Home Blog Digital Marketing 12 game-changing tactics to boost travel agency marketing

12 game-changing tactics to boost travel agency marketing

13 min read Last Updated Nov 30, 2023

The travel industry has undergone remarkable transformation  over the past few years. While online bookings are still popular, curated travel experiences are also gaining traction. 

Travelers are increasingly seeking off-beat destinations with guided tours. They prefer a relaxed travel experience, focusing more on enjoyment rather than planning. Therefore, the role of travel agencies has become more critical than ever as they craft these personalized and hassle-free travel experiences for their customers. 

With the right travel agency marketing strategy, travel agents and businesses can attract the ideal client to their business and grow rapidly.

This blog post is the complete guide for travel agencies to unlock opportunities, grow their business, and use the best marketing strategies to reach their clients. 

Table of contents

How do you develop the best marketing strategy for travel agencies.

  • How do you market your travel agency? 12 strategies and ideas to launch today 
  • FAQs on travel agency marketing 
  • Birdeye – the top-rated customer experience platform to grow your travel agency business 

Travel agencies can follow a simple process to identify the right digital marketing strategy for their business. For best results, they require an intimate understanding of their market, audience, business USP, competitors, and the marketing channels they can explore. 

Let’s dive in for more details: 

1. Know your market 

Getting the lay of the land will let you know how to compete in the market. Start by understanding who the leading players are (even if they are not direct competitors). Analyze the average travel budget and how much clients are willing to spend annually on travel businesses. 

You must also gauge the potential risk factors, especially when entering a new market. 

2. Understand your audience 

Within the overall market, travel agencies must clearly define their target audience. Use identifiers such as age, gender, family size, earning potential, location, etc. You can also create elaborate buyer personas to guide your digital marketing efforts. 

3. Define your USP

The travel agency business is highly competitive, making it difficult for smaller businesses to survive without a niche or differentiating characteristics. Identify what sets your business apart from others and further develop this USP (unique selling proposition). 

Your business USP must be the focal point for digital marketing messages, branding development, and advertising efforts. 

4. Understand your competitors 

Now that you know your audience and USP, look for competitors providing services similar to your target audience. Understand what makes them work and what issues customers have with them, analyze their reviews and ratings, and monitor their marketing campaigns on social media. 

A complete understanding of competitors will help you outshine them easily. 

5. Identify potential marketing channels 

The last and most crucial step is to choose the marketing channels you can explore to grow your travel agency business. This would depend on your marketing budget, competitor analysis, resource availability, and target audience. 

Choose five to six marketing channels, analyze the results, and tweak your marketing campaigns accordingly. 

How do you market your travel agency? 12 strategies and ideas to launch today 

Travel agencies can market their business via popular channels like social media, email marketing, SMS marketing, paid ad marketing, travel listing websites, and influencer marketing. 

Some of the top travel agency marketing strategies to follow are: 

  • Build a solid social media presence 
  • Optimize for organic search
  • Level up your website 
  • Leverage review marketing with Birdeye Reviews
  • Build a referral network
  • Run specialized discount campaigns 
  • Invest in video marketing 
  • Experiment with influencer marketing 
  • Connect with customers via SMS 
  • Run paid campaigns
  • Build partnerships with hotels and destinations 
  • Use a travel agency promotion software 

Let us explore these marketing ideas for travel agencies in detail. 

1. Build a solid social media presence

Travel agencies must note that their potential clients actively seek travel inspiration recommendations for destinations and agencies on social media. A recent survey shows that 87% of millennials use Facebook for travel booking inspirations, while 50% use Pinterest and Twitter to inspire them. 

This makes it critical for travel agencies to build a strong presence on social media and influence potential clients to choose them. 

Some tips for travel agencies to accelerate the impact of their social media presence are:

  • Post niche-specific content regularly with photos, videos, and customer experiences. 
  • Use a social media scheduling tool like Birdeye Social to post often without having to log in every day. 
  • Share customer reviews and testimonials to boost social proof.
  • Use trending hashtags content formats, and follow viral trends to gain momentum and acquire followers. 

2. Optimize for organic search

According to Google , they saw an all-time high search volume for “fun activities” in 2021 across the U.S. Google has introduced attractions, ticket booking, blogs and links to experiences, and Google flights to help customers find easy ways to travel. 

Showing up for these search queries is very important for the growth of your travel agency business. And, you can make it happen  by investing in organic content marketing. 

  • Travel agencies must create blogs, guides, and exclusive experience curations to rank higher in organic search results. 
  • Target high-profile travel destinations, popular tourist attractions, and offbeat experiences that people seek when they look for fun experiences. Create authoritative, helpful, and unique content to guide clients to your travel agency. 
  • Create, update, and monitor your Google Business Profile so local customers can easily find you. Requesting customers to leave reviews, responding to reviews, and regularly posting updates are a few things that can help you feature in the top search results. 

3. Level up your website 

Most of your advertising campaigns, including Google Business Profile and sponsored ads, focus on driving traffic to your website. So, it becomes critical that your business website lives up to its promise and delivers an exceptional experience to the customer. 

Simply having a basic website with just the packages or travel information is no longer sufficient. Your website needs to offer more to engage and attract potential customers.  

Level up your travel website by:

  • Featuring Google reviews with a widget to showcase positive reviews and overall ratings.
  • Showcasing video testimonials by customers.
  • Sharing informational content on trip planning, budgeting, and popular destinations. 
  • Creating individual pages for each location you serve. 
  • Creating dedicated landing pages for popular travel destinations and flights. 
  • Implementing a conversational AI chatbot like Birdeye Webchat to interact with visitors, collect information, and turn visitors into leads. Conversational AI chatbots can mimic human interaction and convince customers to engage with your business. 

4. Leverage review marketing with Birdeye Reviews

Review marketing means leveraging the power of reviews across your marketing campaigns to boost social proof, build trust, and improve the conversion rate of your business. 

Research shows that 83% of travelers read reviews before finalizing a booking. Online reviews play an essential role in the reputation of a business and are a significant factor in a client’s travel decision, too. 

Social proof elements like reviews, testimonials, and user-generated content on social media can help you gain the trust of potential clients. But securing client reviews isn’t enough; you must actively promote them. 

Some easy ways to leverage reviews for a travel agency are:

  • Using the Google Seller Ratings program and including your Google Reviews star rating in your Google Ads. 
  • Sharing recent reviews on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram Stories, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter). 
  • Running contests and giveaways to motivate clients to share their travel experiences on social media. 
  • Including reviews in your email marketing newsletters. 
  • Monitoring popular travel review sites to find and share positive reviews across platforms. 

5. Build a referral network 

Word-of-mouth recommendations from family and friends go a long way in convincing potential clients to choose your travel business. You can actively grow your business by investing in a referral program. 

Don’t put the onus on clients to bring you leads via referrals. Instead, take proactive steps to build a referral network for your business with Birdeye Referrals . 

Travel businesses can:

  • Build a customer-centric environment that elevates customer experience , improves customer satisfaction, and boosts loyalty. 
  • Send automated referral emails to clients who leave positive feedback via surveys and reviews. 
  • Share custom referral codes with clients to encourage them to recommend your business. 

Recommended read: 11 steps to craft a referral program  

Grow your travel business and outshine competitors

Want to see the impact of Birdeye on your business? Watch the Free Demo Now.

6. Run specialized discount campaigns 

Most travel businesses are seasonal and face trouble attracting clients in the off-season. That is the ideal time to deploy specialized discount campaigns to attract potential clients looking to travel. 

You can promote off-beat destinations, offer discount codes for peak-season travel with a pre-booking facility, and reward clients with special promotions. 

These campaigns are only effective when you know your target audience well and have an established online reputation. That way, clients can trust you and book your packages even if the travel dates are far off. 

Recommend read: Online reputation management guide  

7. Invest in video marketing 

Videos dominate all major marketing channels, from Google search results to social media. Marketers have also found that you can increase the open rate of an email just by including the word video in the subject line.

These facts show us that intense, engaging, and informational videos are significant assets to travel businesses, especially when people choose destinations based on how “photo-worthy” they are. 

Investing in video production, creation, and publishing can be expensive, but you can leverage many tools such as Canva, Adobe Suite, or Vimeo. 

Some video marketing ideas that travel businesses can leverage are:

  • Video itinerary of popular tour packages. 
  • How-to videos on packing, flight arrangements, visa application, etc. 
  • Travel tips from previous clients. 
  • Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts for launching new discounts or tour packages. 

8. Experiment with influencer marketing

Instagram and Facebook are influential solid channels in the travel industry. In fact, 84% of social media users said that they rely on travel influencers for recommendations. They trust their opinions and make purchase decisions accordingly. 

Investing in influencer marketing can be one of the most profitable decisions for your travel business. Millennials and Gen Z follow at least one travel influencer, and millions of accounts post about travel across channels. 

Find the right influencer for your travel business by evaluating their target audience, engagement rates, travel niche, and budgets. 

Choose the right person and engage them with free trips, exclusive discount codes for their audience, sponsored posts, and more. 

9. Connect with customers via SMS

Social media channels are great for engagement but have a significant drawback – they own the customer data. One day of downtime, and you can lose millions in engagement. Businesses should build a lead database with paid campaigns and lead magnets like exclusive offers. 

Once you have that information, you can directly engage your potential clients with SMS marketing. 

SMS has one of the highest open and response rates across channels. Clients prefer getting discount deals, important alerts, and engaging messages from businesses they like. SMS offers convenience to clients and allows them to talk to your business when they are on the go. 

You can leverage this channel to send flash discounts, engage customers once they visit your website, stay connected with the client, and improve your conversion rate. 

10. Run paid campaigns 

In highly competitive industries like travel, organic marketing alone is not enough to stand out. To build brand awareness and ensure that every potential customer knows your brand, travel businesses must invest in paid campaigns. 

Some famous advertising channels for travel businesses include Google, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and online travel agents (OTA) such as Expedia. 

Choose an advertising channel that allows you to start with a smaller budget but reaches your target audience for the best results. Run a survey to see what sites your audience uses the most and plan accordingly. 

Most travel businesses see good results in advertising on Google, Facebook/Instagram, and OTA sites. 

11. Build partnerships with hotels and destinations

Networks and partnerships can come in handy when you are a growing business with a small footprint in the market. You can benefit from the hotel and destination’s popularity and secure clients from their referrals. 

Clients often trust the recommendations from their hotels and are more likely to work with you coming from a trusted source. 

To build partnerships with famous hotels and destinations, travel agencies can: 

  • Appoint an exclusive liaison for their clients and provide exceptional customer experience.
  • Provide services at an affordable price to improve the likelihood of securing the client. 
  • Offer exclusive tour packages and improve customer delight. 

Your online presence will also benefit from these partnerships as you can host the logos of prominent players on your website, social media, and other marketing channels. 

12. Use a travel agency promotion software 

Running a travel business is challenging. It demands your full attention  and resources for client satisfaction. Fortunately, a variety of  travel agent marketing tools are available to help you achieve that.  

Specifically, travel agency promotion software can help enhance customer experience, boost online reputation, and effectively promote your travel agency. 

