Google Things to Do (GTTD) is Google's free distribution channel for tours and activities. It shows your experiences directly in Google Search, Google Maps, and Google AI Overviews. Organic listings cost 0% commission. To get listed, you need a Google Business Profile plus either a connectivity partner (a booking platform with GTTD integration) or Google's self-serve Tickets & Activities Editor. Most operators can be listed within 1-2 weeks.

Here's the part that should get your attention: your tours are probably already showing up on Google Things to Do right now, through Viator or GetYourGuide. Every time a traveler finds your tour through that GTTD listing and books on Viator, you pay 20-25% commission. If you connect directly through your own booking platform instead, you pay nothing. Same visibility. Same position on Google. Zero commission.

That's the opportunity most operators are sleeping on. Google Things to Do is the only major distribution channel that offers 0% commission on organic listings and simultaneously feeds your tours into Google's AI-powered discovery tools. Viator charges 20%. GetYourGuide charges 25%. Groupon takes 30-50%. GTTD organic? Free.

This guide covers everything: how GTTD works, how to get listed, the commission math you need to see, optimization tactics, the AI visibility bonus nobody else talks about, and the common mistakes that keep operators off the platform.

Key Takeaways

• GTTD organic listings charge 0% commission while Viator charges 20% and GetYourGuide 25% for the same Google visibility

• Two setup paths exist: Google's self-serve Tickets & Activities Editor (fastest, limited) or a connectivity partner like CaptainBook (full features, real-time sync, AI Overviews eligible)

• Your tours may already appear on GTTD via OTAs, but you're paying their commission. Connect directly and keep every euro.

• GTTD feeds directly into Google AI Overviews and Gemini, making it the fastest path to AI search visibility for your tours in 2026

• Most operators get listed within 1-2 weeks via a connectivity partner. The self-serve editor is faster but more limited.

What is Google Things to Do (and where your tours appear)

Google Things to Do is Google's dedicated module for tours, activities, and experiences. Think of it as Google's built-in OTA, except it doesn't charge you commission on organic placements. Your tour listings show up in four places:

Google Search results. When a traveler searches "boat tours in Santorini" or "cooking classes Barcelona," GTTD listings appear as a prominent card module directly in the search results, often above or alongside traditional organic results. These cards show your tour name, price, rating, and a direct booking link.

Google Maps. When travelers explore a destination on Google Maps and tap "Things to do," your listings appear alongside other local experiences. This is especially powerful for travelers already in your city who are looking for same-day or next-day bookings.

Google Travel. Google's trip planning tool aggregates GTTD listings into destination guides. Travelers planning a trip to your city see your tours as they build their itinerary.

Google AI Overviews. This is the newest and most important surface. When travelers ask Google questions like "what should I do in Mykonos for a day," the AI Overview pulls recommendations directly from GTTD data. If your tours aren't in GTTD through a direct connection, they may not appear in these AI-generated answers at all. We cover this in depth in our guide to preparing your tour business for AI search.

The commission math you need to see

Let's make this concrete. Here's what you keep on a €100 booking across different channels:

Now scale it. For an operator doing €100,000/year in bookings:

The difference between paying 20% on everything and shifting even half your bookings to direct channels (including GTTD) is €10,000 per year. For a €200K operator, that's €20,000.

The commission trap most operators don't see: If your tours are currently listed on Viator or GetYourGuide, those OTAs are already connectivity partners with Google. Your tours appear on GTTD, but the booking flows through Viator. You still pay their 20-25% commission on every booking. You get the GTTD visibility, but none of the commission savings. Connecting directly through your own booking platform fixes this.

Want to see how much you'd save? Check CaptainBook's pricing and compare: €49-€349/month flat subscription with 0% on all direct bookings, including those from GTTD.

How to get listed on Google Things to Do (two paths)

There are two ways to get your tours on GTTD. The right choice depends on your tech setup and how many products you offer.

Path 1: Google's self-serve Tickets & Activities Editor

Google now offers a self-serve tool that lets you add tour listings directly from your Google Business Profile. This is the fastest path to getting listed.

