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Are you dreaming of turning your love for travel into a steady income stream?
You’re not alone. Thousands of aspiring travel bloggers and content creators are looking for ways to monetize their platforms, but many get lost in the maze of affiliate programs and end up earning pennies for their hard work.
The good news is that the travel affiliate industry is booming, with online travel sales expected to hit $925 billion by the end of 2024. And the best part? A whopping 74% of these sales happen online – exactly where you’ll be promoting.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the best travel affiliate programs that actually pay well.
Let’s get started.
In This Guide
Travel affiliate programs are partnerships that benefit both sides of the travel industry: content creators who promote travel products and businesses who want to boost their sales through affiliate marketing.
For creators, it means earning commissions by recommending travel products and services.
For travel businesses, it’s a powerful way to increase sales where you only pay when you make money.
Here’s how it works. Travel companies provide unique tracking links to their affiliates, who then share these links on their platforms. When someone books through these links – a hotel stay, flight, or tour package – the affiliate earns a commission, typically ranging from 2% to 50%.
For travel businesses considering launching their own affiliate program, the numbers make a compelling case. 81% of brands now use affiliate marketing to boost awareness and sales.
But remember, success doesn’t happen overnight. The average affiliate website receives about 56,673 monthly visitors, but building this traffic takes time and consistent effort.
The good news is that once you’ve established your platform, you can grow your business’s sales or earn passive income as an affiliate while helping others plan their dream vacations.
By now, you might have understood what a travel affiliate program is and how it works. It’s time to dive into the most profitable and reliable travel affiliate programs that can make you money in 2024.
We’ve analyzed each program based on commission rates, cookie duration, and real earning potential to bring you this curated list:
Expedia Group is a titan in the travel industry, offering one of the most comprehensive affiliate programs.
With access to over 3 million properties, 500+ airlines, and 220,000 activities worldwide, you’ll have a one-stop shop for all your travel needs.
Their affiliate program gives you access to multiple major brands, including Hotels.com, Vrbo, and Stayz, allowing you to diversify your promotion strategy without managing multiple affiliate accounts.
They provide robust marketing tools, including their Creator Toolbox, which lets you generate affiliate links and access property images directly from their websites.
With almost 30 million bookable rooms across more than 2.5 million properties worldwide, Booking.com is renowned in the travel industry.
What makes them particularly attractive for affiliates is their partnership with over 12,500 travel affiliates and a seven-day EPC (Earnings Per Click) of $160+, making it one of the highest-paying programs in the travel niche.
Their tiered commission structure rewards performance: starting at 25% of Booking.com’s commission for 0-50 bookings, scaling up to 40% for 501+ bookings per month. For context, on a $200 hotel booking where Booking.com earns $40 (20% commission), you’d earn $10 as an affiliate at the 25% tier.
TripAdvisor, with its massive platform of 884 million reviews, offers a unique earning model in the travel affiliate space.
What sets them apart is their commission structure – you earn on qualified clicks rather than completed bookings, making it perfect for content creators focusing on travel research and planning phases.
Their program boasts impressive conversion rates of 30%+ and offers a multi-touch attribution model that tracks users across devices for 14 days.
As a unique multi-modal travel platform, Omio connects travelers with over 1,000+ transportation partners across trains, buses, and flights.
They’ve established themselves, particularly in the European travel market, offering comprehensive search APIs and integration options that most other programs don’t provide.
Their platform excels in cross-border European travel bookings, with popular routes like Paris to Amsterdam and Barcelona to Madrid.
They provide extensive marketing tools, including search widgets and a comprehensive media library for promotional content.
Nordace, a premium travel gear company, offers a straightforward and generous affiliate program for travel content creators.
With a presence in over 50 countries and over 1 million customers worldwide, they’ve proven their product appeal in the travel accessories market.
Their program is particularly attractive for outdoor and camping sites, product review platforms, and social media influencers.
