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The travel industry is filled with tons of money-making opportunities. And the best travel affiliate programs are one of the easiest ways to make good cash in the niche.
If you're not already aware, affiliate marketing is the act of helping a company promote its products or services by placing links or ads on your website that leads to their offers.
You partner with a business offering products or services which you would recommend to your website visitors, in exchange for financial gain.
Your affiliate marketing recommendation can be done through articles, travel blogs, videos, social media posts, and much more.
An affiliate product in the travel niche can be anything related to or having to do with traveling. For example, you could recommend hotels, airline tickets, tour packages, activities for tourists, rental cars, etc.
If you are not currently an affiliate marketer, now is the time to join one of many best travel affiliate programs available online. To help you out we've come up with a list of 17+ best travel affiliate programs.
Here are the best affiliate programs we'll cover in the roundup:
Contents
Let's get started.
Agoda
Agoda is a leading online travel accommodation marketplace, with more than 2 million vacation rentals and hotel reservations available through its network (and we made a guide all about whether or not Agoda is legit).
Instead of focusing on a specific aspect of the travel industry, it caters to individuals traveling for business, pleasure, solo, and family vacations at all levels of luxury. That equates to bigger potential audiences for travel bloggers to appeal to.
This best travel affiliate program is only available to individuals who have their website, which is why travel bloggers are so important to it. To put it another way, social influencers are a no-no.
You'll get a high affiliate commission if you qualify for the Agoda affiliate program.
They offer a potential 5% cut for each successful recommendation, which is greater than the other major booking platforms are willing to pay.
You will also get access to hotel power advertising, affiliate links, and other tools that will help you enhance your affiliate marketing earnings.
Join the Agoda Affiliate ProgramTripadvisor
Trip advisor is a worldwide travel website that specializes in offering reviews of locations. It's an excellent site for posting and reading reviews, with about 884 million as of 2020.
However, it's also a portal that allows you to reserve hotels and activities.
The Tripadvisor affiliate program is all about accommodation. Affiliates receive 50% of the money Tripadvisor makes from hotels, with no commission paid on flights, restaurants, vacation rentals, or tourist attractions.
During incentive campaigns, however, the commission rises as high as 80% – making it one of the highest-paying affiliate programs.
The final benefit of this affiliate program is that commissions are not dependent on the number of reservations made through your website.
You earn money every time a referred user from your site navigates from Tripadvisor to any of their booking partners.
The Tripadvisor affiliate program, which has a conversion rate of 30% or more, is one of the most lucrative travel-related affiliate programs (as long as you can generate enough traffic).
Join the Tripadvisor Affiliate ProgramAmazon Associates
It's not just all about booking flights and hotels when it comes to traveling. There are several other items you'll need to buy ahead of time, including luggage, sunglasses, clothes, and shoes.
How can you get them quickly? Amazon.
As affiliate marketers in any market will tell you, the Amazon Associates terms aren't particularly kind.
Amazon associate commissions vary depending on the category; for example, clothing sales earn 4%, but sports equipment only 3%. Personal care and health items receive 1% commission; low right?
Even if you do everything correctly, the cookie window lasts only 24 hours, so if your referrals aren't qualified the same day, you won't make money through the Amazon Associates affiliate program.
On the other side of things, Amazon has a huge brand and is generally trusted, making it an easy sell to persuade people to buy.
You also get an Amazon affiliate commission on any other purchase made by your referrals using your affiliate link during the 24 hours, so you might pick up some unexpected extra money with this affiliate program (check out our article on how to become an Amazon affiliate).
Join the Amazon Associates Affiliate ProgramExpedia
Expedia is a major travel site, offering access to over 140,000 properties in more than 190 countries across the globe, as well as discounted airfares and vacation packages.
With its network of more than 500 travel partners that include accommodation, airline vendors, car rental services, and travel companies, users can save up to $500 on combined airfare and hotel reservations.
Users can also earn benefits through Expedia's loyalty program, which includes opportunities to use points on future travel experiences.
The Expedia affiliate program pays different commissions dependent on the nature of the successful referral you generate, ranging from 2% on vehicle rentals to 6% on cruise reservations.
While their 7-day cookie window is one of the most unattractive among all the affiliate programs on this list, their EPC of more than $83 suggests there's a lot of money to be made here.
Join the Expedia Affiliate ProgramBooking.com
Booking.com is an online platform that offers travel-related services such as hotel reservations, airline tickets, and automobile rentals.
It's one of the most popular travel comparison sites on earth, with almost 30 million bookable rooms in over 2.5 million properties.
The potency of Booking.com's partner connections ensures that consumers are never charged booking fees, which allows it to undercut the competition.
Given its strong brand and breadth of services, it's no surprise that Booking.com offers one of the most popular travel affiliate programs, with over 12,500 travel affiliates enrolled.
Affiliates earn a 4% fee on all bookings. This is one of the most lucrative affiliate programs in the travel sector, with an EPC of $160 or more in seven days.
Affiliates can also use a search box, banner integration possibilities, and deep linking. But, it's not all glorious, as the cookie window is session-based. You only get paid if someone clicks your referral link and converts right then and there with this affiliate program.