How to access it: Log into your Google Business Profile. If your business is categorized as a tour operator or activity provider, you'll see a "Tickets & Activities" or "Products" section where you can add individual experiences with titles, descriptions, pricing, and a booking link.

What you get: Basic GTTD listing with your tour details, pricing, and a link to your website or booking page. Travelers see your listing in Google Search and Maps.

Limitations: No real-time availability sync. No automatic price updates. Limited to the fields Google's editor supports. Doesn't unlock GTTD paid ads. Updates are manual, and Google requires data refreshes at least every 30 days or your products may be taken down.

Best for: Solo operators with 1-3 products who want to test GTTD before committing to a full booking platform integration. Also useful if you don't yet have a booking system and want basic GTTD presence quickly.

Path 2: Connectivity partner (booking platform with GTTD integration)

A connectivity partner is a booking platform that sends your tour data to Google automatically through Google's Actions Center API. This is the path Google recommends for operators with more than a few products.

How it works: You set up your tours in your booking platform (products, pricing, availability, images, descriptions). The platform pushes that data to Google in the required SFTP/JSON format. When availability changes or a booking comes in, the data updates automatically. Travelers who click your GTTD listing get sent directly to your booking checkout, not to an OTA.

What you get: Full GTTD listing with real-time availability, automatic pricing updates, direct booking capability, eligibility for GTTD paid ads, and AI Overviews inclusion. This is the full-featured version.

Requirements: Your booking platform must be an approved Google connectivity partner. Not all platforms are. CaptainBook has a native Google Things to Do integration that handles the data feed, availability sync, and booking flow automatically.

Best for: Any operator with 3+ products, operators who want real-time sync, operators who want to be eligible for AI Overviews, and anyone serious about using GTTD as a long-term direct booking channel.

Which path is right for you?

If you're serious about GTTD as a revenue channel, the connectivity partner path is the only option that scales.

Step-by-step GTTD setup guide

Seven steps from zero to live GTTD listing. Total time: 1-2 weeks for the connectivity partner path, 1-2 hours for the self-serve editor.

Step 1: Claim and optimize your Google Business Profile

If you don't have a Google Business Profile, create one here. If you have one, verify it's complete: business name, address (or service area), phone, website, hours, category, photos, and description. Your Business Profile is the anchor for your GTTD listing. An incomplete profile can delay or block your GTTD enrollment.

Important update for 2026: operators with a "service area" designation (not just a fixed address) are now eligible for GTTD. This opens the door for boat tours, mobile experiences, and any operator whose tours start from different locations.

Step 2: Verify your business category

Your Google Business Profile must be categorized correctly. "Tour operator," "Tour agency," "Sightseeing tour agency," "Boat tour agency," and similar categories qualify. If your category is wrong (for example, "Travel agency" without a tour-specific subcategory), update it. This is one of the most common reasons GTTD enrollment stalls.

Step 3: Choose your integration path

Self-serve editor: access it from your Google Business Profile dashboard. Connectivity partner: sign up for a booking platform with GTTD integration and follow their setup flow. With CaptainBook, the GTTD integration is configured during your initial platform setup and data flows to Google automatically once approved.

Step 4: Create your product listings

Whether through the editor or your booking platform, each tour needs: a clear, specific title (not marketing language), a complete description covering what's included, duration, meeting point, and what to expect, at least 3 high-quality images, pricing for all ticket categories (adult, child, senior), availability schedule, and a booking link or checkout integration.

Step 5: Submit for Google review

Google reviews all new GTTD listings for policy compliance. Through a connectivity partner, this happens automatically when your data feed is first submitted. Through the self-serve editor, listings go live after Google approves them (typically 3-7 business days).

Step 6: Wait for approval (and what to do if rejected)

Most connectivity-partner submissions are approved within 1-2 weeks. Self-serve listings are faster (3-7 days). If rejected, common reasons include: missing booking link, incorrect business category, description that violates Google content policies (no excessive caps, no misleading claims), or images that don't meet quality standards. Fix the flagged issue and resubmit.

Step 7: Verify your listings are live

Search for your business name + "tours" or your specific tour name on Google. Look for the GTTD card in search results. Check Google Maps for your destination and verify your experiences appear under "Things to do." If using a connectivity partner, your platform's GTTD dashboard should show listing status.