Birdeye is the top-rated customer experience platform that offers review management, listing management, referrals, surveys, social media management, payments, and so much more to businesses. 

With Birdeye, you can take control of your business’s online presence on Google, social media, and many other platforms. 

Check out the tool’s pricing today for more details!

FAQs on travel agency marketing 

The key to growing your travel business is to invest in online marketing strategies across Google, listing websites, business website promotion, and building partnerships with hotels, influencers, and premium destinations. 

You can advertise your travel agency on Google, Facebook, Instagram, travel websites, and other free advertising sites like Foursquare. 

Travel agencies can promote customer trust and loyalty by actively managing customer reviews, taking steps to boost online reputation, requesting customers for feedback, and running a loyalty program for repeat customers. 

You can market your travel agency business online with Google Business Profile, Google Ads, social media marketing, listing on online travel agent websites, influencer marketing, and promoting customer reviews online. 

Birdeye – the top-rated customer experience platform to grow your travel agency business 

In the highly competitive  travel industry, travel agencies must consistently put effort  to survive and thrive. It’s crucial for travel businesses to  invest in extensive online marketing strategies, networking, and partnerships to gain a competitive edge in the market. 

Additionally, travel businesses must ensure they provide the best customer experience, build a solid online reputation, and take proactive steps to act on customer feedback. To do this effectively, they need an automation tool that can take over and help them focus more on operations and individual clients. 

Birdeye provides comprehensive tools that aid your travel business’s processes, from lead generation to customer satisfaction. It is a must-have in your arsenal. 

About the Author

Sunitha raghunathan.

Content Marketing Writer

Originally published Nov 30, 2023

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10 Successful Marketing Strategies for Travel Agencies

Emily Thompson

Table of Content

Utilize Social Media Platforms

Create compelling content, optimize website for customers and search engines, implement email marketing campaigns, collaborate with influencers and partners, offer irresistible deals and promotions, leverage user-generated content, enhance website user experience    , utilize online advertising  , analyze and adapt strategies.

The competition in the travel sector is increasing daily. With so many firms competing for clients, an effective travel agency marketing strategy is more than an option. This blog discusses proven methods as well as cutting-edge ideas that will help your agency stand out and sustainably expand your client base.

Let's dive into some powerful travel agency marketing ideas to get you started.

  • Social Media Dominance: Social media channels now control the inspiration and planning phases for tourists who visit other countries. 72% of travelers use apps like Instagram and TikTok to select their destinations, and more than half use social media to contact hotels and travel companies before making reservations. 
  • Effective Audience Engagement: Travel businesses may therefore effectively engage audiences where they already congregate online by implementing a strategic social media plan. 
  • Content Strategy Essentials: The secret is continuously producing original, high-quality material that adheres to platform best practices, even after building your brand's profiles. Video, AR filters, and live streaming will be important engagement boosters on popular platforms this year, according to Sprout Social's 2023 study . Include these in your content strategy. 
  • Content Marketing Impact: Speaking of content, a well-thought-out content marketing strategy supports your business throughout the purchasing process, from pre-booking inspiration to post-booking assistance, by continuously nurturing and inspiring tourists.  
  • Content Asset Variety: Provide destination guides, insider information, virtual tours, travel tips, and other content assets based on themes to demonstrate your domain experience and address potential customers' inquiries.
  • Case Study: Flight Centre's Strategy: Flight Centre shares useful guidebooks to help travelers plan affordable trips within budget. Additionally, they focus on creating blog posts with relevant keywords and engaging content to enhance their online visibility and attract potential customers.
  • Multi-Platform Content Distribution: Content needs to be obtainable via various platforms - smoothly incorporate resources into your website, social networking accounts, emails, and advertisements. In addition to reinforcing fundamental brand messaging specific to each consumer touchpoint, this speeds up discovery.
  • Website Optimization and Branding: A customer's interaction with your brand often begins with your website. A well-optimized website communicates brand distinction from rivals while providing a smooth user experience. 
  • Optimizing Website Features: Important components are highlighted clearly, including calls to action to contact or join up, visually engaging material, responsive mobile design, and easy navigation.
  • Enhancing Organic Visibility with SEO: Enhancing website visibility and traffic through SEO is crucial. This involves optimizing content with geo-specific keywords to address traveler queries, improving site speed, and optimizing formatting with headers and ALT tags. Long-term SEO efforts can boost domain authority and search engine rankings, attracting more relevant visitors.
A fact about customer views on slow websites is that nearly half of internet users expect a website to load in 2 seconds or less, and 40% will abandon a website if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.
  • The Power of Email Marketing: Email marketing remains one of the most effective ways to engage directly and consistently with clients, outperforming other websites regarding reach and personalization. Its versatility allows for tailored messaging and targeted campaigns, driving higher conversion rates and promoting long-term customer relationships.
  • Targeted Email Communication: Email allows for prompt, user-specific communication that is customized to their preferences. Divide up your subscriber base and provide each segment with relevant updates, such as offers for deal hunters, travel inspiration for adventurers, or customer gratitude materials for existing customers.
  • Streamlining Processes and Boosting Subscribers: Automate processes such as email post-booking reviews and abandoned carts. To increase the size of your subscriber list, include sign-up bonuses like e-books or checklists.
  • Measuring Campaign Effectiveness: To improve campaigns, and track open, click-through, and booking rates. With time, your agency can create relationships with customers for longer periods with a well-thought-out email marketing strategy.
  • Leveraging Strategic Alliances: Establishing strategic alliances gives you access to the already-existing communities of other businesses, which can assist you grow faster.  
  • Key Partnerships for Tourism Growth: Destination management firms, influencers, travel boards, and hotel brands are examples of relevant partners. This co-branding puts your products in front of prospective tourists in partner ecosystems.   
  • Leveraging Influencer Marketing: Influencers facilitate genuine storytelling for focused outreach and establishing trust with specialized markets, such as honeymooners, families, and adventure travelers. Find influencers who share your expertise and have a large following, then reach out to them for sponsored campaigns, itinerary co-creations, or reviews. 
  • Strategic Promotional Campaigns: Tactical promotions and incentive campaigns can attract new leads during seasonal peaks or lulls in travel demand cycles.
  • Attractive Incentives for Leads: Offer percentage discounts or value adds like complimentary airport transfers, room upgrades, or activity vouchers. These special deals convey price transparency while letting leads experience your services first-hand.
  • Creating Urgency with Flash Sales: Time-bound flash sales build urgency around an offering. Curate themed holiday packages or customer appreciation sales. Promote early bird savings to boost bookings.
  • Harnessing User-Generated Content: User-generated content like photos, reviews, and stories - from satisfied past travelers - lends tremendous credibility to your brand in this era of experience-based marketing. 
  • Encouraging Customer Reviews and Sharing : Enable customers to share reviews post-trip across channels like Facebook and Instagram easily. Repurposing visual content further expands organic reach. Tools like Photoslurp simplifies obtaining consent and rights to leverage UGC across owned media.
User-generated content is trusted by 85% of consumers, making it a powerful influencer in shaping brand perceptions and purchasing decisions.
  • Maximizing User Experience for Repeat Engagement: Driving repeat engagement relies on an optimized user experience - converting first-time visitors to subscribers for retargeting.
  • Enhancing Website Navigation and Presentation: Ensure navigation links are inbuilt, with complementary visuals to minimize bounce rates. Prominently highlight USPs like flexible cancellation policies alongside differentiators like niche expertise and personalization.
  • Maximizing Call-to-Action Effectiveness: Optimized CTAs for email signups, brochure downloads, or booking inquiries make desired actions easier. 
  • Strategic Paid Advertising: Paid advertising helps more travelers discover your brand amidst intensifying competition within search and social platforms. When used strategically to promote targeted offers or content, advertising expands your brand visibility and website traffic.
  • Utilizing Google's Travel Ad Units: Google's travel-focused ad units like Hotel Ads efficiently showcase your differentiators to relevant customers actively planning vacations.  
  • Implementing Retargeting Strategies: Retarget past site visitors with attractive deals to nudge them towards conversion. Allocate monthly budgets for testing campaigns across Google, Meta, and travel publisher networks.
  • The Importance of Data-Driven Marketing: Marketing efforts today are all about continually optimizing marketing strategies using data intelligence.  Within the realm of digital marketing, data-driven insights are crucial for success.
  • Measuring Campaign Success with KPIs: Establish clear campaign objectives and track KPIs around traffic, subscriptions, bookings, or customer retention to gauge effectiveness. 
  • Analyzing Analytics Insights for Continuous Improvement: Review analytics insights relating to top landing pages, conversions by source, and high-traffic locations. Identify underperforming areas needing improvement or emerging opportunities for better resource allocation through ongoing analysis.
  • Adapting to Technological Trends in Travel Marketing: Technology advancements will continue to shape travel marketing ideas as virtual reality platforms and connected devices proliferate, and marketing innovations leveraging these to drive bookings will abound. Online travel agencies must stay updated on travel industry trends and constantly refine strategies to remain competitive.
  • Blueprint for Maximizing Online Marketing ROI: Hopefully, this detailed dissection provides a blueprint for maximizing the ROI of your online marketing efforts while future-proofing your agency for sustainable growth.

This detailed breakdown provides actionable insights to help your travel agency thrive in today's competitive market. Implement these strategies, encourage satisfied customers to spread the word, adapt to travel industry trends, and watch your business soar to new heights! 

Stay ahead of the curve by analyzing data and refining your travel agency marketing strategies for maximum impact.

Emily Thompson

Emily Thompson

Digital Marketing Consultant

Emily Thompson is a seasoned professional in the digital marketing realm, currently lending her expertise at LabsMedia a leading white label partner for digital agencies. With a wealth of experience in crafting bespoke solutions for clients, Emily specializes in navigating the ever-evolving landscape of online marketing. Her commitment to staying abreast of industry trends and delivering results-driven strategies makes her a trusted advisor in the field. She has been featured on Forbes, Entrepreneur, and Social Media Today showcasing her thought leadership and contributing valuable perspectives to the industry. As an accomplished author, she shares her insights through thought-provoking content, offering valuable perspectives to both peers and clients alike.

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Marketing for Travel Agencies: Understanding and Surviving in the Online Travel Industry

  • 16 min read
  • Business ,   Travel
  • 23 Dec, 2019
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Marketing in Online Travel Agency

Understanding the travel agency market

  • Leading players holding the market. Booking Holdings with its 41 percent share and Expedia with about 32 percent are dominating the online travel agencies market. And their shares keep growing. So, for travel agencies, it’s difficult to stay afloat without a specific niche.
  • Distrust. People tend to be skeptical and even suspicious in arranging their trips. They would rather follow word of mouth, go to their old, time-tested local travel agent, or stick to larger players, even if they are not totally satisfied. So, new travel agencies have to work hard to break through the wall of mistrust.
  • Invisibility. Unless a travel provider puts a lot of effort and resources into promotion, it risks staying unnoticed. Here, the choice of distribution channel plays a decisive role.

