Classification of tour and activity business models using cluster analysis

Tour and activity platforms as new business phenomena in tourism industry are playing a vital role in digitizing tour and activity sector. This research aims to classify tour and activity platform business models. The emerging nature of these platforms has contributed to their business model to be unclear, at best. Therefore, this paper intends to identify different business model attribute configurations of tour and activity platforms. To carry out the research, a mixed method approach is adopted. First, an innovative framework is developed to identify the main business model elements of tour and activity platforms using literature review, archival studies and case studies. Then, business model of 41 tour and activity platforms is content analyzed using morphological analysis approach. Next, a cluster analysis is followed to classify the platforms into meaningful types. The findings show that 5 different business model types for tour and activity platforms can be recognized: Comprehensive platforms, efficient standard platforms, customized guiding platforms, professional tour platforms, experiential peer-to-peer platforms.