Accredited tour operators seeing red over rise of ‘experience providers’ such as Localyokl and Airbnb
THE rise of unlicensed ‘experience providers’ is providing unwelcome competition for tour operators — and some say they could damage Australia’s brand reputation.
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USING locals to show visiting tourists a good time is the basis of a new “sharing economy” concept that has licensed tour operators seeing red.
Localyokl is a Gold Coast-based company that is now branching into Brisbane and Sydney to find “experience providers” — who want to share an interest with tourists to enhance their holiday.
Airbnb is doing a similar thing by offering “trips” to guests.
Both companies have a combined 160 experiences on the books in Sydney and on the Gold Coast — covering everything from art and cooking lessons, to surf trips, paragliding and four wheel driving.
Localyokl experience creator Ben Crisp said providers were accredited to different standards with “platinum” guides having undergone national security and police checks.
However, they were not required to have public liability insurance.
“The onus is on the traveller and the guide to have the right sort of insurance,” said Mr Crisp.
“If you’re not confident booking with someone like that then I suggest going with someone who does have public liability insurance.”
Airbnb operators are covered by liability insurance for guests who stay at their properties.
RELATED: NSW to regulate Airbnb
Australian Tourism Export Council Managing Director Peter Shelley said there was a demand for authentic “living like a local” experiences but they needed to be of a high quality and preferably conducted by trained guides.
“We are passionate about protecting the quality of brand Australia and we don’t want cowboys in our marketplace destroying our quality expectation,” Mr Shelley said.
“There needs to be safety nets in place and I would like to see some basic rules around the credibility of the guide and the personal safety of the experience.”
He said accredited tour guides had gone through many hurdles to get to where they were.
“We need to protect that opportunity and recognise the work they do,” said Mr Shelley.
Airbnb Country Manager — Australia — and Regional Manager for Trips, Sam McDonagh, commented on the range of newly unearthed Experiences and Places now available for Australians to book.
“Since Trips launched last year, the local Airbnb team has been busy working with the travel industry, local experts and businesses, as well as everyday Australians, to uncover experiences that best showcase this great country, and we’re only just getting started,” he said.
“Whether you’re interested in food and wine, cultural discoveries or new adventures, Trips offers people the opportunity to share their passions, while gaining unprecedented access to our global community and places that they would otherwise never have known.
“Over the coming weeks and months, we’ll continue to add more Experiences and Guidebooks to the Trips platform, and welcome the chance to work with the local community to share this amazing corner of the world with others.”
Originally published as Accredited tour operators seeing red over rise of ‘experience providers’ such as Localyokl and Airbnb
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