So make sure to exclusively send warm, pre-screened visitors to Booking.com.
Join the Booking.com Affiliate ProgramHotels.com
Hotels.com is a worldwide hotel booking site that provides accommodation for more than 1 million hotels in 200 countries.
Whether you're searching for a luxurious resort or a modest B&B, you'll find it here.
Unlike some referral programs, hotels.com has 85 separate websites in more than 35 languages, allowing you to connect with a worldwide audience.
However, you should know that it uses the Commission Junction (CJ) affiliate network to run numerous affiliate programs each focusing on visitors in a certain market.
If you sign up for the US & Canada affiliate program only, you'll only get a 4% commission on bookings from consumers in those regions with a 7 day cookie duration.
Hotels.com also allows affiliate marketers to promote special voucher codes with competitive price cuts, making life simpler for you.
Join the Hotels.com Affiliate ProgramGAdventures
With its slogan, “our world deserves more you” G Adventures claims to be the best in small group adventure travel.
Its clients, instead of going on all-inclusive trips to resorts, desire to experience local life in the Amazon, journey across North Asia by rail, or climb Mount Everest.
So it's in a narrow-but-growing market in the world of travel sites. Albeit one that is expected to be worth $1.6 trillion by 2026. This makes one of the best affiliate programs for adventure travel blogs.
Another benefit of the adventure travel sector is the high costs. These are often once-in-a-lifetime excursions, so customers aren't always on the lookout for the most cost-effective solution.
So while the 6% commission reward may not seem very appealing, it becomes a lot more enticing knowing that G Adventures' average order value is $2,600.
Travelpayouts Affiliate Network
Travel Payout is a pay-per-action affiliate network. It offers numerous affiliate programs dedicated to a variety of travel sites offering activities, including:
- Airline
- Hotel bookings
- Vehicle rental services
- Insurance
Other travel websites on this list are all brands with individual affiliate programs. But Travelpayouts is a pay-per-action affiliate network with multiple affiliate programs.
In total, Travelpayouts provides access to more than 90 travel affiliate programs from sites like Vrbo, Tripadvisor, and Hilton Honors.
Some of these referral programs are only available through the network. It has paid out over $28 million in commissions to roughly 300,000 affiliates since 2011.
Up to 70% of Travelpayouts earnings are paid out as affiliate payments.
In reality, that means travel agencies can earn 1.1% – 1.15% of the total booking value on flights. And 4% – 5% on hotels. All of which makes this an easy choice for travel bloggers to earn affiliate income.
Join the Travelpayouts Affiliate ProgramGetYourGuide
A little local knowledge may make a significant impact on your holiday experience.
GetYourGuide, a Berlin-based online travel agency and marketplace for tour guides and activities, is where it's at.
The travel website provides a list of more than 34,000 excursions and activities across the world. This is including some of the most well-known sites like the Sistine Chapel and the Louvre Museum.
Their travel affiliate program pays affiliates a fee of 8% each month. This is with the possibility for higher rates on a per partner basis.
The company frequently runs specials, provides a price protection guarantee, and allows last-minute reservations to help boost affiliate sales.
Join the GetYourGuide Affiliate ProgramREI
REI is the best destination for specialized outdoor equipment, according to customers.
They are an American outdoor brand that has been in operation for more than 8 decades. And run 165 retail locations throughout the United States, ensuring a solid brand presence.
REI has everything you need if you're looking for a new backpack, hiking boots, or trekking pole. This isn't a typical travel affiliate program, but there are still numerous ways for travel blogs to make money.
Although 5% is not a lot, the site's average order value of over $120 makes it quite appealing.
In addition, it has a variety of additional perks for readers that click on your text links, including free REI pickups and free shipping on purchases of $50 or more.
Join the REI Affiliate ProgramTake Walks
This is a tour booking firm with over 600 guides in 13 of the world's most vibrant cities, including Paris, Rome, and New Orleans.
More than one million customers have booked its guided excursions.
The pricing is not particularly inexpensive, with Paris tours costing anywhere from $44 to $252.
They are, however, designed for small groups, and there is frequently priority access to major attractions as well as skip-the-line privileges.
This affiliate program appears to be very appealing given the premium prices.
What travel blogger would not want to refer a $250 booking and receive a 15% commission?
Join the Take Walks Affiliate ProgramKayak
Let's take a look at the Kayak affiliate network.
Kayak has a slew of brands under its umbrella, including HotelsCombined, Momondo, and Kayak. As a result, it effectively manages its travel affiliate network.
Those companies combine to produce more than 6 billion travel searches each year, work with over 2 million properties, and payout over $76 million in yearly affiliate earnings.
We love the idea of being able to join numerous affiliate programs, including flights, accommodation, hotel bookings, and car rental services through single signup.
It gets better still when you look at Kayak's commission rate of 50%.
The only real disadvantage is the payment barrier — you won't be paid anything until your earnings reach $500.
