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The market for activities, guided tours, and excursions continues to rise within the travel experience.

According to data from the third Index of Activities published by the Entreprises du Voyage (EDV) and Civitatis, French travelers are giving an increasing place to on-site experiences, to the point that they now influence their destination choice.

The study, based on reservations made between January 1 and June 15, 2026, mainly highlights a marked difference between purchases made directly by travelers (B2C) and those made through travel agencies (B2B).

In direct bookings, consumers favor immediacy: bookings are made with a median of only six days before the activity and more than half of purchases (53%) are made less than a week before the service.

Conversely, travel agencies anticipate their clients’ needs well in advance. Reservations are made with a median of 66 days before the activity, while 60% of purchases occur between one and six months before departure.

For Valérie Boned, president of Entreprises du Voyage, this analysis provides a real decision-support tool for professionals. “This third edition demonstrates how data is an indispensable growth lever for our members,” she notes.

For Georges Sans, head of France development at Civitatis, this evolution also reflects the positioning of travel agencies.

He believes that activities and transfers no longer represent merely add-on sales, but become differentiating elements enabling agencies to accompany clients throughout their journey and to reinforce their loyalty.

The Index also shows that guided tours remain the flagship product for travel agencies. They account for nearly 39% of sales realized via the B2B channel.

On destinations, Paris remains the top French destination.

Internationally, trends vary by distribution channel. Individual travelers favor New York, while travel agencies sell more Rome.

Airport transfers are also among the most sought-after services. In direct bookings, New York tops the requests, while agencies primarily market them in Marrakech, ahead of Seville and Rome, in a strategy of building complete stays.

The Index also identifies international destinations with the largest increases in reservations compared to the first half of 2025.

Tunisia shows the most spectacular progression with a growth of 289%. It edges out Canada (+145%), Egypt (+106%), and the Dominican Republic (+37%).

Finally, the study confirms France’s attractiveness to international visitors. Paris remains the most visited French city, followed by Lyon and Nice.

According to a study published in May 2026 by Arival in partnership with Civitatis, more than one European traveler in two now considers that the experiences offered on-site play a very important, even decisive, role in choosing their destination.

This trend reinforces the growing weight of tourist activities in shaping travel-agency offers.