The ad published in National Geographic by Econo-travel hotels

This ad, published in National Geographic by Econo-Travel hotels, dates back to 1978

 Eightydays cuts creating a complex itinerary to minutes

It will take days for a regular traveler to create such a complex itinerary, Eightydays cuts this to minutes

Investigate and define your market and target audience

Skift, Experiential Traveler Survey, 2019

Skift, Experiential Traveler Survey , 2019

Analyze your competitors

Establish your partnerships with service providers, define your pricing strategy, determine the right distribution and promotion channels, metasearch engine.

  • You can manually check prices and manually change markups.
  • You can use automated dashboards to track your performance and then manually change markups.
  • The most advanced scenario is to create an automated commission engine that will keep all your markup rules and will be adjusting your margin on the go, reacting to competitor results.

Prestigia, a small OTA with about 200 thousand monthly visitors, wins on Kayak with the hotel deal

Prestigia, a small OTA with about 200 thousand monthly visitors, wins on Kayak with this hotel deal as it targets boutique accommodation

Search engine

Orbitz has dedicated landing pages for hundreds of their deals

Orbitz has dedicated landing pages for hundreds of their deals and packs them with all useful information that a traveler may need: a booking widget, selected fares, basic information, and even short copy describing the trip

  • Internal activities to meet technical standards of search engines. These usually include installing tools like Google Console and Google Analytics, working with meta tags, reviewing a website for the right page redirection, code errors, and others.
  • External activities usually include working with keywords, texts in general, and acquiring backlinks from other websites.

Email marketing

One of the great examples of submitting discounts was Kimpton Hotels and restaurants.

One of the great examples of submitting discounts was Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants. The discounts promoted the unpopular post-Christmas holiday season

There are both wallet-friendly and luxurious destinations and tour packages

As you can see, there are both wallet-friendly and luxurious destinations and tour packages

Web adverts

Video blogging and other social media, final recommendations.

Logo Traveler

Marketing for Travel Agency: A Complete Guide

Marketing for Travel Agency Website Home

Marketing is an important part of running a business because it helps find and keep customers. It includes everything that has to do with getting people to buy or use a product or service, from making the product and advertising it to selling it and helping customers.

Marketing is especially important for a travel agency that depends a lot on how happy its customers are. A good marketing plan will help the agency get the word out about its services and get to know potential customers.

It can also help them stay in touch with their current clients through email campaigns and social media platforms, among other ways. By taking care of these connections, the travel agency can earn the trust of its customers.

This guide will give you an overview of the most important parts of a travel agency’s marketing plan, like knowing your target market, making a unique value proposition, building your brand, and using digital marketing tools.

Understanding Your Target Marketing for Travel agency

When it comes to digital marketing, understanding your target market is key. Knowing your customer base can help you craft ads and content that speaks to their interests. A great way to understand a target market is by breaking it into three segments: demographics, psychographics, and behavioral:

1. Demographics:

Demographics are the physical traits of the audience, like their age, gender, race, location , etc. Once you have this information, you can create marketing plans that are geared toward these groups.

For example, if your travel agency specializes in luxury vacations, you might want to target people with higher incomes because they are more likely to be able to pay for expensive trips. .

2. Psychographics:

Psychographics can help travel agencies give customers more personalized experiences by giving them a better idea of what they want and what they need. Knowing what people like to do when they travel, where they want to go, how much money they have to spend , etc., can give you valuable information about how to reach these potential customers and give them exactly what they want.

3. Behavioral Segments:

Customers are split into groups based on how they act toward certain products or services. This could include things like how often you buy something, how loyal you are, how much you use it, and how you prefer to talk to people. Since there are so many different kinds of travelers, travel agencies need to use behavioral segmentation to figure out which ones will make them the most money and how to serve their specific needs in the best way.

Here is an example of how you can incorporate your understanding of the market:

Imagine you own a business that specializes in luxury adventures for wealthy people in their late 30s to early 50s who want to try new things. Make sure your message gets to the right people by taking the time to find out who they are and what they want.

To start reaching out to wealthy adventure seekers in this age range, you should first learn more about them. What do they most value? Are there some things or experiences that you’d rather do or try than others? It’s also important to find out where these potential customers hang out online and offline, who they talk to, and what topics interest them.

Once you know what this group of people is interested in, you can make your marketing strategy more effective by making content that meets their needs.

Marketing for Travel Agency Website Image 1

Creating a Unique Value Proposition

A travel agency’s marketing plan needs a unique value proposition (UVP) in order to be successful. It’s a promise or statement that tells customers what they’ll get if they choose your agency. A well-written unique selling proposition (USP) makes you stand out from the competition and shows potential customers why your services are better than those of your competitors.

For travel agencies, a unique value proposition (UVP) should focus on how their services are different from those of competitors in terms of ease of use, price, customer service, or anything else that makes them stand out. For example, some agencies might focus on making packages and help more tailored to each client than others. Some may have prices that are lower than average because they have access to deals and discounts.

How to Make a Unique Value Proposition:

1. Find out who your target audience is and find out what they want and need when they book trips or vacations.

2. Think about what’s unique about your services that might interest them, like discounts for early bookings or customer service in more than one language.

3. Once you have a good idea of how to make your travel agency stand out, write a clear and concise message that captures its essence.

Here’s an example of how to come up with a unique selling point:

Imagine that your travel agency offers high-end, personalized trips with local guides and unique cultural activities. This offer gives travelers an experience they won’t forget that can’t be found anywhere else. It also lets you stand out and market your services in fun and interesting ways.

When making a unique selling proposition (USP) for your agency, it’s important to focus on the little things that make these trips stand out. This could be done by highlighting the activities that are available at each destination or by showing testimonials from past clients who had amazing trips with your agency.

Marketing for Travel Agency Website Image 2

Developing a Marketing Mix

Next, having the right mix of product, price, place and promotion is essential. By utilizing this mix of elements, you can have a successful marketing strategy that will bring in more customers.

1. Product:

Product refers to the type of services offered by your travel agency. You must make sure that they are relevant and valuable to your potential customers .

Price can also be an important element in your marketing plan for the travel agency. It’s important for you to determine what pricing strategies best suit your company’s goals and objectives before developing a final price point.

For a travel agency, place can include both online and offline sales outlets , such as tour operators, wholesalers, OTAs (Online Travel Agencies), mobile apps, websites and retail stores. To maximize reach potential your customers should be able to book flights and tours conveniently across all these platforms.

4. Promotion:

Promotion is also key when creating a successful marketing strategy for any business, especially travel agencies. Promotion should focus on driving visibility through multiple channels like search engines, email campaigns, social media campaigns and influencer marketing.

Here is an example of how you develop a marketing mix:

Imagine that your travel agency offers package tours at high prices. This is a great option for people who want to travel without a lot of stress. Travel agents and online booking sites sell these packages, which makes it easy to find the best place to go on vacation.

To make sure your customers have the best possible experience, you focus on promotional events and targeted advertising. This lets customers take advantage of discounts offered by the travel agency and learn more about the different places they can go, all while getting a great deal.

travel agency marketing campaigns

Building Your Brand

Branding helps customers trust and stick with a company, which leads to higher profits. Branding also helps your travel agency stand out from the competition and attract more customers.

A strong brand has a unique logo, slogan, and message that stays the same across all platforms. Your logo should be simple and easy to remember, and your slogan should say what makes your travel agency unique. Also, it’s important to always use the same colors and fonts so that customers can recognize your business whether they’re looking at it online or in print.

Here are the steps to take when building your brand and making sure it stands out among competitors:

  • First, you need to figure out who your target market is . You can do this by looking at demographics and making personas.
  • Next, come up with a mission statement that will guide all of your marketing efforts. This should explain why your travel agency exists and what makes it different from other businesses in the same field. Then comes the visual branding, which includes logos, colors, fonts, and other design elements that are used consistently across all platforms, such as the website, social media channels, etc. So, customers know them right away, without any confusion or doubt.

Here is an example of how you build your brand:

As a travel agency, you create a consistent visual identity and message that speaks to potential customers. This can be done by using customer reviews and partnerships with high-end hotels and resorts to show customers that when they book through your agency, they will get good products and services.

Visuals like logos, colors, fonts, shapes, images, etc. that stay the same over time help your business have a look that customers can recognize and trust. In a similar way, you create consistent messaging so that customers know what to expect from you each time they contact your business. This could be done through marketing materials like brochures or websites, but also through social media platforms or email campaigns.

Marketing for Travel Agency Website Image 4

Utilizing Digital Marketing

Digital marketing is important for any travel agency that wants to be successful because it helps raise the agency’s profile and get more leads and sales. When travel agencies use digital marketing, they can reach a wider audience, promote their services more effectively, and learn more about how customers act.

Digital marketing is the process of promoting and selling products or services through digital channels like search engines, websites, social media platforms, email campaigns, mobile apps, etc.

Digital marketing has many benefits for travel agencies, such as raising brand awareness and making it easier to target ads and campaigns based on customer information. Personalized offers have increased customer engagement and loyalty. Being able to keep track of analytics in real time to help make better decisions and a lot more.

Various types of digital marketing can be used to promote a travel agency’s services and products. Some of these include:

1.   Search engine optimization (SEO): SEO involves creating content that uses targeted keywords to show up higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). 

2. Social media: Social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn offer great opportunities for travel agencies to engage with potential customers.

3. Content Creation: Creating interesting and engaging content, such as blogs or videos on travel-related topics, can help raise awareness about your services and generate interest among potential customers.

Here is an example of how you utilize digital marketing:

As a travel agency, you use the most up-to-date digital marketing tools to connect with and talk to potential customers. Social media, email marketing, and search engine optimization are all used to tell people about the best parts of a destination and the unique things to do there.

For social media, you can post high-quality images on Instagram or Twitter. By sharing interesting content, like photos, videos, or reviews of the places you’re promoting, you can get more followers and show what makes those places special.

For email marketing, you send out newsletters with information about deals and discounts so that people can find out about any new offers.

Marketing for Travel Agency Website Image 5

Measuring and Analyzing Your Marketing Efforts

Lastly, a travel agency that does well needs to measure and analyze its marketing efforts. Getting to know how customers interact with your brand will tell you a lot about how well your strategies are working. By measuring and analyzing key metrics, you can find places to improve to get customers more involved, increase sales, and make sure your business is a success.

To stay competitive, travel agencies need to keep track of key metrics that measure how well their marketing is working. Important signs of how well your campaigns are doing are website traffic , cost per acquisition (CPA) or cost per click (CPC), social media trends , e mail open rates , and user retention.

There are many tools that can help accurately measure how well marketing works. Google Analytics is a great tool, and most people use it to find out about their websites. This tool gives you a detailed look at who visits your site, what they look at, how long they stay on each page, and more. This lets you see how well different campaigns have worked to bring people to your site and get them interested in certain pages or products.

Example: A travel agency uses Google Analytics and customer feedback surveys to track website traffic, conversions, and customer satisfaction, and they change their marketing strategy based on what they learn.

Here is an example of how you measure and analyze your marketing efforts:

The power of data is being used by your travel agency. You are using Google Analytics and customer feedback surveys to learn important things about how customers use your website, what conversions they are making, and how happy they are. By looking at this information, your travel agencies can change how they market to better meet the needs of their customers.

