2020 and 2021 were not good years for the travel industry, including affiliates, bloggers, influencers, and affiliate programs. But, the travel niche will go back to its pre-pandemic levels and even more with an expected travel boom once things go back to ‘normal.
So, if you are looking to get become an affiliate marketer, blogger, or influencer there has never been a better time to get started and take advantage of the opportunities these affiliate programs have to offer.
Travel is not only a multi-billion dollar industry but it is one of enjoyment and pleasure where people are more than happy to spend their well-earned more in their dreamed vacation.
As an affiliate marketer, you won’t need to convince them to take a trip to a paradisiac island so you’ll focus should be on providing them enough value and information so they feel ready to book that flight or that hotel you are recommending (or at least so they want to check them out and click on your links.)
In this article, I have chosen some of the best affiliate programs that you can promote to make money in this niche. Go from flights and hotels to travel gear and insurance, there is an affiliate program for every affiliate. marketers and every audience!
What to look for in a travel affiliate program?
Before getting started with our list, it is important to learn what makes a good programs and what features you should look for when choosing which ones to promote.
While there is an abundance of affiliate programs in the travel niche, not all of them offer the same benefits for you and quality for your readers. As an affiliate marketer, the trust and rapport you build with your audience is the key to your success so you want to make sure to recommend companies that are both reputable and care about their customers and affiliates.
Here are some of the key elements to consider when evaluating an affiliate program:
Reputation and Quality
As an affiliate in the travel niche, it’ll be especially difficult for you to experience first-hand all the booking sites, hotels, insurance companies, and more. That is why it is essential that you do some throughout research about the company reputation, policies, and the quality of the services they provide.
Choosing an affiliate program with a good reputation also means that people will already know and trust them. This helps improves conversion rates and will result in more commissions for you so everybody wins.
Commission Rate
Once you have considered the programs’ quality and reputation, the commission rate is the next decisive factor.
For most programs in the travel niche the commission rates are pretty compettive and don’t vary much from one company to the toher but since the orders tend to be of high value even a small difference can result in a lot of money in the long term.
In the list below, you’ll find the exact commission rate for each program as well as what type of commission they pay.
The most common is that they you a percentage of the total sales value or of their earning (since some of them also get commissions from airlines and hotels).
Other programs will also pay you per every click to their website even if the person doesn’t buy which can add up to your earnings even if the fees are small.
Cookies Duration
Cookies are a small piece of data that is stored in the vistor’s browser whenever they click on your affiliate link. The duration or length means that you will be attibuted a commission if they make a purchase during that time frame.
For example, if the cookie has a duration of 30 days and one of your readers clicks on your links and make a purchase 3 weeks after, you will still receive the commission.
In the list below, you’ll also find the cookie length for each affiliate program. If there are two programs with similar commissions and quality, this factor can help you choose between them.
Hotels & Accommodation Affiliate Programs
1. Booking.com
- Commission Rate: 25%-40% of Booking.com’s Commission
- Cookie Length: Reservation Referrer (same day attribution only)
- Join here
This is one of the most popular sites travelers use to book their accommodation so you can be confident that people won’t doubt their reputation or legitimacy which will translate into better conversion rates.
The program has a commission scale that starts with a 25% commission and increases bases on how many bookings you get per month. Here is the commission structure in detail:
- < 50 bookings/month = 25%
- 51-100 = 30%
- 151-500 = 35%
- 501+ = 40%
Note that the commission is not based on the total booking cost but on the commission Booking.com gets from the accommodation which is usually 15 to 20% of the value of someone’s stay.
For example, if someone pays $1,000 for the total of their stay and Booking.com gets 20%, that’d be $200. In this case, you’d make $50 to $80 (depending on your commission level).
The program provides many affiliate tools you can use in your website or social media channel to get commissions such as:
- Customizable links to any hotel or place you want
- A search box so people can use it without leaving your site
- A deal finder with the best offers of the day
- Review plugin for WordPress sites.
The downside of the Booking affiliate program is that their cookies are session-based which means it attributes commissions for bookings made the same day as the link is followed. But they make up for it with a decent commission scale and their unarguable reputation.
Another great factor is that people can also book flights and cars which can significantly increase your earnings per click (EPC).