With over 10 million completed trips using their products and a strong presence in retail (1,500+ shops across Japan), they offer affiliates a credible brand to promote.
As one of the largest online travel accommodation platforms, Agoda connects affiliates with over two million vacation rentals and hotel properties worldwide.
Their program particularly shines with a generous 30-day cookie window and a commission structure that rewards performance.
While they exclusively accept website owners (no social media influencers), they provide comprehensive tools including hotel power ads, search boxes, and data feeds to maximize conversions.
Viator stands out in the activities and experiences space with over 300,000 bookable experiences across 2,500 destinations worldwide.
Their platform includes everything from sightseeing tours to multi-day excursions, backed by over 1 million customer reviews that help drive conversions.
What makes them particularly attractive is their flexible payment structure with weekly PayPal payouts and a user-friendly approach – they offer 24-hour cancellation on 85% of products and support 35+ languages, making it easier for affiliates to convert traffic.
G Adventures focuses on the premium small-group adventure travel market, with an impressive average order value of $2,600. With the adventure travel industry projected to reach $1.6 trillion by 2026, they offer affiliates access to a highly lucrative niche.
Their program is particularly well-suited for adventure travel content creators, offering extensive marketing support, including display ads, XML feeds, and custom copy.
The 90-day cookie duration acknowledges their customers’ longer decision-making process for premium adventures.
Klook provides access to over 100,000 in-destination activities and experiences, with a strong presence in Asia and growing inventory in North America and Europe.
They offer a multi-tiered approach with both traditional affiliate and influencer (Klook Kreator) programs, making them versatile for different content creators.
Their platform supports 9 languages and 10 billing currencies, enhancing conversion potential across global audiences.
Kayak offers a unique position in the travel affiliate space by providing access to multiple major brands, including HotelsCombined, Momondo, and Cheapflights, through a single signup.
Their generous 50% commission rate stands out among travel programs, although they maintain a higher payment threshold.
For content creators looking to maximize earnings across multiple travel brands without managing separate accounts, Kayak’s consolidated platform offers significant value.
With over 100 million monthly users and connections to 1,200+ supply partners across 180 countries, Skyscanner offers affiliates access to a massive global audience.
Their program suits established content creators, requiring websites with HTTPS and a minimum monthly traffic of 5,000 unique visitors.
While their requirements are stricter than most programs, they compensate with higher commission rates and comprehensive integration tools.
Their focus on quality partnerships helps maintain high conversion rates for approved affiliates.
Lonely Planet leverages its trusted brand in travel content to offer a straightforward yet valuable affiliate program.
What makes them unique is their dual-benefit structure – affiliates earn 15% commission while their readers get 10% discounts on purchases, creating a win-win situation for content creators and their audience.
Their program accepts various content platforms, including websites, podcasts, and social media accounts, making it accessible to different types of travel content creators.
The program includes their entire product range, from guidebooks to maps and adventure guides.
GetYourGuide stands out in the experiences sector with over 34,000 tours and activities worldwide, including access to major attractions like the Sistine Chapel and Louvre Museum.
Their program particularly shines with regular promotions, a price guarantee, and last-minute booking capabilities that help drive conversions.
For affiliates, they offer valuable support through free training workshops, networking events, and comprehensive analytics tools. Based on their data, successful content creators can earn anywhere from $60 to $2,300 monthly, depending on traffic quality and volume.
If you run a travel business, you can grow and boost your sales by leveraging affiliate marketing.
Let’s walk through how to set up a successful travel affiliate program:
Starting a travel affiliate program begins with selecting the right management tool that can handle the complexities of travel bookings and commissions. The tool must be reliable, easy to use, and capable of growing with your business.
Honestly, there’s no better affiliate management tool than AffiliateWP.
AffiliateWP offers robust tracking capabilities to monitor your affiliates’ performance accurately. This is crucial in the travel industry, where bookings can happen across multiple sessions and devices.
AffiliateWP also makes payments straightforward and automatic. This ensures your affiliates get paid accurately and on time.
