It's no secret that over the last several years, the travel category has undergone a huge transformation. From all-time lows during the COVID-19 pandemic, to all-time highs post-pandemic, brands have weathered it all, and consumers have adapted their behaviors.

The travel category is highly competitive, with aggressive marketers for brands, tourism boards, and third party booking sites spending hundreds of millions of dollars in media. eMarketer reports that in 2025 travel marketers are expected to spend over $9 Billion across digital channels alone. Travel brands focus heavily on the category’s transactional dimensions — price, reviews, loyalty perks — leaving no white space for brands who can’t or don’t want to outspend the competition.

So how can travel brands cut through the clutter to inspire travel and drive bookings? Read on, or download the full report below.

Who is the modern travel audience?

Understanding today's travel audience is the very first step for any travel brand looking to reach prospective travelers in 2024, 2025 and beyond. Preferences, behaviors and drivers are all changing, so it's vital to understand these factors to inform your targeting and creative strategies. 

Did you know? 78% of travelers express a desire to book sustainable and responsible travel options?

What are the best creative solutions for a travel brand?

Creative solutions depend greatly on your main objective. For instance, if upper funnel awareness is your main goal, consider immersive display and video formats with interactive elements like carousels and swipeable graphics. For mid-to-lower-funnel goals, consider creative formats that help drive actions like gamified experiences and eye-catching animations. 

Did you know? A travel brand leveraging interactive rich media on mobile to inspire actions drove a 14.67% engagement rate through the use of a swipeable image gallery.

What are the best targeting tactics for a travel audience?

After you nail down your creative strategy, it's time to consider how to get those show-stopping assets in front of the right audience. Today's data and targeting landscape can be tricky to navigate, but working with the right partner will help you discover the best approach. Consider options like leveraging first-party data, retargeting tactics, and even location-based and weather-triggered targeting levers. 

Did you know? A local tourism board drove a 60% increase in bookings using a weather-triggered targeting approach to home in on cold-weather markets.

As the travel industry evolves, brands must stay ahead with innovative media and creative strategies to engage post-pandemic travelers. Combining creative and targeting tactics effectively is crucial for impacting your main travel audience. 

Contact us today to get started. And download our full "Travel Advertising Pulse Report" below.

The Travel Advertising Pulse Report

Trends and creative strategies to help brands win in the travel category.