Tourism Economies Are Leaking
Every year, destinations invest billions in marketing to attract visitors. Yet too often, the economic return doesn’t stay in the communities that made the trip worth taking in the first place. Instead, value flows out to third-party booking platforms, external operators, and high-fee intermediaries.
This leakage undermines what should be a powerful engine for local growth. Current systems prioritize volume over value, leaving DMOs and their partners to manage increasing visitor impact with shrinking influence over how and where money moves.
The ITA (In-Market Travel Agency) Model is a new framework built for this moment. It shifts control, revenue, and data back where they belong—within the destination.
What is an ITA?
An ITA (In-Market Travel Agency) is a destination-led platform and strategy that connects local lodging, events, and experiences into a cohesive ecosystem directly owned and operated by the DMO or tourism entity.
Unlike traditional OTAs and third-party booking platforms, ITAs are place-based and mission-driven. They’re not about funneling travelers through disconnected transactions. They’re about curating meaningful, community-aligned experiences and ensuring those experiences deliver real value to local stakeholders.
And the word “agency” matters. It signals stewardship, strategy, and service. DMOs who adopt the ITA Model reclaim their role as the architects of the visitor economy. They take back control, impact, and tourism economy.
The Core Problems the ITA Model Solves
Traditional third-party platforms take a cut of every transaction. The ITA Model keeps dollars, data, and opportunity circulating locally among hotels, event producers, and community businesses.
When visitors book through outside platforms, destinations lose access to critical insights. ITAs enable first-party data collection, powering better decisions and more effective marketing.
Event organizers drive demand for the destination, while local lodging partners aim to capture it, but both often miss out on the conversions DMO marketing generates. The ITA Model bridges this gap by connecting partners directly to traveler traffic, turning top-of-funnel interest into in-market bookings and stronger local alignment.
DMOs and event partners often struggle to prove the impact of their marketing efforts. By moving conversions directly onto the destination’s platform, the ITA Model enables clear attribution, making it easier to demonstrate ROI, justify funding, and strengthen stakeholder partnerships.
Why it Matters Now
Destinations are at a turning point. Sustainable tourism, regenerative practices, and community-first planning aren’t just trends, they’re becoming expectations. Travelers are looking for purpose-driven experiences. Communities are asking for accountability.
At the same time, digital privacy shifts have put pressure on marketers to rely less on third-party data. The ability to collect, understand, and activate first-party data has become critical, and the ITA Model is built for this future.
DMOs must now balance competing priorities: drive visitation, protect quality of life, support local economies, and prove ROI. The ITA Model was created to do exactly that.
ITA in Action: Use Cases
DMOs: Provide commission-free booking tools that enhance the visitor experience, deliver measurable impact, and strengthen relationships with local stakeholders.
Events: Capture and keep bookings tied to demand your organization generates, improving ROI and community impact.
Resorts & Attractions: Convert interest and foot traffic into overnight stays and increased visitor spend.
Agencies: Build smarter conversion funnels for clients and track end-to-end effectiveness, from campaign to booking.
Take Back Your Tourism Economy
DMOs work hard to drive demand, and the ITA model ensures they reap what they sow. By curating a cohesive, localized travel experience, destinations become the connective tissue of their tourism economy where travelers feel connected, partners are supported, and communities share in the benefits.
The future of destination marketing is local—and it belongs to those who own their demand. The ITA model gives DMOs the tools to lead with strategy, serve with purpose, and build tourism economies that work for everyone.
Ready to take back your tourism economy? We’re here to help. Schedule a demo and learn more about Ripe’s ITA Platform.