2. Hotels.com Affiliate Program
- Commission 4,8% Commission on the booking price
- Cookie Length: 30 days through Travel Payouts
- Join here
Hotels.com is popular for its deals onhotelsaround the world including some of the lowest prices for budget accommodations.
They belong to the Expedia Group along with sites like Trivago and Travelocity but they offer better commissions than Expedia itself which is why I decided to feature it instead.
You can currently join their affiliate program through Commission Junction or through the Travel Payout Network. I am not sure why the difference but if you join through Travel Payout you get a cookie lifetime of 30 days vs. one of 7 days when joining through CJ. In any case, 7 days is enough if you are targeting travelers who are ready to book.
They pay a 4,8% commission on the booking price which if we’d compared, is similar to programs like Booking.com that pay 25%-40% on their earning (which are usually 15-20%.
The Hotels.com affiliate program also provides you with high converting affiliate tools like deals widgets, search banners, and a deep link generators, to create highly optimized campaigns.
Considering their reputation and commission percentage, this is one of the best affiliate programs in the travel niche.
3. Agoda Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 4%-7% Volume-based
- Cookie Length: Referrer/Session-Based
- Join here
Established in 2005, Agoda.com is one of the fastest-growing hotel booking platforms on the market today. Their goal is to compete with more established websites by providing the widest choice of accommodation along with the most competitive prices.
As someone who enjoys traveling, I can say I have found some hidden gems in their site which is already a great advantage versus other programs and something any traveler would value.
The Agoda affiliate program used to be managed by Shareasale but it is now run in-house. You can apply directly through their site and the only requirement is that you have a blog or website, since they’ll ask you to verify your domain before you can start promoting it.
They offer a variey of affiliate tools to attracts visitors and improve conversions such as:
- Hotel Data File: relevant information of all hotels on record.
- Deep-Linking: So you can customize your links to a specific hotel, city, region, etc.
- Search Form Widget.So visitors can do their search from your site.
- Easy Reporting: that shows you the number of clicks and bookings along with your commissions.
The affiliate commission commissions are given on a sliding scale based to the number of referrals you get per month going all the way up to 7% of the total booking which is higher than all the other programs of its type.
- 4.0% — Less than 50 bookings
- 4.5% — Between 50 and 99 bookings
- 5.0% — Between 100 and 199 bookings
- 6.0% — Between 200 and 999 bookings
- 7.0 % — More than 999 bookings
The cookie lifetime is one day and attribution is measured on a last-click basis which seems to be common among all other affiliate programs for hotels and accommodation.
The only downside I find to this program is that it doesn’t include bookings for car rentals but they recently added flights and apartments so it’s only a matter of time before they do. Meanwhile, you can take advantage of their competitive commissions and use other affiliate programs for other services.
4. Priceline Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 3% – 5% volume based
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Priceline was first created as a name-your-own-price site where you were able to bid on hotel stays and other products. Through this unique tool, you can set your budget, the area you want to stay in, and the type of hotel you want. If they are able to match those they will book a hotel of their choice with your price.
While they have expanded their features to add regular booking services, the name-your-price section is still what they are most popular from and a great benefit to attract more clicks to your links.
While there are other most known travel sites such as the mentioned above, Priceline still offers some of the best deals on travel packages, cruises, budget packages, and of course, their name-your-price-program.
They also offer a wide range of products including hotels, cars, flights, cruises, and packages which can help increase the average cart value of your referrals and therefore, your commissions.
Affiliates are paid 3% – 5% in commission based on the product.
- Hotel — 5%
- Cruise — 3%
- Retail Flight — 4%
If you have a travel blog, this is a great affiliate program to try, especially for keywords related to finding travel deals and discounts.
Flights Affiliate Programs
5. Skyscanner Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 20% – 50% volume based
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Skyscanner is a travel search engine and comparison site that shows different options available for your travel route so you can find the best deal. When you purchase one of the flights, they get a commission from the airline so, in that sense, they also act as affiliate marketers.
They then share a % of their earnings with you paying $0.15 to $0.25 per exit click and 20% to 50% revenue share depending on how much traffic/ sales you generate per month.