Optimizing your GTTD listings for more bookings

Getting listed is step one. Ranking well within GTTD results is where the bookings come from. Google's ranking within GTTD considers relevance, quality, and user signals.

Write clear, specific product titles. "Santorini Sunset Catamaran Cruise with Dinner (4 Hours)" outperforms "Amazing Santorini Experience!" Google's algorithm and AI tools extract specific details; vague titles get ignored.

Write descriptions travelers actually read. Cover the five questions every traveler has: what will I do, how long is it, what's included, where do I meet, and what should I bring. Put the most important details in the first two sentences because Google truncates long descriptions in search cards.

Use high-quality images. Google specifies minimum 800x600 pixels. Use real photos of the actual experience, not stock photos. Show people on the tour. Show the environment (the boat, the vineyard, the trail). The first image is your thumbnail in search results, so make it count.

Keep pricing and availability accurate. If your GTTD listing shows "available" but the traveler clicks through and finds no availability, Google demotes your listing. Real-time sync through a connectivity partner prevents this entirely. If using the self-serve editor, update manually at least weekly.

Collect and display reviews. Google shows star ratings on GTTD cards. More reviews and higher ratings improve your click-through rate and your position. Send review request emails after every tour. Our automated review collection tools make this hands-free.

Organic GTTD listings vs paid Google experience ads

GTTD has two placement types: free organic listings and paid ads. Most operators should start with organic and add paid later if needed.

Organic (free) listings appear based on relevance, quality, and reviews. They're sufficient for most operators in most markets. Zero cost. The trade-off is you can't control position, and in crowded markets (Barcelona, Rome, NYC), you may be below operators with more reviews or stronger listing quality.

Paid GTTD ads (called "Things to do ads") let you bid for premium placement at the top of GTTD results. These work like Google Ads: you set a daily budget, bid on relevant queries, and pay per click. Available only through connectivity partners, not the self-serve editor.

When to consider paid ads: If you're in a highly competitive destination, if organic GTTD is generating clicks but you want more volume, or if you have a high-margin product that can absorb the ad cost. Start with a small daily budget (€10-€20), measure conversion, and scale what works.

When organic is enough: If you're in a less competitive destination, if your reviews and listing quality are strong, or if you're still optimizing your listing before spending on promotion.

GTTD as the AI visibility pipeline (the angle nobody else covers)

Here's the part that makes GTTD uniquely valuable in 2026 and beyond. Google Things to Do feeds directly into Google's AI systems.

When a traveler asks Google, "What should I do in Crete for a day with kids?", the AI Overview assembles an answer by pulling from GTTD data. If your family-friendly tours are listed on GTTD through a direct connectivity partner, your tours can appear in that AI-generated answer, complete with pricing, ratings, and a booking link. Google AI Overviews now appear on roughly 30% of travel-related searches, and that percentage is climbing.

This creates a compounding advantage. Operators connected directly to GTTD get:

• Traditional Google Search visibility (GTTD cards)

• Google Maps discoverability

• AI Overview citations (the fastest-growing discovery channel)

• All at 0% commission

Operators whose tours appear on GTTD only through Viator or GetYourGuide get the Search and Maps visibility, but the booking flows through the OTA (20-25% commission), and the AI Overview citations may favor the OTA listing over the operator's brand.

If you're building your AI search strategy, GTTD is the foundation. For the full tactical playbook on AI visibility, see our complete AI search preparation guide.

Common GTTD setup mistakes and how to fix them

Five issues that keep operators off GTTD or reduce their listing quality.

Wrong business category. Your Google Business Profile must have a tour or activity-related primary category. "Travel agency" alone often doesn't qualify. Switch to "Tour operator," "Boat tour agency," "Sightseeing tour agency," or the most specific subcategory available. This is fixable in minutes but blocks everything else if wrong.

Missing or broken booking link. Every GTTD listing needs a working URL where travelers can book the specific tour. A link to your homepage isn't enough. If your booking link goes to a generic page, Google either rejects the listing or ranks it poorly. Each product needs its own bookable URL.

