24/09/2026

The travel season is drawing to a close, the period when millions of tourists choose where to go and what to do. But summer 2026 brought a significant change: anyone searching Tripadvisor in recent weeks for Ascot, Saratoga or San Siro will still find reviews, photographs and directions, but no longer a way to buy a ticket for the races. In its place is a line stating that the venue "does not currently meet Tripadvisor's animal welfare policy". The same notice appears on the pages for Churchill Downs, Keeneland and Belmont Park, Tokyo Racecourse and other venues around the world.

This is the application of a rule set out in the digital travel giant's animal welfare policy, updated in May 2026: Tripadvisor does not sell tickets for, or profit from, experiences in which animals are exposed to a risk of injury or death for sport or entertainment. The text of Tripadvisor's animal protection policies explicitly cites most horse, dog and camel racing, as well as rodeo-style events, specifying that in these cases it is the very nature of the activity that creates that risk. According to the British and US trade press, the first notices appeared in early September.

A common stance among the digital travel giants

Tripadvisor is not alone. Since 2019, Booking.com has applied animal welfare standards, developed with the international organisation World Animal Protection, to its partners, including accommodation providers. The platform lists the activities it says it does not work with. These include "races between animals of any kind", alongside animal fighting, trophy hunting and shows involving wild species.

Airbnb also drew up its guidelines for Services and Experiences together with World Animal Protection. Among the prohibited sports, it explicitly lists horse racing and horseback polo, as well as rodeos, greyhound racing, bull running and bullfighting. For working animals, including horses, mules and donkeys, it sets precise rules: never more than one rider; never more than 20 per cent of the animal's body weight; no activity in extreme weather conditions; no pulling of carriages or carts in urban settings.

Tripadvisor states that its platform hosts more than 10 million listings and over 1.35 billion reviews and contributions. When a giant of this size decides to stop selling a particular product or service, it moves the market. Conversely, it gives operators in the sector clear information about consumers' tastes, wishes and values: evidently, a growing number of tourists worldwide no longer want to take part (and pay) in activities in which animals are exploited.

The market has listened to the public

The racing industry reacted harshly. The British Horseracing Authority, which regulates British racing, called the decision "surprising and concerning". According to the Racing Post on 14 September, it also wrote to Tripadvisor asking it to review the classification. The Racecourse Association and the Horse Welfare Board took the same line. The latter's chair, Baroness Batters, called the move misleading.

More significant is the position of World Horse Welfare. The organisation acts as an independent adviser to the British authority itself and supports the responsible use of horses in sport. Its chief executive, Roly Owers, saw the decision as a concrete example of what public consent means in practice. According to Owers, Tripadvisor has clearly listened to its market. Owers also pointed to 2024 research funded by the Racing Foundation, which found that horse injuries and deaths are the public's leading concern about equestrian sport.

This is the crux of the matter. Global platforms do not invent a sensibility: they register it. And they translate it into commercial rules, the most concrete language a business has for taking a stand.

The arguments of those defending the status quo

In Italy, the most detailed criticism appeared on 21 September in Cavallo Magazine, in a comment piece entitled "TripAdvisor's fig leaf". According to the article, the platform has stopped selling tickets but continues to sell hotel rooms near racecourses, in an attempt to please everyone without making any real difference. The article also attributes the decision to Tripadvisor signing up to a PETA campaign. In reality, Tripadvisor's policy is based on the Five Domains model, the internationally recognised scientific framework for assessing animal welfare.

The charge of hypocrisy does not stand up. Tripadvisor's policy concerns what the platform sells and profits from. It is the experience that exposes the animal to risk, certainly not the traveller's overnight stay. Ceasing to profit from racing, and saying so openly to a global audience, is a very concrete act – so much so that it angers those who profit from racing – not a token gesture.

An important first step

IHP welcomes the decisions taken by Tripadvisor, Booking.com and Airbnb and regards them as a highly significant signal. Global companies are recognising, through binding rules for their partners, that animal welfare cannot be traded away for the sake of entertainment. Those who oppose these decisions are defending vested interests, starting with those of racecourses and the racing industry. And they are falling behind a cultural shift that now runs through much of society.

These policies obviously do not settle the matter. Tripadvisor and Booking.com still allow horse rides and treks, provided they meet their welfare standards. IHP opposes all forms of equine exploitation, including those aimed at tourists, and calls on the platforms to continue along this path. It also calls on Italian institutions to recognise what the market has already understood. Private companies are adapting their rules, while in Italy the racing industry continues to be propped up with public money.