Viator is the world’s leading platform for booking tours, attractions, and activities. With over 300,000 bookable experiences worldwide, it’s a go-to resource for travelers looking to explore new destinations.
If you have an audience with an interest in travel, Viator’s generous affiliate program allows you to earn commissions by promoting their tours and activities.
In this comprehensive review, we’ll dive into everything you need to know about the Viator affiliate program—who it’s for, how it works, commission details, benefits, maximizing earnings, potential drawbacks, and ultimately is it worth your time. Let’s get started.
What is Viator?
For those unfamiliar, Viator is a Tripadvisor-owned platform that allows travelers to easily discover and book the top tours and activities in a destination.
With over 300,000 bookable experiences ranging from skip-the-line tickets to iconic attractions to small group food tours, cooking classes, day trips, and more – Viator makes it simple to plan activities no matter where you are traveling.
Viator works directly with local tour operators, meaning travelers can book with confidence and have an authentic on-the-ground experience. The platform sees over 30 million monthly visitors.
Viator Affiliate Program: A Quick Review
The Viator affiliate program allows you to earn an 8% commission on any Viator booking generated through your referral links.
As an affiliate, you receive a unique link to promote Viator tours, attractions, and activities across your website, social channels, email marketing, and anywhere your audience may come across it.
It provides a great monetization channel for travel bloggers, influencers, and publishers with an audience planning trips and activities.
Who is the Viator Affiliate Program For?
The Viator affiliate program is ideal for:
- Travel bloggers and websites
- Influencers on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, and Pinterest
- Travel and city-specific publications and local media
- Tour companies and travel agencies looking to boost bookings
- Freelance writers and content creators in the travel space
- Email newsletters and online communities focused on travel
Essentially any individual or brand with an audience interested in booking activities, attractions, tours, and things to do in various destinations can join and earn commissions.
How Does the Viator Affiliate Program Work?
Here is an overview of how you earn money with Viator’s affiliate program:
- Join the program and get approved
- Access your unique affiliate links
- Promote Viator products and destinations
- Receive an 8% commission on any booking within 30 days of a referral click
- Get paid out weekly once you hit the $50 minimum
Once approved, it’s simply a matter of driving qualified traffic from your travel audience to your affiliate links and collecting commissions on their bookings.
Commissions and Payment Details
As a Viator affiliate, you earn:
- 8% commission on every booking from your referrals
- 30-day cookie period
- $50 minimum payout threshold for Bank transfer
- Weekly payments via PayPal, monthly payout for wire transfer
With over 300,000 tours, activities, and attractions across thousands of destinations – you have plenty of options to choose from to promote the most relevant experiences for your audience.
Benefits for Affiliate once Joining Viator Affiliate Network
Here are some of the key advantages of the Viator affiliate program:
- Strong commission rate on high ticket bookings
- Lengthy 30-day cookie duration
- A huge range of travel products to promote
- Pre-built links, banners, widgets, and APIs for easy implementation
- Recognized brand name site driving millions of monthly visitors
- Weekly payouts once the minimum threshold is met
- Dedicated support for affiliates
For publishers and influencers in the travel space, Viator provides immense monetization potential through their commissions.
How to join Sign Up for Viator affiliate program
Here is a step-by-step guide on how to join the Viator affiliate program in 5 simple steps:
Step 1: Check Eligibility
First, ensure your website and audience are travel-focused. Viator looks for affiliates in the travel niche with engaged readers and followers.
Step 2: Submit Application
Go to Viator’s affiliate program website and click “Join Now” to submit an application. Provide details on your website and audience reach.
Step 3: Get Approved
Viator will review your application and approve you within 3-10 days in most cases. You’ll receive an email once approved.
Step 4: Access Affiliate Tools
After approval, log in to your Viator affiliate dashboard to access your unique referral links, banners, widgets, and other promotional tools.
Step 5: Promote & Earn
Start sharing your Viator affiliate links and promotional tools on your travel website, social media, and other platforms. Earn an 8% commission on bookings!
That’s it! With your unique affiliate links, focus on driving relevant traffic from your travel audience to maximize your recurring affiliate commissions from Viator over the long run
Gain Higher Affiliate Revenue from Viator
To maximize your recurring commissions as a Viator affiliate, here are some tips:
- Use their Viator Selector tool to easily find top-converting experiences
- Focus on promotions around peak travel booking periods
- Create detailed reviews and guides around specific Viator products and destinations
- Leverage email lists and social channels to promote relevant products and deals
- Promote newly added experiences and activities on the platform
- Take advantage of promotions for increased commissions
Most importantly – provide your audience with genuine value around selecting the perfect activities and tours for upcoming trips.
Potential Drawbacks Of Viator Affiliate Program
While the Viator affiliate program offers many benefits, there are a few potential downsides:
- Very niche-specific audience – must have a travel focus
- Self-managed system outside main affiliate platforms
- Restrictions on allowed traffic sources
- Commission reversal if bookings are canceled
- Competitors may offer higher commissions in certain cases
It certainly works best when you have an engaged travel audience to promote relevant products too. However, the restrictions require close evaluation before joining.
Is the Viator Affiliate Program Worth It?
Looking at the pros and cons – is the Viator affiliate program worth your efforts?
Pros
- 8% commission on high ticket bookings
- 30-day cookie duration
- 300,000+ products and destinations
Cons
- Very niche travel focus required
- Restrictions on traffic sources
- Self-managed system
For travel bloggers, influencers, brands and publishers – the Viator affiliate program provides a lucrative channel. However, for general marketers with a broad audience – gaining traction may prove difficult.
If you can drive targeted traffic with an interest in booking travel activities, the program can certainly provide strong recurring commissions over time.
Overall the Viator affiliate program offers generous earnings potential within the travel space – but requires the right assets and audience to fully capitalize on it.
FAQs
Is Viator legit?
Yes, it is!
Who should join the Viator affiliate program?
The Viator affiliate program is best suited for travel bloggers, influencers, travel websites, local city publications, tour companies, and anyone with an audience interested in booking activities, attractions, tours, and things to do in various destinations.
Is there a fee to join the Viator affiliate program?
No, there is no fee to join the Viator affiliate program. The application process is free, and you only earn commissions on referrals.
Are there any minimum requirements to become a Viator affiliate?
There are no strict minimum requirements, but Viator prefers affiliates to have an established travel-focused website, social media account or platform with engaged followers. Strong relevance to the travel industry is key.
Can the Viator program be combined with other affiliate programs?
Yes, Viator can be combined with other travel and non-travel affiliate programs. There are no exclusivity restrictions.
Where can I place a Viator link?
You can place a Viator link on your website, blog, or social media platforms.
What Viator services or products can you recommend to your audience?
You can recommend various Viator services such as city tours, attractions, day trips, and experiences tailored to your audience’s interests.
What are the best Viator affiliate program alternatives?
Some top alternatives include the Tripadvisor Experiences affiliate program, Airbnb Experiences affiliate program, GetYourGuide affiliate program, Klook affiliate program, and Expedia affiliate program.
