How Tour Operators Can Boost Revenue with Mobile Apps

Travelers today crave discovery on their own terms: the freedom to explore, rewind, linger, or wander off course. For tour operators, that shift is an opportunity. 

Mobile experiences are quietly rewriting what it means to guide, engage, and grow revenue in tourism. From walking tours and boat rides to museums and regional attractions, the opportunity to scale your storytelling has never been greater.

Imagine your walking tour becoming a self-guided experience visitors can access year-round. Or your boat route offering bonus stories and behind-the-scenes history through an interactive app. 

The Rise of the Experience-Driven Traveler: A $1 Trillion Opportunity

Experiences now sit at the heart of travel decisions. According to McKinsey & Company and Skift’s 2024 report The Evolving Role of Experiences in Travel, people are increasingly choosing destinations based on the activities they want to do. A memorable experience, such as a walking tour through Rome’s side streets or a visit to a Frank Lloyd Wright site, often becomes the reason for the trip itself.

McKinsey’s research estimates that destination visitors spend between $1.1 and $1.3 trillion each year on travel experiences. Within that total, structured, paid activities like guided tours, museum visits, and hikes make up about $250–$310 billion annually.

Younger travelers are driving this shift. Fifty-two percent of Gen Z travelers say they splurge on experiences, compared with 29 percent of Baby Boomers. Many would rather spend less on flights or shopping than miss out on an authentic, story-rich activity. This mindset is shaping an industry that values local insight, storytelling, and flexible access.

Phones have become travelers’ maps, translators, audio guides, and memory keepers. Yet 47 percent of experience bookings still happen offline, which means both travelers and operators face unnecessary friction. Travelers want seamless discovery and instant access, while operators need easier ways to reach and monetize a wider audience.

A mobile platform like STQRY bridges that gap. It gives operators a direct channel to travelers’ phones, allowing them to offer self-guided experiences, process payments digitally, and extend their storytelling beyond fixed hours. What once depended on in-person schedules can now live permanently in travelers’ hands, driving new revenue and repeat engagement.

Revenue Beyond the Ticket: Real Strategies for Digital Growth and Scale

Mobile tours open doors to revenue streams beyond traditional, guided, time-bound tours. With digital tools like STQRY Marketplace, operators can turn their expertise into scalable, high-margin income that grows with every download.

• Self-Guided Extensions and Tiered Content: 

Transform your in-person tours into permanent, self-guided experiences for independent explorers.With STQRY, you can build rich, multimedia tours and offer them in flexible tiers—for example:

• A Free or introductory version with a few select stops
• A Premium Package that unlocks hidden routes, bonus interviews, or exclusive local insights

This approach allows visitors to sample your content, then upgrade for deeper experiences. STQRY simplifies this process through built-in In-App Purchases (IAP) across both the App Store and Google Play, so you can monetize content without handling transactions yourself. 

And while many creators choose to offer free apps with paid content options inside, some tour operators also set a one-time purchase price for their entire app, a straightforward way to generate revenue.

The result is a recurring revenue model that scales without adding staff or increasing operating costs.

• Local Collaborations and B2B Sales: 

Partnerships can become a powerful sales channel.Collaborate with local hotels, visitor centers, convention bureaus, cafés, and retail spaces that want to enhance their guest experience. You can offer bulk access codes or branded digital tour packages as loyalty gifts or upsell incentives.

STQRY’s coupon and access code tools make this easy. Generate codes in bulk, assign them to specific tours or app-wide content, and even set time-based restrictions for promotions. Once your partners have the codes, every download drives revenue directly back to you with minimal ongoing effort.

• Long-Tail & Off-Peak Sales: 

Your digital tour becomes an evergreen asset that earns year-round.It keeps selling even when your gates are closed, the season slows, or travelers miss the live experience. With STQRY’s geofencing and QR code features, you can trigger content based on a visitor’s location or proximity—turning a simple walk or drive into a moment of discovery.

This technology creates authentic engagement without the need for a live guide, while keeping your stories active 24/7. Every piece of content you publish continues to work for you long after it’s created.

The Profit Potential:

Unlike ticket sales, which depend on staff, weather, and schedules, mobile experiences generate income continuously and at scale. A well-designed digital tour can deliver tens of thousands of dollars in annual passive revenue with minimal upkeep.

Consider a small walking tour company in a historic district.

• Current model: 20 tours a week × 12 guests × $15 each = $180K/year, entirely dependent on weather, staffing, and schedules.

With a STQRY-powered mobile experience, that same content starts earning 24/7:

1. Create a Self-Guided Version

Launch a $10 premium audio tour.If just 15% of visitors choose this add-on, that’s 1,800 downloads, or about $18,000 in new revenue.

