The Most Popular Tours and Activities in Each State

By Erick Tomaliwan

Marketing StrategiesMarketing Strategies

Cell phone among travel gear

At Checkfront we like to think we’re dialed into tour and activity trends.

With over 1000 Trials coming in each month we get a first-hand look at what’s up and coming, and what’s always in season.

This naturally made us wonder what the most popular tours in America really are.

Have any guesses?

Turns out tourists in America love boat cruises. It was the top activity in 13 states, followed by ziplining, with 8 states, and food and beverage tours in 6.

We created a map to show the most popular tours and activities in each state that you can check out below.

In our analysis, we looked at TripAdvisor, Viator, and Expedia Local Expert to see what the OTA’s list as the most popular tour in each state. We excluded attractions such as museums, zoos, and amusement parks. For activities, we only included those that you purchase a ticket for and did not include natural attractions. For example hiking the grand canyon was not included.

An interesting finding is that TripAdvisor accounts for 96% of the top tours listed. The most popular tours on TripAdvisor had on average 87% more reviews than those on Viator, with Expedia Local Expert well behind that.

Here’s the map:

America's top tours and activities in 2017 broken down by state

Here are the results by state:

StateTour# of reviews
Alabamadolphin cruise870
Alaskawhale watching2247
Arizonapink jeep tour7370
Arkansasziplinging600
Californiawine tours5389
Coloradorafting2242
Connecticutziplining180
Delawareboat tour674
Floridaairboating3996
Georgiasegway tour2470
Hawaiisailing tour5475
Idahoziplining300
Illinoisriverboat cruise3868
Indianaziplining731
Iowariverboat cruises166
Kansasziplinging103
Kentuckymint julip tour923
Louisianawalking tours3514
Mainbrewery bus701
MarylandSUP273
Massachusettsculinary tours1332
Michiganriverboat cruise1205
Minnesotadeluth tours (brewery)315
Mississippiship island excursion338
Missourizipline746
Montanarafting1890
Nebraskaculinary tours45
Nevadawalking tour3541
New Hampshireziplining838
New Jerseydolphin tour548
New Mexicotrolly tour1304
New Yorkcultural tour8108
North Carolinaatv horse tour6224
North Dakotapumpkin patch91
Ohioziplining1791
Oklahomahorseback riding tours85
Oregonbike tours753
Pennsylvaniasegway tour1070
Rhode Islandboat tour293
South Carolinawalking tour1895
South Dakotamount rushmore tour305
Tennesseekayak tour3158
Texassegway tour701
Utahatving1219
Vermontziplining420
Virginiaboat tour (horse)1155
Washingtonwine tasting3512
West Virginiawildlife tours529
Wisconsinziplining1459
Wyomingrafting1578

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