Boutique Tourism Consulting
Travel Trade Sales & Marketing for Tourism Businesses
Helping destinations, attractions, museums, sightseeing companies, hotels, and tourism technology firms grow through strategic partnerships, travel trade representation, and customized sales missions.
About the Firm
A Boutique Travel Trade Consultancy Built on Relationships
Travel, at its best, connects people to places and to each other in ways that are hard to replicate any other way. It supports local economies, sustains cultural institutions, and enriches the lives of both visitors and the communities that welcome them. That belief shapes everything Explore Marketing does.
Explore Marketing LLC is a boutique tourism sales and marketing consultancy led by Stefan Merkl. Since 2016, the firm has helped destinations, DMOs, museums, attractions, sightseeing companies, and hotels strengthen their travel trade partnerships and expand distribution through OTAs, inbound tour operators, receptive operators, and strategic partnerships. The client portfolio is kept deliberately small so every organization gets focused, senior-level attention.
What We Do
Travel Trade Consulting Services
Travel Trade Representation
Hands-on representation at trade shows, sales missions, and buyer meetings, building the travel trade relationships that drive bookings for destinations, attractions, and museums.
Contracting & OTA Distribution
OTA partnerships, attraction pass programs, wholesaler agreements, and reseller strategies that expand your reach across domestic and international travel trade channels.
Strategic Sales & Marketing Planning
Market prioritization, travel trade readiness assessments, and practical tourism sales planning grounded in real-world experience.
Project-Based Consulting
Flexible support for organizations entering new markets, launching new distribution channels, or evaluating specific travel trade partnership opportunities.
By the Numbers
Experience & Reach
Tourism Industry Experience
Market Expertise
Key Markets Served
Destinations, Attractions, Museums, Hotels & Tourism Technology
The Explore Marketing Difference
Why Explore Marketing?
Unlike general marketing agencies, Explore Marketing focuses exclusively on the tourism industry. With more than 20 years of experience, the firm helps destinations, attractions, museums, sightseeing companies, hotels, and tourism technology firms strengthen their travel trade partnerships and grow in domestic and international markets.
Specialized Tourism Expertise
Focused exclusively on the tourism industry, with the depth of knowledge that only comes from two decades of hands-on experience across destinations, attractions, museums, and sightseeing companies.
International Reach
Established relationships across North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America, covering the source markets that matter most for North American tourism organizations.
Relationship-Driven Approach
Long-term partnerships with tour operators, OTAs, wholesalers, and travel advisors built over years, not assembled for a single engagement.
Tailored to Your Goals
No off-the-shelf programs. Every engagement is built around your organization's specific objectives, markets, and competitive position.
Who We Serve
Industries Served
Destinations & DMOs
Museums
Attractions
Sightseeing Companies
Tourism Technology
Why Explore Marketing
Why Tourism Organizations Choose Explore Marketing
Destinations and travel trade suppliers of various sizes choose Explore Marketing for the depth of travel trade experience, the quality of global buyer relationships, and the hands-on approach that only a boutique consultancy can provide. Every client works directly with Stefan Merkl, not a junior account manager, and every program is built around the conviction that well-executed tourism development creates real value: for organizations, for the visitors they serve, and for the communities that host them.
Tourism Industry Experience
More than two decades of hands-on tourism sales and marketing experience across destinations, DMOs, attractions, museums, and sightseeing companies.
Global Travel Trade Relationships
An extensive network of OTAs, inbound tour operators, receptive operators, group travel companies, and international wholesalers built over many years.
Personalized, Senior-Level Attention
A deliberately small client portfolio means every organization works directly with Stefan Merkl, not a junior account team.
Practical Tourism Business Development
Strategies grounded in real-world travel trade experience, focused on measurable growth in bookings and distribution rather than marketing theory.
Selected Relationships
Organizations We've Had the Privilege of Supporting
Explore Marketing has had the privilege of supporting a wide range of destinations, attractions, museums, tourism technology companies, and travel businesses through ongoing representation, strategic projects, and sales missions. These relationships reflect the collaborative nature of the tourism industry. A small selection is listed below.
Exploratorium
Museum
California Academy of Sciences
Museum & Aquarium
Penn Museum
Museum
SUMMIT One Vanderbilt
Attraction
Go City
Attraction Pass
Roaring Camp Railroads
Attraction
Philadelphia CVB
Destination
Intentful
Tourism Technology
Meet the Founder
Stefan Merkl
Stefan Merkl is the founder of Explore Marketing LLC and brings more than 20 years of tourism industry experience. He specializes in travel trade sales, distribution, strategic partnerships, and international market development.
Over the course of his career, he has built relationships with OTAs, tour operators, receptive operators, museums, attractions, and destination organizations around the world. His approach combines deep industry knowledge with a practical, results-focused mindset.
Why It Matters
Travel Has the Power to Connect People and Communities
Travel does far more than generate economic activity. At its best, it creates opportunities for cultural exchange, lifelong learning, and genuine connections between visitors and the communities they explore. A single journey can broaden a perspective, challenge an assumption, or start a friendship that lasts a lifetime.
Strong visitor economies help support local prosperity, sustaining small businesses, family-owned restaurants, museums, galleries, and the many people whose livelihoods depend on a healthy tourism sector. When tourism works well, it enriches the lives of both the traveler and the community that welcomes them.
Ready to Grow Your Tourism Business Through the Travel Trade?
Whether you are expanding into international markets, improving OTA distribution, or looking for stronger travel trade partnerships, Explore Marketing can help.