Marketing for Travel Agency Website Image 6

Marketing isn’t hard for a travel agency, but it’s important for success. Understanding the market, making a unique value proposition, creating a marketing mix, building a strong brand, using digital marketing, and measuring and analyzing your marketing efforts are all important parts of a good strategy.

To get the most out of your digital marketing, you need to stay on top of trends and use tried-and-true methods. Travel agencies can reach the people they want to reach and get more customers with the right plan. Take the time to go through each step, and don’t be afraid to get started!

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Travel Agency Marketing (11 Proven strategies & Tips)

Travel Agency marketing is something that I’m passionate about, and I’m pretty good at it too. It’s also how I really started in marketing in 2009, working on my mom’s niche travel agencies.

In this guide, I’m going to explain some tactics I use. I hope you can implement some of the ideas below.

Have a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

  • Find what works

Links and PR

Social media, social advertising.

  • Set up a website
  • List yourself in all the local directories

Customer Relationship Software

Word of mouth, search engine marketing.

It wasn’t easy to start; I had to learn quite a lot and didn’t have someone to really help me, and the internet was very different back then. But I practised, learned, and tested. I grew to love it. It’s kinda why Travel Tractions Marketing was born 🙂

This guide details how I helped my mom to market her sites 10 years ago and what I do to market my own and client sites today.

My mom had one main business called Webtours, and then she decided to make niche websites for each service offering.

I thought this very silly at the time, but little did I know this was one of the smartest things we did.

travel agency websites

It enabled me to learn much quicker than normal (because she had 3+ sites – I could test, try and dabble).

Not only did it allow me to test, but the agency position was also so niche; it gave access to different markets and appeared as a “specialist”.

Becoming or positioning herself as the “specialist” was a no-brainer and her niche agencies grew so much faster (in traffic and clients) than the general brand.

In this article, you will get:

  • The best way to stand out
  • Travel marketing ideas
  • A travel marketing plan
  • Travel agency ad examples

And leave a marketing ninja, not really. But you will be wiser. 😉

Marketing for Travel Agents Tips

site speed

Know where you differentiate and sell that. This could be customer service, affordability, quality, or speed. Anything that sets you even more apart.

I know it seems like laser focus, but sometimes that’s key. Especially with data-based digital marketing today. If you can zero down on your perfect customer, your cost of Return On Marketing Investment is much lower.

Find What Works

Different things worked for different businesses. Bridal conferences worked well for honeymooners while ranking for school holiday specials worked for the beach holiday agency website. Ranking for “all-inclusive ski holidays” worked great for selling Club Med ski holidays.

When you find out what channel, gap or method of marketing works for you, double down on it! But don’t give up on the other channels – consistency is key.

When she first started her business, it was general travel, but when she specialised, things really took off. Being known as an expert and having more experience/knowledge sets you apart from most of the competition.

Travel Agency Advertising Ideas

travel agency advertising ideas

There are many methods to market your travel agency. below you will find the ones that actually worked.

Search Engine traffic accounts for 68% of the traffic , and COVID has drastically changed how consumers spend money online. So if you are not investing more than 50% of your marketing budget into SEO, you are doing yourself a disservice.

SEO does involve many different aspects that assist other channels

Creating long-tail content is KEY to surviving in the travel industry!

Google your area and “hotel” or “tour” it’s probably taken up by one of the big 5 behemoth sites like Viator, GetYourGuide, Booking, Agoda, Trip Advisor or some other monster…. You might find your site/page somewhere on the bottom or maybe on the next page, but no one will know because no one goes to the second page of Google.

By creating content that is more long tail and niche, like “best family resorts in Europe for a ski holiday”, you’ll find a lot of blogs and sites that you compete with, and beat.

woman writing

My calculations for an average ski holiday for an average family (4 people) costs start at 10k USD. Sell one holiday from this piece of content, and you’ve paid for it 3 times over. The best part? It stays on top of Google until someone outranks you. Another win, you can use this content for social over and over again.

Content is king. Even 10 years ago, when backlinks were the bee’s knees in SEO, I got the majority of my wins/leads, if not all, by great content.

Invest in SEO. Ok, I’m biased here, but I wasn’t taught SEO in my marketing degree, but it isn’t rocket science to figure out where most of our enquiries and new customers were coming from. That’s why I specialised.

Links (other websites linking to your website) is one of the top 3 ranking factors. A few years ago, it was undoubtedly the number one ranking factor.

Links serve two purposes:

#1 They help you get higher in Search Engines.

#2 If you get a link in a good publication to the right audience, you could get referral traffic and maybe a booking.

So do what you can to acquire publicity, exposure and links as much as you can.

social media team

It’s important to build credibility, especially in the travel market, so building a brand and appearing to be a trustable business is key here. If you don’t, you will lose many customers.

Putting money behind average campaigns is how I see most business owners lose faith in online marketing.

Use your social media to remind and be top of mind.

Set up your social media so that you are continuously in your PROSPECTIVE clients’ faces as often as you can. It is important that you spend money only on people who have shown interest in your business.

My view (and many others since Apple gave less targeting data to Facebook ) is that social is a branding tool more than anything else, and only when you drill down into your customer insights and have amazing targeting.  During the Cambridge Analytica scandal they also limited some targeting (like targeting people who recently got engaged with honeymoon ads).

But if you can get in front of your potential clients at the right time, this is gold. But branding, attention, and social proof has the ability to convert customers and keep you top of mind.

email gra

Touchpoints and a well-created email funnel is one of the most powerful items in your arsenal.

A monthly newsletter goes a long way but keeping in touch with your customers is key to this. Again, consistency wins here.

Travel Agent Marketing Plan

This is how I had to market a website in 2020+ It includes small steps on creating different avenues for getting customers and then tracking them and managing your leads effectively.

Set Up a Website

This can be done on almost any platform, and I will always recommend for hundreds of reasons I won’t list here. If you are going to spend money on a website, you might as well make it SEO friendly and hire a professional before you make it live. I see sooooo many businesses make this mistake, so please get an external SEO to check out your development agencies website.

List Yourself in All the Local Directories

woman working online

Once you have a website or somewhere to direct your potential customers, you need to start listing with all the directories in your local area and online. To be honest, you won’t get many leads from here, if any, but if you could rank in your area, it would be the easiest route to go from the start.

Attend Conferences

It’s important to build connections. I know in the 2020s, even passed COVID days, trade shows and conferences are a great way to make connections and learn about new developments in the industry,

Often the main pages of the website are not targeting long tail keywords. Your blog is where you get to write about the “best family resorts in Europe for a ski holiday” and many, many, many other opportunities. This also feeds into your social media and media strategy if done correctly.

I think this is really a place where businesses can excel. Make sure that you are pixeling all users (tracking who they are) that come to your site and marketing to them effectively.

If you have a CRM system, you will know their past consumer history and will appear more as a friend than some stranger off the street. Also, if tied in with email is gold in the holiday season.

How to Promote Your Travel Agency

tarvel agency marketing

There are various ways to promote your agency, and some work better than others. You can often ask your clients how they found you and then double down on that channel. All I know is that customer service and delivering what you promised is the best way to promote yourself, but below are some of the best ways that can be amplified.

Word of mouth or friends’ referrals is still the best way to get new customers – this is INCREDIBLY difficult when you are just starting out. So let any and everyone know what you are starting.

Have great service, I’m in the online game, but word of mouth is still one of the best ways to ensure your agency has some longevity increase your marketing falls flat.

Send an email to your friends. Nothing like a personalised email to a friend letting them know what offers you could have and if they would be interested. Try capturing emails on your website, an email list is an extremely powerful thing.

social media networks

Don’t just start it and then invite all your friends to like the page – if you do this often enough; it’s one way to reduce your Facebook friends without unfriending anyone.

Write about offers and news, and try to write about evergreen topics with SEO in mind.

Make specials for particular times of year like school holidays, Christmas, New Year, and Easter. Promote those holiday times the most and try to have a special running.

There are two disciplines here: SEO (Search Engine Optimization) advertising, often called organic, or PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising, often called paid ads.

It is imperative that when someone is searching for you, your business, or the problem your business solves, they find you! If not perhaps the most important thing.

SEO is more long-term. It’s an investment to be placed higher in Google or search engines naturally – think about it as buying a house (website) on Google pages; it takes a lot of time but is there for a very, very long time if done correctly.

pay per click marketing

I hope these ideas and plans help you with your marketing, and if you ever fall a little flat or are struggling to get real traction, give us a try . It’s what I’ve done for a decade, and we’d love to save you time.

Matt G Davison

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Creating Your Travel Agency’s Digital Marketing Plan: 8 Best Practices

Laura Kloot

Laura Kloot

travel agency marketing campaigns

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, travel agencies face increasing competition in attracting online bookings and building customer relationships. An effective travel agency marketing plan tailored to your niche and target market is essential for maximizing your ROI. This article provides 8 updated tips and best practices for creating a successful marketing plan that resonates with customers and drives growth in the travel industry. Let’s go!

Personalize Your Website, Content, and Services

To stand out in the crowded travel market, personalization is key. Create a unique identity and image for your agency by offering personalized or niche services, interactive customer experiences, and customized recommendations based on individual preferences. Tailor your website design, content, and offerings to provide a personalized touch that resonates with your target audience.

Focus on High-Quality Content

Compelling content is the foundation of a successful travel agency website. Create informative, engaging, and visually appealing content that captivates your audience and drives traffic to your site. Incorporate storytelling, share personal travel experiences, provide destination guides, and offer insider tips. Invest in professional copywriting or try out generative AI writing tools to produce a regular stream of high-quality content that boosts site visits and encourages customer engagement.

Leverage User Reviews and Testimonials

Online reviews and testimonials are powerful tools for building trust and enhancing your agency’s reputation. Encourage satisfied customers to leave reviews on platforms like Google My Business, TripAdvisor, Yelp, and industry-specific review sites. Respond promptly to both positive and negative reviews, demonstrating your commitment to customer satisfaction and actively addressing concerns.

Optimize Your Website for User Experience

A visually appealing, user-friendly website is essential for converting visitors into customers. It is also essential for good SEO rankings . Ensure your website is responsive, optimized for mobile devices, and offers seamless navigation. Utilize intuitive booking interfaces, high-quality visuals, and captivating headlines to engage visitors and drive conversions. Incorporate customer reviews and testimonials into your website to showcase social proof and build trust.

Boost Your Social Media Presence

Focus on the platforms where your target audience spends their time, whether it be Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, LinkedIn, or a combination of these. Stay updated with emerging platforms such as BeReal, Telegram, and Clubhouse. Leverage social media to connect with a broader audience, share engaging content, promote special offers, and interact with customers in real time. Influencer collaborations can also amplify your agency’s reach and credibility.

Focus on Mobile Marketing

As mobile usage continues to rise, optimizing your marketing efforts for mobile devices is critical. Develop a mobile-responsive website or create a dedicated mobile app for your travel agency. Mobile apps offer personalized experiences, loyalty programs, and push notifications, enhancing customer engagement and convenience. Prioritize mobile advertising, mobile-friendly emails, and mobile-specific promotions to reach and engage your mobile-savvy audience.