One other thing to notice is that they only pay commissions for the country you are a member for which can mean you lose some money if a significant part of your traffic is from overseas.
They also don’t list all the airlines in the search results and seems like they only include those that pay them commissions. Low-cost regional airlines are not included so depending on your the buying intent of your readers, you might consider other search engines like Kiwi (which I’ll detail below) to make sure you don’t miss out on commissions.
They offer some great affiliate tools like their Travel Widget that you can use in your sidebar and will redirect people to their site for the results. If you want to take itto the next level, they offer a white-label travel API that you can customize to build your own search functionality on your website or mobile app.
As long as you have a relevant blog or social media account, this is one of the easiest programs to join. They also offer a 30-day cookie which is great considering most travelers take some time to contemplate their plans before committing to making a reservation.
6. Kayak Affiliate Programs
- Commission Rate: 50% of revenue share
- Cookie Length: 30 minutes
- Join here
Kayak was one of the first price-comparison sites for flights, hotels, and car rentals and is still top-of-mind when it comes to finding the best travel deals. If you have ever searched for a flight online, you have probably visited their site.
In a similar way to other sites, they also make a commission from airlines, hotels, and car rental companies and then share part of their profits with you. Whenever someone buys a plane ticket, book a hotel, or rents a car, you can earn a commission of up to 50% of the earnings they receive.
The downside is that their cookie length is only 30 minutes which lowers your conversions and commissions. You can still make good money with them but you need to target people who are ready to buy and use strategies like email marketing and time-sensitive deals to encourage your readers to click your links and make their booking fast.
You can join this program through Travelpayouts which also gives you access to other affiliate programs in the travel niche like Viator, HostelWord, and Expedia.
Something to keep in mind is that they can be more strict with their application process and only a limited number of geographies are available.
It is definitely a good affiliate program to consider if you get accepted. But if not, there are many other options available.
7. Kiwi Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 3% of total sales value
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Kiwi.com is an online booking service for flight, train and bus tickets. It is actually my favorite one when booking flights. It shows almost every airline out there, including budget regional ones. It also has a cool discover feature where you can see how much would it cost to go anywhere in the world on your chosen dates.
Kiwi.com makes travel affordable and easy. You can book anything from individual flights to complete itineraries across multiple providers in a straightforward and cost-effective way.
The main difference from its competitors is that the service is able to combine carriers that do not work together, letting users combine flights, buses, and trains from over 800 carriers (both low cost and full-service carriers). This is called “virtual interlining.” and allows for all the bookings to be protected from possible flight delays.
They offer a 3% commission on the total sale which is within the industry average and their cookie duration is 30 days which is great compared to other programs that use a session-based or no cookie model.
Kiwi affiliate programs offer affiliate tools such as banners and fully customized widgets where you can choose one of 18 languages, select the widget format, and set the point of departure and arrival. All of which helps increase clicks and conversions.
Tours Affiliate Programs
8. Viator Affiliate Program
- Commission Rate: 8% of total booking value
- Cookie Length: 30 days
- Join here
Viator is one of the largest online travel agencies specialized in Tours & Activities and offers over 400,000 experiences to the best attractions all around the world. It is now part ofTripadvisor since 2013 and it offers a wide catalog worldwide.
Viator partners with local guides and agencies to provide th tours and their experts make sure to handpick and verify each one of the activities to ensure high-quality tours on a consistently. They also have millions of unbiased reviews by customers who have taken the tours.
They offer flexible last-minute booking, free cancellation or rescheduling, payment options a low price guarantee where they refund the difference if the customer finds the same activity at a lower cost within three days of booking.
VIator offers a large slection of banners you can place on your website that include:
- Discounts
- Transfers (Airport, hotel, etc)
- Budget
- Destination Specific
- Themes
- Seasonal
They offer an 8% commission over the toal booking value and a 30 day cookie which is great COnsidering they do a great job of following up with people via emal and retargetting ads.
Viator is already one of the most popular sites for booking tours and activities so it is a great option to increase your commissions from your travel blog or website.
9. GetYourGuide
- Commission Rate: 8% of the total booking value
- Cookie Length: 31 days
- Join here
Get Your Guide Toursis a another company that provides guided tours to the best tourist attractions and travel experiences around the world. They are based in Berlin and are a bit smaller than Viator but when it comes to the European makret they are right up there.