2. Reach Younger, Digital Travelers, and Global Audiences

Gen Z and Millennials seek frictionless, mobile-first experiences. STQRY supports 55+ languages with built-in translation and text-to-speech, making tours accessible worldwide.You could unlock 10% more downloads through international traffic and digital discoverability to achieve $8,400 additional income. Plus, added visibility on STQRY Marketplace and social sharing fuels ongoing discovery and repeat buyers.

3. Partner Locally for Added Reach

Hotels, visitor centers, and tourism partners can promote or bundle your tour as part of their guest experience.Some may purchase small batches of access codes to gift guests.Others could use referral links or co-branded promotions, earning a small commission for each download.These collaborations expand your visibility and generate additional revenue, often over $10,000 annually through a mix of promotions, partner commissions, and code sales.

Result: about $35K–$40K in high-margin digital revenue and a broader, more diverse audience engaging with your stories year-round.

Mobile storytelling turns one tour into an always-on business.

From Guide to Storyteller: Lessons from the Field

Across the STQRY community, tour operators of every kind from heritage guides to cycling enthusiasts to cultural collectives, are using mobile storytelling to connect people and places in ways that strengthen both engagement and revenue.

• Stories Unseen

This collective transformed overlooked histories into immersive, self-guided tours that travelers can access anytime.  The experiences have earned industry recognition and created a steady stream of revenue from curious explorers across both Western Australia and South Australia. Pro tip: Stories Unseen sells tours through their website, OTAs, in-app purchases, and direct web links. Their flexible commission model allows them to adapt pricing and distribution for each channel, maximizing visibility and control.

• Great Hikes & Great Rides 

Creator Gary Patterson uses STQRY to power digital trails that inspire outdoor exploration while generating ongoing income through regional tourism partnerships. He’s mapped over 1,000 points of interest across 55 hiking and cycling routes, reaching more than 75,000 users. While the apps are free to download, he monetizes through sponsored content and paid advertising, turning passion projects into sustainable ventures.

• Black & Tan Hall

Black & Tan Hall brought the neighborhood’s music and activism to life through an interactive mobile trail. The experience deepened community connection and opened new funding opportunities by showcasing measurable visitor engagement through STQRY’s analytics. The app has also expanded their reach, and is currently being used by schools, both for on-the-ground field trips and in-class content.

Each of these creators started with a story worth sharing and turned it into financially rewarding and personally fulfilling opportunities.

The Technology That Makes It Possible

What used to require custom development is now accessible to anyone with a story to tell.

STQRY’s no-code platform makes it simple to build, publish, and monetize mobile experiences all from one dashboard.

You can:

• Create: Build your tour with maps, media, and audio narration.
• Monetize: Set flexible pricing and manage tiered content easily, whether through in-app purchases, access codes, or free experiences with optional donations.
• Optimize: Track engagement through a built-in analytics dashboard to see what resonates, refine routes, and demonstrate value to sponsors or partners.

It’s not about replacing the personal touch of a guided experience, but rather amplifying it, extending your reach, and meeting travelers where they already are.

Where Great Tours Get Found

Building a great tour experience is one thing. Getting it in front of the right travelers is another.

That’s where STQRY Marketplace offers something unique.

When you publish your tour, it’s featured in STQRY Guide, a curated collection of immersive experiences from around the world. It’s where curious travelers go to explore new destinations, local stories, and cultural gems.

You set your price, choose how visitors unlock your content, and STQRY takes care of the rest, including payments, redemptions, and administrative tasks.

Need a Hand Getting Started?

If you’re ready to bring your story to life but aren’t sure where to begin, STQRY’s Content Planning Guide walks you step-by-step through creating a memorable, guest-focused tour experience, from mapping your route and writing scripts to recording great audio and selecting media thatmakes each stop shine.

It’s a practical companion for anyone turning their expertise into a mobile experience, whether you’re planning a city walking tour, a scenic drive, or behind-the-scenes content to complement a new exhibit. 

Download the free Content Planning Guide

Looking Ahead: The Future of the Tour Experience

As global travel rebounds and continues to evolve, hybrid models are redefining how operators grow. Mobile apps can bridge language barriers, deliver accessibility features, and open new markets without added infrastructure.

With the right digital tools, every tour can become an ongoing source of connection and revenue. The flexibility of self-guided mobile experiences is the new standard for modern exploration.

Want to explore what mobile storytelling could look like for your tours?

Discover examples and get started with STQRY’s suite of creator tools at stqry.com.