Harness the Power of Visuals

Visual content plays a crucial role in captivating and inspiring potential travelers. Utilize high-quality images, videos, and immersive virtual tours to showcase destinations, hotels, and experiences. Incorporate user-generated content by encouraging travelers to share their photos and videos, further enhancing your agency’s authenticity and social proof.

Set Goals, Track Metrics, and Adapt

Establish measurable goals for your marketing plan and regularly monitor KPIs to track progress. Analyze website analytics, social media engagement, conversion rates , and customer feedback to gain insights into what resonates with your audience. Use data-driven decision-making to adapt your marketing strategies, focusing on successful channels, content formats, and customer preferences.

With the rapid changes in online marketing, travel agencies must adapt their strategies to remain competitive. Stay agile, experiment with new trends, and continuously refine your strategies to attract, engage, and convert customers in the crowded and challenging travel industry.

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Expedia Group Media Solutions

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Our advertising solutions help you inspire, engage, and convert hundreds of millions of travelers — everywhere in the world.

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We connect thousands of advertisers around the globe with the most highly valued travelers. Every day, travelers visit our websites to dream about, search for, and book their trips. The advertising solutions and targeting capabilities we offer help you engage with those travelers and deliver the results you want.

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As travel evolves, so does our technology. That’s why we built the industry’s first streaming platform that delivers a wholly unique experience for travelers.

This innovative approach to travel advertising gives travelers a firsthand view of what it’s like to be a tourist at various destinations. The videos our Media Studio team creates brings these locations to life, from road trips through the California desert to kayaking the Potomac or sitting down with filmmaker Spike Lee to talk about Brooklyn, New York. This immersive experience lets travelers shop for and book travel as they’re watching the content, putting a whole new spin on tourism marketing as entertainment.

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Travel advertising that delivers results

We’ve got decades of experience helping advertisers bring travelers to their destination, book hotels and flights, and more. We get you to the right traveler at the right time and through the right channel. You need someone who understands the travel business better than anyone else, and that’s Expedia Group Media Solutions.

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Robust reporting to monitor and optimize your campaigns.

Why you should partner with Expedia Group

Our unique capabilities and custom digital media solutions meet your needs and bring your brand to travelers.

TravelAds Sponsored Listings

In the competitive hotel market, it’s essential to stand out from the crowd. TravelAds is a simple, proven solution with a pay-per-click approach designed to increase your hotel’s visibility with travelers. Use TravelAds to:

  • Boost room bookings.
  • Drive incremental revenue and profitability.
  • Reach the right travelers.
  • Control your cost-per-click and daily spend.
  • Create customized copy and images.

Accelerator

Like TravelAds, Accelerator, our cost-per-stay solution, is a budget-friendly and effective way to gain visibility with travelers. Use Accelerator to:

  • Boost your visibility in search results.
  • Scale up or down as needed with an easy-to-use platform in Partner Central.
  • Cost-effective: You only pay when you receive a booking.

Co-op campaigns

Make an impact with a collective and cost-effective advertising solution that will extend and amplify your marketing spend. Co-op advertising allows you to:

  • Connect with other destinations, hotels, airlines, and more to jointly engage with travelers and drive demand.
  • Easy and simple: We secure similar strategic partners for you.
  • Stretch your marketing budget.

Media Studio

Get access to our award-winning in-house creative agency to create immersive and compelling interactive experiences that engage travelers. With Media Studio you can:

  • Create videos that tell your brand’s story in a unique and unforgettable way.
  • Use emerging technology to stand out.
  • Build engaging social media campaigns and work with influencers.

Display advertising

Build a full-funnel experience that inspires, influences, and converts travelers. With display advertising you can:

  • Reach the millions of travelers who visit our 200+ websites every day as they dream, plan, and book travel.
  • Design ads that seamlessly integrate across all our sites.
  • Choose from a range of media options that work for advertisers of any size, budget, and business goal.
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Marketing strategies for travel agents

13 Successful Marketing Strategies for Travel Agents

travel agency marketing campaigns

By: Frank DePino | April 24, 2024

travel agency marketing campaigns

Marketing strategies for travel agents can increase brand awareness, boost website traffic, increase leads, and result in more bookings. However, it takes an understanding of marketing to successfully employ these tactics. What is travel agency marketing?

Marketing strategies for travel agents include tactics such as mobile optimization, a dynamic web presence, user-generated content, content marketing, SEO, referral marketing, advertising, and email marketing. These travel agency marketing strategies position your unique selling proposition, build trust, showcase expertise, and personalize communications, which should increase customer bookings.

This guide is chock full of marketing ideas for travel agents. Whether you’re at the beginning of your travel agency marketing journey or deeper in but still need some pointers, the information ahead should help you strategize and diversify your marketing tools.

1. Identify Your Unique Selling Proposition

Every company has a unique selling proposition or USP. This sets you apart from the competition and gives you an edge.

For example, perhaps your travel agency specializes in a specific destination or types of travel, from luxury to adventure travel.

Look internally to identify your USP. Consider your target audience and what they appreciate the most about your services. Contemplate your agency’s values and the one-of-a-kind pain points your services strive to solve.

2. Establish a Dynamic Web Presence

A dynamic web presence is next on our list of marketing strategies for travel agents.

According to travel resource Dream Big Travel Far, online sales will account for 73 percent of tourism and travel revenue by 2026 . A well-designed website is integral, as it serves as your digital storefront, converting leads into loyal clients.

Digital marketing agency Mediaboom has worked with many travel agencies and real estate businesses to create these results-driven websites.

Musha Cay Case Study

The Musha Cay website redesign that Mediaboom spearheaded produced an immersive online enclave that prominently positioned the site as a top resort on Copperfield Bay. Mediaboom assisted with SEO, animation, website development, and website design for this David Copperfield property.

Custom animations, including moving clouds and lulling waves, were one of the top design elements.

Mediaboom's custom website design for Millennium Tower, showcasing sleek and modern aesthetics.

Millennium Tower Case Study

Mediaboom also revamped the Millennium Tower website. This San Francisco high-rise was treated to a custom website with stunning videos and photos of the site, integration with the property’s social calendar, an interactive travel brochure, and fresh logos.

Further, Mediaboom stepped in for print design, branding, and animation.

Mediaboom boosts ALC's Aspen trip planning with keyword strategy, yielding top rankings, increased conversions, and organic user growth.

Aspen Luxury Concierge Case Study

Mediaboom partnered with Aspen Luxury Concierge , a Colorado concierge agency, to create a targeted keyword strategy for their Aspen trip planning content. Our meticulous research and analysis identified relevant keywords, leading to significant results. Within 90 days, six or more of ALC’s keywords ranked in Google’s top 10 search results, while organic traffic from new users experienced an impressive 118% increase. The marketing partnership yielded more than 54 percent more conversions, an average open rate of over 50 percent, and an increase in organic users by 118.42 percent.

Contact Mediaboom to drive results like these for your own business.

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3. Mobile Optimization

Review resource Review42 writes that 70 percent of mobile traffic in 2023 is from smartphones , with the average person spending five hours a day scrolling on their phones.

That’s a significant portion of potential clients to miss out on by failing to create a mobile-friendly presence for your travel agency website. This is among the most important marketing strategies for travel agents.

Mobile optimization goes beyond fitting a layout onto the page. It’s about replicating interactive, immersive elements on mobile so users get the same experience as they browse and book.

4. Network Through Industry Events

Digital marketing is largely online, but the travel industry operates in the real world too. Attending industry events and networking allows you to rub elbows with your peers.

You can get a glimpse into what your competitors have up their sleeves and tailor your travel agency marketing efforts in kind. For example, if you’re competing for the same market and your competitors have recently expanded their advertising budgets, you might review your numbers to see if you can do the same.

Further, networking gives travel agents the opportunity to meet prospective customers face-to-face. Even if these leads are still on the cusp of a booking decision, shaking hands and receiving business cards from your travel agents could be the push they need.

Content marketing elevates travel agency SEO, increases website traffic, and establishes expertise through eBooks, guides, blogs, and videos.

5. Showcase Your Expertise Through Content Marketing

For good reason, content marketing is one of the top marketing strategies for travel agents. The potent combination of comprehensive eBooks, engaging travel guides, insightful blog posts, and informative videos will elevate your SEO standing, increase website traffic, and position your travel agency as expert.

taly Travel Secrets blog achieves over 600% increase in total impressions with Mediaboom's marketing strategy, copywriting, SEO, and website design.

Italy Travel Secrets Case Study

Italy Travel Secrets , a travel blog, also worked with Mediaboom in areas like marketing strategy, copywriting, SEO optimization, and website design and saw spectacular results. The site’s total impressions rose by over 600 percent.

Connect with Mediaboom to discuss your travel agency’s content marketing needs.

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6. Add a Personal Touch Via Email Marketing

Guiding leads through the funnel and engaging with long-time clients requires email marketing . You can send correspondence to keep your audience in the know.

For instance, you can inform your audience when your travel agency runs a discount so they can cost-effectively plan their next vacation. You might even craft exclusive discounts for your email audience to grow your contact list.

You can also issue regular travel tips or update your readers on new offerings as part of your travel agency marketing plan. Send a periodic newsletter, whether that’s monthly or quarterly, to peel back the curtain on your travel agency and let your audience see the inner workings. 

A travel agent has invested in SEO and GSC shows an increase in traffic for his site

7. Invest in SEO

Search engine optimization influences where your website ranks. SEO resource Backlinko, in a late 2022 article, reported that the average click-through rate of the first result in a Google organic search is 27.6 percent .

Backlinko also added that the site in the top spot has a 10x chance of getting a click versus the site occupying the 10th spot. The SEO resource evaluated more than four million Google search results to come to these numbers.

Mediaboom’s marketing experts can evaluate your current SEO strategy and help you revise it or start fresh. Contact Mediaboom to learn more.  

8. Offer Tailored Services

Vacations are personal, intimate experiences, whether a trip for two or a family affair. A client doesn’t want a one-size-fits-all approach to trip planning. They’re interested in something that feels made just for them.

Your travel agency must listen to the needs of your audience and present personalized travel experiences made just for them. Customize the itinerary, curate unique moments, and exceed their expectations and you should expect repeat business.

9. Use Referral Marketing

Marketing strategies for travel agents include referral marketing. Exploding Topics writes that over 90 percent of consumers trust referrals over other advertising avenues . After all, these referrals come from trusted sources, such as colleagues, friends, neighbors, and family.

The same report notes that 88 percent of United States consumers want incentives for sharing their favorite products and services across social media . This suggests that if your travel agency doesn’t already have a referral program in place, your audience probably wishes you would start one!

Pay-per-click advertising dominates travel agency marketing, targeting new audiences searching for travel services online

10. Leverage Paid Advertising

Pay-per-click advertising remains at the top of the heap when discussing travel agency marketing. These targeted online ads will appear when new audience swathes search for travel services online.

Although you pay for each click, a high-performing PPC ad campaign should allow your travel agency to recoup what you spent and then some. You’ll generate new leads and more website traffic.

PPC advertising requires budgeting and bidding on the right keywords. Mediaboom can help you craft winning advertising campaigns, so reach out today to get started.