Additionally, it helps you create unique registration forms, design personalized dashboards, or build a program that reflects your travel brand’s unique identity.
It’s the best affiliate program software that gives you this flexibility while maintaining ease of use.
Your commission structure needs to balance being attractive to affiliates and profitable for your business.
In the travel industry, rates typically range between 5% to 20%, varying based on the type of product or service being promoted.
When designing your commission structure, consider offering different rates for different types of bookings.
For instance, you might offer a higher percentage for luxury travel packages that have better margins, while maintaining lower rates for budget bookings or individual flight reservations.
A tiered commission structure can be particularly effective in travel. Start affiliates at a base rate and increase their commission as they drive more bookings.
This encourages consistent promotion and rewards your most successful partners.
Some travel businesses find success with a hybrid model, combining percentage-based commissions with flat rates. For example, offer a percentage of the booking value plus a flat rate for every successful referral.
This ensures affiliates earn a meaningful commission even on lower-value bookings.
Finding quality affiliates is crucial for your travel affiliate program’s success.
With affiliate marketing contributing to 16% of all internet orders in the U.S. and 81% of brands using affiliate programs to enhance brand awareness, you need partners who can effectively promote your travel offerings to the right audience.
One innovative way to simplify recruitment is through AI-powered application review in AffiliateWP.
This helps evaluate affiliate applications based on your specific criteria, checking for completed applications, proper grammar, and alignment with your brand values.
Travel bloggers and content creators make excellent affiliates because they often have established audiences actively seeking travel recommendations.
Statistics show that approximately 78.3% of affiliate marketers utilize SEO as their primary traffic source, while about 35% of consumers seek travel inspiration on social media.
This makes bloggers and influencers with strong SEO presence particularly valuable partners.
Creating compelling incentives goes beyond basic commission rates.
The average travel website generates around $14,000 monthly, with successful affiliates earning between $3,000 and $5,000 monthly.
These numbers suggest a well-structured incentive program can significantly impact affiliate earnings and motivation.
Implementing a tiered bonus structure can dramatically increase affiliate engagement.
For instance, offer additional rewards when affiliates hit specific sales milestones, like a bonus for reaching $1,000 in monthly sales.
You can also further motivate your affiliates by offering lifetime commissions using AffiliateWP’s Lifetime Commissions addon.
Consider implementing vanity coupon codes where affiliates can create personalized discount codes for their audience.
This not only makes tracking easier but also helps affiliates build stronger connections with their followers.
Multi-tier commissions can also be a powerful incentive. This structure rewards affiliates for their own sales and for bringing other successful affiliates into your program.
It creates a network effect that can rapidly expand your program’s reach while maintaining quality through affiliate-to-affiliate accountability.
A smooth onboarding process is essential for quickly and effectively getting affiliates up and running.
Create a comprehensive resource center that includes everything your affiliates need to start promoting effectively. This should include detailed information about your travel products, marketing materials, promotional guidelines, and best practices.
Make these resources easily accessible through a custom-designed affiliate dashboard.
Implement an automated welcome sequence that guides new affiliates through their first steps. This should include introduction emails, access to training resources, and clear instructions on how to start promoting.
The goal is to help affiliates make their first sale as quickly as possible while maintaining compliance with your program’s guidelines. Do not forget to check out our guides on improving affiliate onboarding and automating the onboarding process.
Starting an affiliate program for your travel business doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
With AffiliateWP, you can launch a professional affiliate program that’s ready to capitalize on the $925 billion travel industry within minutes.
While you might want to spend extra time fine-tuning your commission structures or creating the perfect onboarding materials, the core setup is straightforward and user-friendly.
Now that you understand how to launch your travel affiliate program, here are some additional resources to help you succeed:
You now have everything you need to launch a successful travel affiliate program that can help grow your business and increase your online bookings.
Ready to transform your travel business with affiliate marketing?
Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission. We only recommend products that we believe will add value to our readers.