moment: On the rise of multi-day travel and the top challenges and opportunities of this rapidly-growing sector of travel experiences.
🔗Join the next Multi-Day Track at ⁠Arival 360 | Valencia

The Best Part of Travel podcast is brought to you by Arival. Season Two is sponsored by Protect Group.