3 Bonus Tips for Travel Agents

Here are a few more marketing tips for travel agents.

11. Use Retargeting Campaigns

Potential clients might waffle on vacation plans as they compare their options, confirm when they can take off work, and crunch numbers. Retargeting campaigns allow your agency to reconnect if potential customers are ready later. You could finally receive the lead’s business.

12. Promote User-Generated Content

User-generated content or UGC can generate big results for your travel agency marketing campaign. People always want to share luxurious photos and videos of their vacation experiences. If your customers do the same, ask if you can share it.

UGC augments testimonials and reviews and could inspire trust in your services.

13. Utilize Social Media

A social media strategy must be part of your broader travel agency marketing plan. Select the platforms your target audience uses the most, then create content designed to engage. Showcase travel tips, make a YouTube channel for immersive videos, and post awe-inspiring photos.

The travel agent is choosing the best tools to support his online marketing

The Top 5 Marketing Tools for Travel Agents

Marketing strategies for travel agents begin with having the right tools. Here are five you should not go without.

1. Surfer SEO

The SEO and content tool Surfer SEO tells you precisely what your content needs to rank well on search engines, whether that’s more subheads, shorter paragraphs, more images, or specific keywords. You can also perform keyword audits through Surfer SEO to update existing content.

2. Adobe Express

Social media is highly visual. Digital School of Marketing reports that posts with images receive 94 percent more views compared to image-free posts. Adobe Express is a great tool to this end, as you can create professional-looking visuals and graphics.

3. MailerLite

You’ll need a sufficient email marketing tool as your email list grows. MailerLite is a multi-purpose software for creating comprehensive email marketing campaigns, generating newsletters, managing contacts, collecting leads, and managing ongoing campaigns.

4. Sprout Social

Grow your social media following with Sprout Social . You can use this tool to create social media campaigns, monetize content, automate social media workflows, manage subscribers, and achieve more campaign goals.

5. Google Ads and Facebook Ads

You can also advertise using Google Ads , the premier PPC platform, or Facebook Ads , one of many social media advertising platforms. These advertising channels allow you to target your audience by specific demographics and geographics and produce tailored ads.

Hire a Web Agency Today

Marketing strategies for travel agents require a concrete plan . Mediaboom can help you identify your needs, ideate travel agency marketing tactics, and deploy campaigns to achieve more of your goals. Contact Mediaboom to learn more .

By: Frank DePino

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Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World

Category: Travel

Date: August 18, 2023

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World

Creating a successful travel marketing campaign can be a challenging task for most of the travel marketers. With numerous travel agencies, airlines, and hotels in line, there is fierce competition for brand awareness.

A lot of travel marketing campaigns try hard to capture the curiosity of travelers, but fall flat. So, our expert digital marketers at ColorWhistle wanted to give you a little inspiration for your own travel and tourism marketing in 2023 and beyond.

From social media, video content, display, we searched for some of the most compelling travel marketing campaigns that inspired people to go on their next travel adventure.

Here’s a roundup of some of the most famous travel and tourism marketing campaigns you should check out.

Best Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World

We have segregated all the travel marketing campaigns into social media, video content and display ads. This will help you to frame a multi-channel strategy.

14 Best Examples of Travel Video Marketing Campaigns

Here are some of the most innovative travel videos.

1. KLM – Live Hologram Bar

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines has built a hologram bar where people can meet to exchange local tips when they are waiting for flights. These holograms are placed in the airports of Amsterdam, Oslo and Rio de Janeiro.

2. Turkish Airlines – The Journey

Turkish Airlines released a short film called ‘The Journey’ where 90% of the film was airplanes and scenery. This short film has done a brilliant job promoting the airline and the destinations.

3. Iceland – Explore the a-ö of Iceland

The A-Ö of Iceland, a marketing campaign uses Icelandic alphabet to increase awareness of Iceland as a good place to visit; a great place to do business; and a place that provides great food and experience.

4. Cheapflights – Drag, Drop and Go

Cheapflights and agency Uncle Grey designed an ad banner that appeared on articles about sports, art, music events and relevant publications. The user had to simply drag the article image into the Cheapflights banner and it will instantly find the best tickets. Rather than focusing on destinations, it promoted experiences that people were already interested in.

5. Van Gogh’s Bedroom – Let Yourself In

To promote the Art Institute of Chicago’s 2016 van Gogh exhibit, Leo Burnett built Van Gogh’s Bedroom and listed it on Airbnb as a place for people to stay for a night. The campaign was a tremendous success.

6. Switzerland – Yodel Ay Hee Hoo

This ad campaign encouraged busy city people to visit the countryside. A live video feed was placed in the train station where a man was sharing information about his village and even printed train tickets in real-time.

7. Tourism Ireland – Fill your Heart

Tourism Ireland asked a married couple to wear a custom-made technology which had head-mounted cameras during their holiday in Ireland. The technology tracked their response to various experiences. They wanted to use this data to show the ‘heart-filling’ effect that Ireland has on visitors. This campaign has combined storytelling with technology.

8. Airbnb – Let’s Keep Travelling Forward

Geo-politically, 2018 was not a good year. When Donald Trump imposed a travel ban during that year, Airbnb immediately released a video highlighting the brand’s belief – “to limit travel is to turn back progress.” This campaign helped to voice the brand’s message to the world while staying relevant.

9. Hong Kong Tourism Board – VR Time Travel

When the Hong Kong tourism board launched a VR time travel experience with Timelooper, it wanted to show people that this will be an engaging experience. This VR experience enabled viewers to see the 1960’s Hong Kong, the battle between two kung-fu fighters on Hollywood Road, aircraft landing at Kai Tan airport and more. This campaign showcased the location in an innovative and engaging way.

10. British Airways – Safety Video

Safety videos are usually boring. But, British Airways turned it into a marketing opportunity. They made a safety video with actors Sir Michael Caine, Olivia Colman and comedian Chabuddy G. This video created a great online buzz for British Airways.

11. Easyjet – Imagine

Easyjet launched a £12m pan-European campaign in 2018 called ‘Imagine.’ It was a TV ad which showed the many wonders of air travel. Along with this, the company also ran ads across print, digital and social. This ad campaign helped viewers associate Easyjet with imagination and experience.

12. SNCF – Europe, It’s Just Next Door

The French National Railway operator wanted to encourage people to take the train to visit nearby countries. It placed blue doors in and around Paris. When a person opens the door, it will give an immersive digital experience of what they could see ‘next door’.

13. Tourism Quebec – Blind Tourist

Quebec is a place known for its outdoor lifestyle. But, Tourism Quebec wanted to show people that traveling can be more than just visual experience. They wanted to offer a rich experience to the senses in such a way that seeing things was only a small part of the picture. This ad has a very rich narrative.

14. Northern Ireland – Doors Of Thrones

Northern Ireland used the hit show Game of Thrones to draw tourists in. They took destroyed remnants of battered trees and carved them into 10 intricate doors. All these doors resembled the 10 episodes of season 6.

15. Helsinki Airport – Life In Hel

Helsinki was voted the best airport in 2016. They leveraged this success by running a campaign featuring Chinese actor Ryan Zhu. He lived in this airport for 30 days and shared the experience across social media and other video channels.

11 Best Examples of Creative Travel and Tourism Print Ads

Here are some of the most innovative print ads.

1. LATAM Airlines used the rainbow flag in a series of print ads

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (LATAM) - ColorWhistle

2. Norwegian Airlines utilized the Brangelina split to its advantage

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Norwegian) - ColorWhistle

3. Kielo Travel – Dreaming of a Holiday?

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Kielo) - ColorWhistle

4. Detroiter Travel Center – You Made It

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Detroiter) - ColorWhistle

5. CVC – The World Is Outside

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (CVC) - ColorWhistle

6. Cruise Ship Centers – Dreaming of a cruise?

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World  (Cruiseshipcenters) - ColorWhistle

7. Flight Center – Forget Work

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World  (FlightCentre) - ColorWhistle

8. WWF – Exploring the ecosystem also threatens lives

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World  (WWF) - ColorWhistle

9. TBWA Buenos Aires – Medical assistance for travelers

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World  (Medicus) - ColorWhistle

10. Shchusev State Museum of Architecture – Discover the full story

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World  (Muar) - ColorWhistle

11. Staedtler – Where it begins

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World  (Staedtler) - ColorWhistle

13 Best Examples of Travel Social Media Campaigns

Here are some of the most innovative travel social media campaigns.

1. Eurostar

This Instagram campaign from Eurostar turned heads by trying something new. They wanted to promote train travel from London to Paris. So, they split an illustration of a journey from London to Paris into 200 Instagram tile images. Some tiles were videos and others were hidden offers.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Eurostar) - ColorWhistle

2. Alaska Airlines

At the end of the year, many companies give gifts to customers and employees. Keeping this in mind, Alaska Airlines launched a fun promotional Twitter campaign by partnering with Starbucks. They gave a free Starbucks gift card to their guests.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Alaska) - ColorWhistle

3. Hawaii Tourism Department

The Hawaii tourism department wanted to give first-time visitors an idea of Hawaii’s beauty and culture. Plus, they also wanted veteran vacationers to visit the island again So, the tourism department collaborated with travel Instagrammers to get users to share their favorite Hawaii memory by using the hashtag #LetHawaiiHappen. The campaign was a huge success because ordinary users shared their own experiences.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Hawaii) - ColorWhistle

4. WOW Airlines

WOW Airlines launched a Snaptraveler program where 4 winners would get to tour across all 28 of the airline’s destinations for free. In exchange, they have to post a Snap story about all the locations they visit. The idea of this summer Snapchat contest was to create a reality television-like experience, target their main demographic and share relevant content in WOW Airlines’ Snapchat account. Here is a short video of the campaign.

5. National Geographic

National Geographic launched a wanderlust contest for aspiring travel and nature photographers. They have to submit their own photographs with the hashtag #Wanderlustcontest. The idea behind this campaign was to improve National Geographic’s reputation as the leading source for beautiful travel photography.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (National Geographic) - ColorWhistle

6. Kenya Tourism Board

Kenya Tourism Board partnered with Expedia to promote Kenya and an incredible destination to travelers. They choose a famous travel blogging couple and sent them on a one week trip to Kenya with no fixed itinerary. The people following this couple on Instagram can decide the itinerary by voting through an Instagram Stories poll. Throughout the week, the couple broadcasted their journey to their Instagram followers. The content was also repurposed on a microsite. This campaign was a huge success. Here is a short video of the campaign.

7. Cheapflights Facebook Messenger

Cheapflights Chat launched the world’s first Facebook Messenger bot which allowed people to search for flights and hotels. The bot utilized seven APIs. To promote this chat, videos of fictional conversations were created and shared across Facebook. Here is the chat demo.

