Revenue of leading online travel agencies (OTAs) worldwide 2019-2021

Revenue of leading online travel agencies (OTAs) worldwide rose in 2021 over the previous year, after dropping sharply in 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Despite the substantial increase, however, the figures did not catch up yet with pre-pandemic levels. Overall, Booking was the OTA recording the highest revenue in 2021, generating nearly 11 billion U.S. dollars. Expedia placed second on the ranking, with roughly 8.6 billion U.S. dollars that year.

Reservations with Booking

In 2021, there were about 653 million reservations made with Booking. Among these, hotel room nights were by far the most common type of reservation with Booking, and airline tickets made up the least common segment. Overall, gross bookings of Booking Holdings worldwide reached over 76 billion U.S. dollars that year, with the most value coming from the agency model.

Other leading online travel agencies: Airbnb and Tripadvisor

Aside from market leaders Booking and Expedia, travelers plan vacations with a variety of other online travel agencies, such as Airbnb and Tripadvisor, in addition to many smaller companies. In 2021, there were over 300 million nights and experiences booked with Airbnb worldwide, denoting a growth over the first year of the health crisis, but staying below pre-pandemic figures. Online travel company Tripadvisor also experienced a similar trend, as its revenue went up in 2021, staying below pre-pandemic values. Even during the health crisis, anyway, Tripadvisor’s most productive line of business worldwide remained hotels, media, and platform services, followed by experiences and dining services.