They offer skip-the-line tickets to the world’s most iconic attractions, walking tours by top local experts, food and beverage experiences, and all sort of classes and bucket-list activities.
Get Your Guide also pays an 8% commission and uses a 31-day cookie duration so in that sense they are pretty similar to Viator. They used to have a better cancellation policy of up to 24 hours before your booking but now Viator has matched their offering.
A nice feature is that the affiliate program also pays commissions on transactions that come from the GetYourGuide app which is a likely way for travelers to be booking while on holiday.
10. G Adventures Affiliate Program
- Commission:6% (average order value $2,600 USD)
- Cookie duration:90 days
- Join here
G Adventures is the leading provider of small group adventure tours and they currently offer an incredible selection of tours on all seven continents to over 200,000 people each year
They focus on multi-day guided group tours, and according to their site, G Adventures’ average order value is $2,600. At a 6% commission which means an average of $156 commission per sale.
Booking a tour like this is not an impulsive purchase and takes some time so it is good that they offer a 90-day cookie window which is 3 times what other tour operators offer.
A great way to increases your chances of making money with this type of program is to capture your reader’s emails by offering them a free item and following up with a couple of emails about the related tour.
Some of their most popular tours are those destinations that may be more difficult to reach individually or placer where travelers may not feel confident on their own so it is a good point to consider when promoting it.
11. Intrepid Affiliate Program
- Commission:4% commission on tour sales. $0.50 per lead.
- Cookie duration:90 days
- Join here
Similar to G Adventures, Intrepid travel also offers small group adventure tours, offering local-led trips with experiences on all seven continents.
Their goal is to offer experiences that are off-the-beathen-path within groups of no more than 10 people. Their trips are all about connecting with locals and like-minded travellers of all ages.
They also run a brand called Peregrine Adventures that is oriented to mature travelers. These tours have more structure and a relaxed pace. As an affiliate, you can promote any of their trips according to what best suits your audience.
They also offer a 90 day cookie but their commission is 4% (versus 6% of G Adventures). However they offer a $0.50 commission per lead. They are both great programs so you’d need to test which one converts better for your audience and results in a bigger revenue.
12. Contiki Affiliate Program
- Commission:5% commission on total booking.
- Cookie duration:90 days
- Join here
Contiki is a popular trip booking platform among travelers between the ages of 18 and 35. They focus on providing affordable experiences that focus on sightseeing and culture as much as in the community and in meeting like-minded people.
Contiki also provides several different ways to travel including adventure tours, hop-on-hop-off bus tours, island hopping, and volunteer opportunities.
One great feature is that their tours can be taken for either one, two, or more weeks so customers can join in and out based on their own time availability and interests.
They offer a base commission of 5% but will offer higher rates to those who consistently perform well. Their cookie tracking is also 90 days which gives potential travelers time to solidify their plans.
Contiki also has a dedicated management team available to help you maximize your earnings or troubleshoot any problems along the way.
If your target audience is among their age group (18-35) this is a good option to promote for booking affordable group tours.
Travel Insurance Affiliate Programs
13. Allianz Affiliate Program
- Commission:$12 up to $25 per qualified sale
- Cookie duration:45 days
- Join here
Travel Insurance is a must for every overseas trip no matter how close or short it is.
AllianzPartners is one of the world’s largest insurance and assistance companies.They provide short and long-term health insurance, for regular travelers, ex-pats, digital nomads, or people studying overseas.
Here are some of the cases that they cover:
- Reimbursem*nt for trip cancellation including vacation rentals, car rentals, hotels, and flights(if you have to cancel for a covered reason).
- Reimburse in case of Travel delays that leave you stranded. They will reimburse you for your meals, accommodation, and transportation expenses during a covered delay.
- Medical emergency or medical evacuation if needed, while traveling.
- 24-Hour Assistance hotline for expert, personalized support in a crisis
Their commissions are paid by tiers and affiliates can earn $12 to $25 per qualified sale based on volume.
This is less than other insurance companies and their 45-day cookie is also not the best. However, they are a reputable company and will give your reader a good service so they worth considering if you are doing a round-up travel insurance companies or a comparison post.