8. Hotels.com

Hotels.com dedicated an entire Facebook ad carousel to promote its “Gift $50, Get $10” holiday deal. Each slide focuses on the deal and also shows the different types of trips that people can take. This is a simple and memorable ad.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Hotels) - ColorWhistle

10. Visit PA

Visit PA wanted to push Pennsylvania as the perfect summer getaway. They used Facebook’s carousel ads format to show one panoramic photo in parts.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World  (VisitPA) - ColorWhistle

Airbnb created a unique Instagram video ad that showed users how the experience of discovering each activity in the Airbnb app will look like.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Airbnb) - ColorWhistle

12. Air Canada

Air Canada ran an ad in the US during the night of the 2016 presidential election. That night, Canada’s Immigration and Citizenship site had so many visitors that it crashed. Air Canada learnt this sudden interest and targeted the ad towards people who are looking to fly outside the country.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (AirCanada) - ColorWhistle

13. Explore Georgia

Explore Georgia wanted to position itself as the most pet-friendly state in America. So, they created a social media strategy targeting millennial pet owners. They shared lots of posts with the hashtag #ExploreGeorgiaPup to show that Georgia was the perfect place to visit with a dog. This campaign generated lots of traffic to their website and also helped them to reach 10,000+ followers on their pet-friendly travel Pinterest board.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (ExploreGeorgia) - ColorWhistle

7 Best Examples of Travel Email Marketing Campaigns

Here are some of the most innovative travel email marketing campaigns.

1. Air Canada

During email sign-up, Air Canada asks new subscribers to tell their home airport and the destinations they are interested to travel. By using this information, they send personalized emails according to the interest of the subscriber.

For example, this email was sent to a subscriber whose home airport is in Montreal.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (AirCanada) - ColorWhistle

2. Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic proved that it can promote activities that focus on the journey and not just the destination. The company created a memorable customer experience by sending them email offers for virtual reality skydiving. The name of the campaign was Virgin Experience Days.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Virgin) - ColorWhistle

3. Fairmont Hotels

Loyalty is hard to find in the travel business because travelers always search for the best deal rather than a specific brand. However, if there is a reward program, it will encourage loyalty and repeat business.

Fairmont Hotels wanted to persuade their subscribers to sign up for their loyalty program through an easy sign-up form which included a call-to-action. Here’s the attractive email.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World  (Fairmont) - ColorWhistle

4. Flight Centre

Limited period offers always create a sense of urgency and encourages people to take action. Flight Center used this idea and offered cheap deals to New York City. To convey that this was a limited-time offer, they added a countdown clock at the bottom of the email.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World  (FlightCentre) - ColorWhistle

5. Southwest Airlines

Subscribers will feel good if you send emails appreciating them. Southwest Airlines sent an email to its subscribers by adding their customer’s name, travel history and reward points they earned. This ‘thank you’ email also had smiling faces and diverse employees.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Southwest) - ColorWhistle

Holidays are the time when flight tickets might go up. Mostly, people book tickets at the last time and when the rates are high, they often get disappointed. To avoid this, Hipmunk sent a simple email announcing that prices will go up.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Hipmunk) - ColorWhistle

7. Memphis CVB

Memphis CVB wanted to improve awareness of Memphis by showcasing its many attractions and key events they must attend. Here is one of the custom emails they sent to their subscribers.

Innovative Travel Marketing Campaigns From Around The World (Memphis) - ColorWhistle

Drive Conversions and Boost your Business with Expert Travel Website Development.

It’s time to start your next travel marketing campaign.

We hope that the above travel marketing campaigns will inspire you to kickstart your next one. All of these ads have gone beyond the typical boring list of destinations, images and pricing. They show the power of timing, relevance and personalization – all of which are important to create a great campaign.

To create such ad campaigns, all you have to do is get creative, think big and dig deep to find inspiration in the destination you represent. The ideas you come with today will continue to inspire travelers for years to come.

If you need any help to create a travel marketing strategy, our experts at ColorWhistle are eager to assist you. Contact us today. We will help you to stand out from the crowd.

Have you seen a better online travel marketing campaign? Do share them in the comment section below.

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About the Author - Anjana

Anjana is a full-time Copywriter at ColorWhistle managing content-related projects. She writes about website technologies, digital marketing, and industries such as travel. Plus, she has an unhealthy addiction towards online marketing, watching crime shows, and chocolates.

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Top 10 Travel Industry Marketing Strategies

Rethin Vipinraj

The tide is finally turning for the $247 billion Indian travel and tourism industry after more than a year – and the excitement is palpable. With travel bans easing in many parts of the world, domestic and international traffic is rising. Nearly every business vertical – from hospitality and airlines to online travel agencies – has its hopes pinned on 2022 for a full recovery from the after-effects of the pandemic. The stage for revival is already set.

The hospitality sector has witnessed a wave of consolidation in mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships over the last year. It will allow many small hotel chains to deliver complementary services while driving down operating costs. On the other hand, investor interest in the civil aviation vertical has soared, with as many as 90 new airlines expected to start operations around the globe by December 2021.

As a business enabler for other travel verticals, online travel agencies (OTA) will have a crucial role in facilitating the industry’s return to growth.

However, the high churn rate among price-conscious customers remains a challenge. In India, a waiting period for weeks, if not months, to book the right airfares is par for the course. Some bargain hunters are known to compare as many as 38 different portals at a time ! In the post-pandemic scenario, a poor lead to conversion ratio (or ‘look to book’ in industry parlance) can impact OTA margins, making discounts and offers unviable.

Moreover, the controversy over refunding canceled flight tickets that erupted at the pandemic’s peak just refuses to die down. For OTAs, this has underscored the importance of transparency and improving user experience across the customer lifecycle. 

The good news is that brands have learned the lessons. Travel brands are adopting technology to interpret customer behavior and come up with customized travel industry marketing strategies.

10 Digital Marketing Strategies for Travel Agencies to Grow Post-Pandemic 

In the new normal, travel agency campaigns will need to focus on the right messaging and target the right channels to drive engagement and growth. Asking the right questions will be critical to uncovering the best-performing travel industry marketing strategies.

Here are some real-life travel agency campaigns to get you started on the right track:

1. Pickyourtrail Adopts RFM Analysis to Drive User Engagement

In the new normal, retargeting ‘deal hunters’ who book and abandon bookings midway has been a priority for travel brands. Studies show that OTAs typically lose around 80% of all bookings due to the penchant for price comparison. For Pickyourtrail, a leading travel platform, the situation was no different.

A root cause analysis showed a gap in its customer segmentation strategy, which can turn buying intent into sales if appropriately optimized. The lack of automation meant that Pickyourtrail could not scale its messaging to target different cohorts rapidly. 

After testing a few alternative approaches, the brand decided to segment users based on how often they visited their site, the time elapsed since their last visit, and average transaction value- also called RFM or Recency, Frequency, and Monetary Analysis. 

RFM Analysis

This ‘event-based’ segmentation strategy along with automated traveler engagement workflows allowed PickYourTail to re-engage deal hunters with hyper-personalized offers via email and SMS. 

With  60% of online shoppers  reporting that discounts became more important during COVID-19, catering to deal hunters has become an even more effective strategy.

Result : Email engagement registered a 50% increase while the team saved 60%+ man-hours that would have been otherwise wasted in manual tracking. 

2. Headout witnesses ⬆️ in Conversion for First-time Visitors through Contextual Email Campaigns and drives 🔁 bookings through Personalized Audio Guides

Headout is an experiential travel marketplace that matches travelers to a variety of local experiences at an affordable price. Via a network of service partners, the company serves more than 3 billion travelers worldwide. However, Headout’s biggest challenge was a high bounce rate which meant that the company missed out on invaluable lead data. 

In turn, this made it impossible for it to implement a viable retargeting strategy. The Headout team responded by rolling out onsite surveys to specific user segments such as desktop users.

The goal is to drive email sign-ups to the company blog, engage cart abandoners, and enhance the post-purchase experience. The company mapped its email funnel to the three customer journeys and ran contextual email campaigns to engage cart abandoners based on language and product category attributes.

email-marketing-for-headout-1

3. MakeMyTrip Leverages AI to Create Compelling In-App Content

As an early adopter of in-app content, MakeMyTrip has many firsts to its credit- curated destination videos, chatbot providing information on flight cancellations, and more. However, given its low monthly active user (MAU) frequency (typical for travel apps), the brand decided to leverage AI to stitch user data together and develop compelling creative for cross-sell and up-sell campaigns.

MakeMyTrip Father's Day Banner

Relevant in-app banners on the storefront or homepage are particularly crucial to driving conversion. Secondly, seamless user stories that link one touchpoint, such as the initial display ad, to the other (checkout page, for example) has been a key element in the MakeMyTrip marketing strategy.

To drive repeat bookings, Headout introduced personalized audio guides in multiple regional languages. The audio guides featured tips and recommendations on popular tourist destinations with blended marketing content. The company has since witnessed 27% growth in conversion for first-time visitors, 90% faster campaign implementation, and a 10% reduction in cart abandonment.

4. Travel Triangle ⬆️ Conversion among Booking Cancellation Cohort and Returning User Cohort by adopting a Lead Scoring System  

Since its inception in 2011, Travel Triangle has emerged as one of India’s leading OTAs, operating in over 60 countries. However, apart from a high drop-off rate at the top of the funnel, the company also struggled with booking cancellations at the post-purchase stage.

This affected not just the cost of customer acquisition but also customer lifetime value. As part of a long-term strategy, the company adopted lead scoring to prioritize high intent buyers based on website heat maps and email/SMS CTR.

This helped them understand the reasons for drop-off and build a pipeline of ‘hot’ leads, which could then be nurtured via personalized SMS and push notifications. With the help of analytics, Travel Triangle also optimized its travel industry marketing strategies for converting returning users. It began focussing on not just the messaging but also the channels most preferred by travelers.

These measures have paid off quite well for the brand, with conversion among the booking cancellation cohort increasing 10% and that for the returning users cohort by 20%, respectively.

5. Treebo Leverages On-Site Messaging to Drive Conversion

Digital marketing strategy for Travel Agencies: Treebo-Leverage

Differentiation in a saturated market can be a formidable challenge, especially for hotel startups. While Treebo ranks right up there with the likes of OYO and FabHotels in the budget hotel segment, it still faced problems building brand recall and attracting returning users – especially on digital channels like its website and app. 

A series of User Experience (UX) studies later, the company realized that it needed to streamline its booking interface.

The company experimented with personalized on-site messaging to drive conversion across multiple cohorts. This included timer-based sticky banners that replaced SMS/email notifications. In addition, Treebo also used exit-intent pop-ups to curb the price comparison instinct and close bookings faster.

The results of the travel agency campaign have more than met the company’s expectations – a 15% increase in web conversions.

Also Read: 5 Proven Steps of Conversion Optimization from a Growth Expert

6. fabhotels overcomes spam blockers to increase email open rates:.

The team at FabHotels knew it had a challenge on its hands when its email marketing campaigns were flagged as spam by most email providers. Unfortunately, the problem persisted for two years before the company finally identified the cause- a drop in domain reputation. In other words, after a certain volume was reached, its travel agency campaign emails were being automatically marked as spam. 

The company started to test for the exact volume and any underlying factors that triggered the drop. They introduced a 3-step action plan to counter the problem – a micro-segmentation strategy to improve inbox placement, staggering the email send times, and limiting the number of emails to one per customer per day. 

The company also revised the layout and copy of its emails, reducing the number of images and hyperlinks.