Join the Kayak Affiliate ProgramViator
Many of us enjoy traveling for the experience. And Viator is a one-stop shop for all of your adventures, with more than 395,000 activities and things to do in 2,500 cities around the world.
Viator makes a conscious effort to make the journey to conversion as easy as possible.
It has more than 35 languages available via support, a catalog of over 1 million reviews to assist customers in making the best choices, and cancellations up to 24 hours ahead of time on 85% of its affiliate items.
This also makes it simpler for affiliate marketers to monetize the traffic they refer to Viator.
Each booking made through a travel blogger or any other content partner earns them an 8% commission.
They also have a 30-day cookie, which is more generous than many of the affiliate systems on this list.
Join the Viator Affiliate ProgramWorld Nomads
This is one of the biggest travel insurance brands in this roundup.
They specialize in the “intrepid” travel market, with their various travel insurance plans covering over 200 activities. As well as protection against trip cancellation and medical emergencies.
It's recommended by a slew of prominent travel companies, including Lonely Planet, which is a big selling point.
The company's ethical reputation is another appealing feature. When buying a travel insurance policy, more than 70% of its clients make a micro-donation.
Over the years, World Nomads has attracted more than $3 million through its GiveBack program, which has helped fund over 100 projects in different locations.
World Nomads affiliate program on its own is also a good reason for affiliate marketers to promote the brand.
The brand's affiliate program pays solid commissions of 10% per qualified sale with a 60-day cookie period, making it an attractive offer for affiliates.
Trusted Housesitters
When people go on vacation, they don't want to leave their canine companions behind.
Fortunately, TrustHousesitters provides a solution: have a sitter move into your house and look after your furry friends while you're away.
The site caters to house owners all around the world, including London flats and Hawaiian beachfront homes.
Customers can join as members for various amounts of money, starting at $129 per year enabling them to:
- Bid for the opportunity to become live-in pet sitters and reside in the homeowner's home for free.
- Get access to unlimited pet and home care verified sitters
That's a fantastic offer either way!
As a result, TrustedHousesitters operates 2 separate travel affiliate programs effectively.
Affiliate marketers can make a commission of 20% for referring new sitters and up to $100 for home owners.
So it's just like how Airbnb used to offer a host affiliate program and a guest affiliate program.
The sitter program is handled by Awin, and the owner program is run by ShareASale.
Join the TrustHousesitters Affiliate ProgramHostelworld
Another popular booking site is Hostelworld. However, while Booking.com and Expedia are generalists, Hostelworld specializes in the hostel scene, having over 36,000 hostels in 179 countries.
Its listings are supported by over 13 million verified guest reviews to assist visitors in making the best decision.
Hostelworld offers one of the most popular affiliate programs. Culture Trip, Lonely Planet, and Tripadvisor are just a few of the prominent travel agencies that participate in the program.
The Broke Backpacker is another high-profile travel blogger who participates in the program.
That's always a good indication that the affiliate program is worthwhile.
The commissions on a Hostelworld booking are calculated as up to 40% of the deposit collected by Hostelworld for each booking.
They pay out on a CPA basis.
Join the Hostelworld Affiliate ProgramSafety Wings
Many travel insurance providers also offer affiliate programs. SafetyWing tailors its travel insurance to 2 specific audiences:
- Remote teams and entrepreneurs
- Digital nomads
Those are 2 markets that aren't well covered by many major insurance carriers. So there's a lot of incentive for a reader to click your affiliate link and get a policy from this travel insurance site.
The SafetyWing affiliate program offers a 10% commission rate and a very long 365-day cookie window.
This is the longest of all the referral programs on this list.
As an incentive, SafetyWing pays out once a month through PayPal if you reach a minimum income threshold of $10.
Join the SafetyWing Affiliate ProgramInsureMyTrip
Another travel insurance provider is InsureMyTrip, which you may have already guessed, given the name (check out other insurance affiliate programs here).
InsureMyTrip is a comparison site that collaborates with several travel insurance firms, including AIG, AXA, and IMG.
It compares prices from a variety of insurers to help you find the best deal on your trip.
It offers more than 100,000 ratings and reviews from previous customers to assist visitors from various nations to make the best insurance choice.
There are 2 affiliate models available through the InsureMyTrips affiliate program: referral-based and commission-based.
Commission terms are decided on a per-case basis, so you'll need to register through a simple online form and contact their affiliate manager to find out how much you may make.
Get Started
As you can see, there are plenty of excellent travel affiliate programs with a lot of potential to make money.
And that's without even mentioning 3 significant programs – Hotels Combined affiliate program, Skyscanner affiliate program, and Airbnb affiliate program who have stopped their programs.
However, don't believe that you can simply start a travel blog and earn passive income right away from these affiliate networks.
To compete with all the travel bloggers already on the scene, you'll need to design your travel website, conduct keyword research, and produce high-quality content.
You'll also have to sort through a lot of information before making a final decision on the best travel affiliate programs to promote on your travel blog that will suit your target audience.
It's a lot of work. However, it is not beyond human capacity. Many travel affiliate marketers have achieved success with a travel blog, and you can too!
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