14. World Nomads Affiliate Programs
- Commission:10% per qualified sale
- Cookie duration:60 days
- Join here
World Nomadsis a travel insurance company based in Australia in 2002. Now, they cover people from over 150 countries, with medical and evacuation cover, 24-hour emergency assistance, and cover for a large range of adventure activities.
They offer great affordable coverage and the ability to, extend your policy online or make a claim online while on the road. I have personally used them and have been very satisfied with their service so I’d be happy to recommend it to my readers.
They have been recommended by Lonely Planet, National Geographic, and Nomadic Matt, a travel blogger that makes $750,000/year with a significant part of his income coming from affiliate commissions.
They pay affiliates 10% for each sale you refer and their cookies last for 60 days which is better than other insurance companies.
They offer one of the best insurance companies out there, especially for long-term travelers or backpackers. It is recommended by tons of other travel companies and writers, and far more affordable than other insurance companies!They are a great insurance option to recommend to your readers and make good commissions.
Other travel affiliate programs
15. Wise Affiliate Program (Previously Transferwise)
- Commission:$13 (CPA): Cost per transfer
- Cookie duration:Unlimited
- Join here
Wise is a global technology company offers a more efficient way to move money around the world which is especially important for travellers.
Bringing lots of cash is dangerous and traditional credit and debit cards charge huge fees for using them abroad or for withdrawing money in a foreign currency.
In this scenario, Wise offers two products that can help frequent —and not so frequent— travelers:
- Sending money to 50+ currencies at themid-market exchange rateand a transparent, upfront fee. This alternative can be great for those travelers who have someone waiting for them in their destination who they can transfer money hassle-free.
- Multi-currency with our card,which you can use to receive money and send money with your own foreign currency account. Travelers can then use this card to pay in the local currency without paying any extra fees.
Our standard commission structure is 15 Australian Dollars per action. Cookie period: we operate on a 1 year cookie window. This means that you will get a commission payment for any action the user took within 360 days after clicking on your tracking link.
The Wise affiliate program pays a CPA of $13 for each new personal user who does not have a pre-existing Wise account and completes a successful cross-currency transaction.
They do not have a cookie window, so you will receive commission no matter how long it takes the user to make their first transfer.
This is a great solution to offer their readers if you are talking about topics related to managing money abroad, currency exchange, etc.
16. Tep Wireless Affiliate Program
- Commission:$20 per every sale or rental.
- Cookie duration:Undisclosed
- Join here
Tep oe The “Teppy”(as frequent travelers like to call it)is a mobile hotspot device that automatically connects to Wi-Fi hotspots in over 100 countries and provides 4G internet for more than 6 hours.
For travelers who don’t have an international data plan, this portable wifi will make their travels much easier. Especially if they are traveling through different destinations, it can save them money and saves the hassle of having to buy and swap out SIM cards every time they cross a border.
You can offer your readers the option of renting or buying a Tep and you will earn a $20 flat fee for every sale or rental.
The affiliate program is run by GetAmbassador and it’s pretty easy to join. They also do promos and discounts around holidays which is a great opportunity to attract more sales and commissions.
17. Nord VPN Affiliate Program
- Commission:100% for new sig-ups. 30%-40% for renewals.
- Cookie duration:30 days
- Join here
These days, most travelers carry a computer with them, and while free Wi-Fi is available pretty much everywhere to it also opens us up to new risks like stolen credit card numbers, and hacked social media accounts and emails.
This is where VPNs (Virtual Private Networks) offer privacy protection and security by that encrypting your internet traffic and protecting your online identity.
NordVPNis one of the most popular VPN services and has become something of a household name in tech and online privacy circles and it is a great product to share with your readers to help them stay secure in their travels.
Nord’s affiliate program also has some. ofthe best commission rates on the industry offering up to 100% commission per sale depending on the subscription plan of your referals.
is also one of the nest NordVPN affiliate program is a VPN affiliate program which offers up to 100% commission per sale. In addition to that, you can earn up to 30% commission per renewal as a NordVPN affiliate. Here is the detail on hteir commission rates.
| DURATION | NEW SIGN-UP | RENEWAL |
| 1 month | 100% | 30% |
| 6 months | 40% | 30% |
| 12 months | 40% | 30% |
| 24 months | 40% | 30% |
As you can see, they also offer recurring commissions for long as your sign-ups continue to use their service which means that you could make passive income for months or years. They also have an impressive 7-day EPC of $138.10 onCommission Junction.