Inconsistent pricing. If your GTTD listing says €75 but your booking page says €85, Google flags this as a quality issue. Your GTTD price and your checkout price must match exactly. Real-time sync through a connectivity partner eliminates this problem. Manual listings need regular price audits.

No reviews or low review count. GTTD listings with zero reviews get minimal visibility. Google trusts review signals heavily. Start asking every guest for a Google review. Even 10-15 reviews with a 4.5+ rating dramatically improve your position.

Stale availability data. Google requires data updates at least every 30 days or products are taken down. If you're using the self-serve editor and forget to update for five weeks, your listing disappears. Connectivity partners handle this automatically because your booking platform pushes data continuously.

Frequently asked questions

Is Google Things to Do really free?

Yes, organic GTTD listings are completely free, with 0% commission. Google does not charge operators anything for appearing in organic GTTD placements in Search, Maps, or AI Overviews. The only paid option is GTTD ads, which are optional and work like Google Ads (pay-per-click). The free organic listing is the default, and it's what most operators use.

How long does it take to get listed?

Through a connectivity partner (booking platform with GTTD integration), expect 1-2 weeks from setup to live listing, including Google's review process. Through Google's self-serve Tickets & Activities Editor, basic listings can go live in 3-7 business days. The bottleneck is usually Google's review, not your setup time.

Do I need a booking platform to use GTTD?

Not strictly. Google's self-serve editor lets you add listings without a booking platform, but you'll need a working booking link on your website. For real-time availability sync, paid ad eligibility, and full AI Overviews inclusion, a connectivity partner (booking platform with native GTTD integration) is the practical requirement. Operators with more than a few products will need a booking platform to manage GTTD effectively.

Can I use GTTD alongside Viator and GetYourGuide?

Absolutely. GTTD is an additional channel, not a replacement. Many operators sell on Viator, GetYourGuide, and GTTD simultaneously. The key difference: bookings that come through your direct GTTD connection cost 0% commission, while bookings that come through OTAs still carry their standard 20-25% commission. Use GTTD to capture the free direct bookings; use OTAs for the additional reach they provide. A channel manager keeps availability synced across all channels to prevent overbookings.

Will GTTD replace OTAs for tour bookings?

Not entirely, but it's shifting the balance. Google is increasingly prioritizing direct booking links in GTTD results over OTA listings. Travelers who find tours through Google Search, Maps, or AI Overviews can now book directly with operators rather than going through Viator or GetYourGuide. The trend favors operators who connect directly. OTAs will remain relevant for discovery and brand awareness, but the commission advantage of GTTD makes it the better channel for margin-conscious operators.

What types of tours work best on GTTD?

Any bookable tour or activity works on GTTD: boat tours, food tours, walking tours, diving, cooking classes, wine tastings, outdoor adventures, cultural experiences, escape rooms, wellness services. The key requirements are: a fixed or service-area location, a bookable product with clear pricing and availability, and a Google Business Profile with the right category. Niche experiences often perform better on GTTD than on OTAs because Google's search intent matching is more specific than OTA browse behavior.

The bottom line

Google Things to Do is the most underused distribution channel in the things-to-do industry. It puts your tours in Google Search, Maps, and AI Overviews for 0% commission while Viator and GetYourGuide charge 20-25% for the same visibility. Most operators either don't know it exists, got stuck on the setup process, or have their tours appearing through OTAs without realizing they're paying commission on visibility that should be free.

If you're already on Viator or GetYourGuide, your tours are probably on GTTD already, paying their commission. Connecting directly through a booking platform with native GTTD integration fixes this in 1-2 weeks. If you're not on GTTD at all, start with Google's self-serve editor today to test, then move to a connectivity partner when you're ready for real-time sync and AI Overviews inclusion.

The operators who connect directly to GTTD in 2026 will have a structural advantage: 0% commission, AI visibility, and direct customer relationships that compound over time. The operators who wait will keep paying 20-25% for the same Google placement.

Ready to connect to Google Things to Do? Start a free 14-day CaptainBook trial. Native GTTD integration is included on all plans. Set up your first product, connect to Google, and start getting direct bookings from Google Search and AI Overviews. No credit card required. No commission. Just free visibility where travelers are already searching.