Ep. 50 – Why OTAs Missed the Concert: The Untapped $10B Ticketing Opportunity with Eric Taraby

For a decade, the travel and ticketing industries have circled each other without truly connecting. In this milestone 50th episode of Tickets to Travel: The Business of Travel Experiences, host Mario Bauduin sits down with ticketing technologist and consultant Eric Taraby to finally pull back the curtain on why online travel agencies (OTAs) still struggle to integrate live event tickets into their booking flows.

From Super Bowls and Taylor Swift concerts to the rise of F1 and global stadium investment, fans are increasingly booking trips around events — not destinations. Yet despite the growing demand, the systems powering ticket supply, APIs, and secondary marketplaces remain largely misunderstood in the travel space.

Eric shares a decade of insights spanning Ticket Evolution, TickStock, and Global Ticket Supply, offering a rare inside look at the hidden distribution networks behind live event ticketing. Together, Mario and Eric explore:

• Why OTAs embraced tours and attractions but overlooked sports and concerts

• The backend challenges of merging ticketing inventory into global travel platforms

• How secondary marketplaces like StubHub, SeatGeek, and Vivid Seats reshaped consumer trust

• The untapped opportunity for hotels, OTAs, and destinations to monetize event-driven travel

• The future of global event tourism — and what happens when fans become "guests"

If you're a travel executive, ticketing insider, or just a fan who books trips around your favorite shows and teams, this episode delivers both a crash course and a crystal ball for the future of ticketing and travel.

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