This is a great program to share with your all your readers since it can be used in phones, laptops or any device. It will help them enjoy their trip without any issues and the lifetime revenue share will help you scale your profits month after month.
18. Priority Pass Affiliate Program
- Commission:$14 per sale
- Cookie duration:30 days
- Join here
If you have ever spend a few hours in a crowded departure lounge with ac, seats, or food, you’ll understand why regular travelers pay for access to airport lounges.
Instead of waiting outside sitting on the floor next to an outlet, they can wait in a much cozier space with comfortable seats, free food and drinks, and sometimes even showers and mini-spas. Once you visit one of these, there is no going back.
Priority Pass is the largest and most prestigious independent airport VIP lounge access program in the world. They have more than 1300 airport lounges so frequent travelers can enjoy a pleasant wait regardless of the airline they fly or the ticket they hold.
Affiliates are paid $14 per sale on of every annual membership which is usually discounted ranging from $89-$359 (reg. retail: $99-$429).
Their affiliate program is managed by ShareASale which is one of the biggest and more respected affiliate network which has an strict approval process. But, as long as you have a legit and relevant site you will have no issue getting accepted.
Considering the benefits and worldwide reputation of Priority Pass, they are an easy sale. They are also constantly expanding and improving their lounges which makes them appeal to bigger audiences and gives you more chances of making commissions.
19. SwissGear Affiliate Program
- Commission:15%
- Cookie duration:30 days
- Join here
Luggage is like insurance or tattoos in the way that you don’t want to skimp costs and you are better off investing in high-quality products from a reputable company.
A respected traveler knows how important it is to have a luggages that it is not only aesthetically pleasing but also secure and comfortable.
Running around an airport with a lame suitcase or having it break down in the middle of a trip can really turn a dreamed vacation into a nightmare.
In this sense, Swiss Gear checks all the boxes. They are part of the same company that invented the Swiss army knife and each of their products is manufactured to a very exacting standard.
They have a wide range of suitcases, accesories and smartpacks so your readers can rest auure all thier belonging are safe AND with a full battery.
Their affiliate program pays 15% commission for every sale and has a 30-day cookie.
So, based on their average order value of $80 you stand to make around $10 per transaction. But that is their cheapest suitcase and their prociest luggae set costs $469 so you can expecte higher commissions.
This is a perfect program to include in your content and opens up a bunch of possibilities for keywords and earnings. This affiliate program is run by ShareASale which is a reputable network.
20. Amazon Affiliate Program
- Commission:1-3%
- Cookie duration:24 hours
- Join here
I don’t need to tell you how massive and omnipresent Amazon is. They were actually one of the first affiliate programs ever and are now the largest affiliate network, with over 1 million products.
While you might not making big commission with this programs, you can still make good money by the sales volume. People are buying on Amazon every day and you don’t only get commission from the products they clicked on, but from anything else they buy in the 24-hour range of their cookie.
Shooping for travell gear, clothing and accessoriies is not ony necesary but also part of the fun of planning a trip.
You can recommend anything from clothes for specific weather, travel gear like adaptors and head-plugs, packing gear like cubes and organizers, etc.
The commission will depend on the category of the product. Here is a graphic detailing the commission rates:
While the commission rates are low, the conversion rate is higher than in most programs so it is worth considering.
It is also really easy to join and it’ll only take you a few minutes. You can then start promoting Amazons products or simply add one of their widgets to your site for easy commissions.
21. AirHelp Affiliate Program
- Commission:10% of the received payment from the Airline
- Cookie duration:30 days
- Join here
With so many uncontrollable factors involved, it is inevitable to have a flight canceled at some point. But, when it happens due to an airline schedule change, customers can claim compensation for their flight delay or cancellation, which they are not always aware of.
The claim process can be quite tedious which is why some customers prefer to not even do it.
In this scenario, AirHelp is a service that takes care of of everhything on behalf of the passenger and so far has processed compensation claims for more than $368 million.
As an affiliate, this program gives you the chance to grow your earnings since most travelers will need this service at some point and you can help them get some of their hard-earned money back.
They offer an appealing 10% commission for each claim processed, a 30-day cookie and bonuses for good performance.
You also don’t need to have a website to apply so if you have a social media account in the niche, you could promote this program with no issues.
How to make money with travel affiliate programs
There is more than one way to make money with Affiliate Programs in the travel niche. From a blog or website to a social media account or Youtube channel, there are many platforms and strategies you can use depending on your own preferences and skills.
While each moenthod could use its own post, I’ll explain briefly some of the best methods you can consider if you are still in that stage of your affiliate journey:
1. Using a blog or niche site
If you have ever done some research for a trip, you have probably visited a blog and even clicked on some of their affiliate links to book a flight or hotel.
Using a travel blog is one of the best ways to make money in this niche and promote travel affiliate programs.
It gives you the opportunity to share all types of offers with your audience and provide value through useful articles like reviews and guides.
While there is a lot of competition for broad travel topics, you can still position yourself and be successful by niching-down into a more specific travel topic like a certain region or country, a type of traveler, or audience.
Inthe image above, for example, you can see how this blogger focuses on travel for solo females which is a more specific and less competitve niche than travel in general.
If you want to learn more about starting a blog to make money make sure to check out this article.
2. Using Social Media
It is no secret that there’s been a boom of travel influencers in social media over the last 10 years. While everybody wonders how they manage to travel all the time, the truth is their own content is how they make a living whether it is through sponsored posts or through affiliate programs.
If you have always wanted to travel full time, you can use this strategy and create content that attracts people and that you can monetize through affiliate programs like hotels, insurance, flights, etc.
Nowadays, all social media platforms allow you to have one main link in your bio, and by using a tool like link.tree you can then add all your affiliate links for your followers to find your promoted offers.
And if you don’t want to be an influencer and be on camera, you can also create a brand and get creative with your content.
Below you can see an example of an Instagram account dedicated solely to luxury hotels. They use content travel influencers and make money when people book the hotels through their link.
You can do this on other platforms like Youtube or Tiktok, whether it is with your personal brand like a travel influencer or by sharing other users content.
If you want to learn more about using Social Media to make moeny with Affiliate Makreting , make sure to check the following articles;
- Youtube For Affiliate Marketing? Step-By-Step Guide To Explode Your Profits
- Blogging On Instagram: Beginner’s Guide To Making Money
Eventually, most affiliate marketers tend to expand their presence to more than one platform in order to increase their audience, authority, and commissions. But if you are just starting out, it is best to focus on mastering one platform before moving to the next one.
Travel Affiliate Programs FAQ
What is the best travel affiliate program?
All of the travel affiliate programs on this list have a good reputation, conversion rate, and good commission that gives them a great potential to make you money.
But your job as an affiliate is to create content that earns your audience trust and pre-sells them on the offer so it increases their chances of making a purchase even more.
Do travel websites make money?
The most popular travel websites also work like affiliate marketers since they get a commission on the booking rate.
Some of the biggest ones like Booking.com or Skyscanner make billions every year due to the high amount of traffic they receive and their reputation that allows for people to make a reservation through their sites without even questioning it.
How do I become a travel affiliate?
Becoming a travel affiliate is not hard. All you need to do is choose one platform that you want to focus on, eg, blog, youtube, social media, etc. and choose a couple of offers that you want to promote.
The rest will deoending on the platfrom and progrma syou have chosen but in geenral ermns, it involve researching your niche and creating relevant content that attacts potential buyers.
If you want to be successful as an affiliate and save yourself lots of mistakes and time, the best you can do is to have someone who is already there guide you step by step. This 15-day challenge is taught by 9 a figure affiliate marketers and will show you exactly what to do to set up a profitable affiliate business.
Final thoughts
Travel is a multi-billion dollar industry with plenty of great affiliate programs and opportunities to make money.
Like any other profitable niche where, there is competition, but you can always get a piece of the pie by differentiating yourself with a unique approach and quality content.
What did you think of the programs on this list? Is there another sub-category you’d like to see more of? let me know and I’ll make sure to add it!