The results were dramatic. With a 90% increase in email delivery rates, FabHotels also saw a matching 90% increase in open rates. This has allowed it to scale its campaigns threefold.Learn how to optimize your content to improve  email deliverability

7. Shuttl Speeds Referral Conversion with Trigger Campaigns

Bus-aggregator Shuttl had been eyeing referral marketing as an organic customer acquisition channel to augment its paid campaigns. In terms of cost-effectiveness, referral marketing has few parallels; however, finding the right users and nurturing new leads was a challenge for the company. 

In addition, tracking the right conversion metrics was equally important to deliver the right messaging.

The team at Shuttl experimented with two distinct but interdependent trigger campaigns – a 1+1 offer that enabled a traveler to gift a ride to another person. This travel agency marketing strategy made it possible for Shuttl to quickly identify customers who are most likely to refer.

Digital marketing strategy for Travel Agencies: Shuttl-Speeds-Referral-Conversion-with-Trigger-Campaigns

As soon as the original traveler submits the phone number for the referred person, the second campaign is activated. It triggers a series of emails to drive the newly-referred user to install the Shuttl app and book new rides. 

In a span of two months, the campaigns accounted for an 11.2% increase in total referrals, while the subscription rate for new users jumped 3.6% .

8. Yatra Optimizes Web Notification Campaign Rules to Boost Conversion

For Yatra, India’s second-largest OTA, traveler drop-off on the booking review page was a persistent problem. The company realized it needed a new workflow to help them overcome last-minute hesitation and drive conversion. Given the high uninstall rate of mobile apps, Yatra decided to leverage web push notifications to do the job.

Abandoners were sent four reminder notifications every 48 hours until they converted. The company’s data showed this to be the optimum frequency for engagement, beyond which it could be considered spamming. In addition, they optimized campaign rules to automatically terminate the workflow once the user took the desired action.

The idea proved successful, with gross booking growing by 3.2% and the company discovering a new channel in the process – mobile web.

9. Go-MMT Adopts Dynamic Segmentation to Create Cross Channel Campaigns

As India’s top OTA platform, Go-MMT derives its competitive edge from the user experience of its hotel partners just as much as end-customers. So the company wanted to enable new hotel partners to list themselves faster on its platform, improve mobile app and web engagement, and drive conversion. This meant consolidating listing data in a single location, tracking partner performance in real-time, and leveraging native demand to increase partner loyalty.

The existing processes at Go-MMT were inefficient and inflexible. Manual segmentation of hotel partners, manual mapping of listing history, and marketing communications being sent to international partners as per Indian Standard Time (IST). 

In time, Go-MMT implemented a solution that resulted in a 20% increase in partner engagement, thanks to the consolidation of listing data and dynamic segmentation based on the country of origin and type of property.

This allowed the brand to build cross-channel journeys for running travel agency campaigns as per partner time zones.

10. OYO’s Drives 8X Growth in Omnichannel User Engagement with Personalized Offers

Market leader OYO encountered challenges with user engagement even as it started moving to a franchise model from the aggregator model. The brand’s growing user base was highly fragmented and relied on multiple channels to search for, compare and book reservations. 

Its priority was to scale its travel agency campaign while unifying the customer experience to drive conversions and revenue growth.

Digital marketing strategy for Travel Agencies: OYO Personalized in-app banners

The company decided to target the deal hunter cohort by creating personalized offers based on browsing history. It also ramped up retargeting efforts via social media and in-app content.

How To Create: Hyper-Personalized In-App Content at Scale

The payoff has been substantial, with an 8X increase in engagement campaigns and 5X growth in CTR.

Final Thoughts

Rocketium helps businesses deliver hyper-personalized digital campaigns at scale for a fraction of the time and resources that would have otherwise been required. Our suite of world-class products empowers teams to focus more on the creative strategy. As a result, marketers can devise a more innovative and effective digital marketing strategy for travel agencies.

Rethin Vipinraj

Rethin Vipinraj

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Top 10 Travel Marketing Campaigns & Innovations

Top 10 Travel Marketing Campaigns & Innovations

Top 10 Travel Marketing Campaigns & Innovations

Traveling is more than just a leisure activity; it's a massive global industry that contributes over $9 trillion to the world's economy. The competition among travel companies, airlines, and destinations is fierce, and standing out in the crowded market requires innovation and creativity. In this landscape, marketing campaigns have become vital tools for capturing attention and driving consumer behavior. From social media strategies to television commercials, successful campaigns have not only influenced travel decisions but also shaped travel trends and culture.

According to a recent study by the World Travel & Tourism Council, the right marketing campaign can increase destination visits by up to 20%. This has led to a surge in investment in creative and engaging campaigns that resonate with potential travelers. Some of the most iconic campaigns have transcended traditional marketing, turning into cultural phenomena, and inspiring a new wave of wanderlust. This article highlights the top 10 travel marketing campaigns that have done just that, analyzing the strategies and impact that put them ahead of the pack.

Top 10 Travel Marketing Campaigns

Campaign 10: "get out there" - kayak.

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Kayak's "Get Out There" campaign aimed to inspire wanderlust among its audience. Through vibrant visuals, the ads showcased breathtaking destinations, from serene beaches to bustling cityscapes. Each advertisement carried a clear message – the world is vast, and every place holds a new experience waiting to be uncovered. The digital-first campaign was embedded with interactive tools: a user could click on an ad and immediately be led to flight and hotel options for the showcased destination.

Kayak's "Get Out There" campaign was a bold statement in the increasingly digital world of travel planning. By implementing an aggressive multi-channel strategy that reached over 20 million users, Kayak achieved a 12% increase in app downloads within the first quarter of the campaign's launch.

  • Social Media Blitz: With targeted ads across Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, they reached the millennial demographic, seeing a 30% growth in social media engagement.
  • Influencer Partnerships: Collaboration with travel influencers provided authentic voices that resonated with potential travelers, resulting in a 15% increase in user-generated content tagged with their campaign hashtag.
  • Interactive Website Features: A special landing page offered personalized travel suggestions, driving an 18% increase in site visits.

Campaign 9: "Travel Yourself Interesting" - Expedia

Expedia’s campaign took a playful and humorous angle. The core message was simple: Traveling makes you a more interesting person. Ads featured individuals recounting bland, everyday experiences, juxtaposed with their far more intriguing travel tales. One memorable ad showed a man boring his friends with tales of his lawn maintenance, only to later captivate them with stories of his trek in the Amazon Rainforest.

Expedia's "Travel Yourself Interesting" campaign became a sensation for its humorous take on self-improvement, leading to a 10% growth in global bookings during the campaign period.

  • Television Commercials: The humorous ads were broadcasted in key markets, reaching an estimated audience of 50 million, with a 20% increase in brand recall.
  • Digital Engagement: Interactive online quizzes and social media challenges contributed to a 25% spike in website traffic.
  • Partnership with Travel Bloggers: Engaging bloggers added credibility and a personal touch, resulting in a wider reach and deeper connection with the target audience.

Campaign 8: "The Airbnb Concerts" - Airbnb

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Airbnb wanted to emphasize that travel isn’t just about where you stay, but what you experience. This campaign married unique Airbnb accommodations with intimate live music performances. Think of a jazz concert in a historic New Orleans mansion or an indie rock performance in a sleek Tokyo loft. The campaign was about moments and memories, providing travelers not just a place to sleep but an experience to cherish.

Airbnb's "The Airbnb Concerts" was a revolutionary campaign that bridged the gap between travel, music, and community. Over 100 unique concerts were held in various Airbnb locations around the world, leading to a 40% increase in bookings among the participating properties.

  • Live Concert Experiences: Hosting concerts in unusual Airbnb venues, such as treehouses and lofts, created unforgettable experiences, selling out 95% of the events.
  • Social Media Engagement: Videos and photos from the concerts were shared widely, generating over 5 million views on YouTube and trending hashtags on Twitter.
  • Influencer Participation: Collaboration with famous musicians and influencers added prestige and drew substantial media attention, reaching an estimated 60 million people through various channels.  

Campaign 7: "Do it for Denmark" - Spies Travels

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With Denmark experiencing a declining birth rate, Spies Travels crafted a cheeky and bold campaign suggesting that Danes should travel more to romantic destinations to boost their chances of conceiving. The campaign videos humorously implied that being in a relaxed vacation mode away from the daily grind might lead to increased intimacy among couples, and thus, increase the country's birth rate.

Spies Travels' bold and unconventional "Do it for Denmark" campaign focused on Denmark's low birth rate, cleverly encouraging couples to travel and procreate. This campaign's success was reflected in:

  • Media Coverage: Featured in over 300 international media outlets, generating buzz worth millions in free advertising.
  • Sales Growth: A 10% increase in holiday bookings within the campaign period, especially in romantic travel packages.
  • Viral Video: The campaign video was viewed over 10 million times on YouTube in the first month alone.
  • Awards and Recognition: The campaign won several marketing awards, establishing Spies Travels as a creative leader in the industry.

Campaign 6: "Unborder" - Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)

The "Unborder" campaign showcased the power of travel to transcend boundaries, be they physical, cultural, or psychological. Using visually stunning videos and images, SAS celebrated the global citizen's mindset. Scenes showcased diverse landscapes and cultures, intertwined with travelers from various backgrounds meeting, sharing moments, and understanding one another's worlds.  

SAS's "Unborder" campaign celebrated cultural diversity and connectivity, aiming to break down borders in both a literal and metaphorical sense.

  • Emotional Resonance: Surveys showed a 25% increase in positive brand perception among those exposed to the campaign.
  • Global Reach: Multi-language content ensured an international reach, connecting with audiences in over 30 countries.
  • Influence on Travel Patterns: The campaign contributed to a 7% growth in international flight bookings through SAS.
  • Social Media Engagement: User-generated content and shared stories reached over 5 million social media users, strengthening community engagement.

Campaign 5: "Spend Your Days Off" - Project: Time Off

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Addressing the widespread issue of burnout and the tendency of many individuals, especially in high-pressure jobs, to skip vacations, this campaign was a clarion call to prioritize well-being. Using a mix of stark statistics about unused vacation days and heartwarming content showing families and individuals rejuvenating through travel, the campaign's central message was clear: Time off is essential, not just a luxury.

The "Spend Your Days Off" campaign from Project: Time Off tackled a significant societal issue, encouraging people to value their vacation time and prioritize well-being.

  • Impact on Public Opinion: The campaign reached over 100 million people, contributing to a shift in public opinion about the importance of taking time off.
  • Partnerships with Major Brands: Collaboration with several travel and lifestyle brands increased the campaign’s visibility, contributing to a 15% increase in associated travel package sales.
  • Social Media Activism: Through hashtags and viral challenges, the campaign mobilized social media users, generating over 1 million shares and comments.
  • Research Integration: By incorporating research data on work-life balance, the campaign positioned itself as an authoritative voice, leading to numerous mentions in major media outlets.

Campaign 4: "You’re Not You When You're Hungry" - Snickers Australia

A delightful twist on Snickers' global campaign message, the Australian edition juxtaposed the idea of being 'hungry and irritable' with the fatigue of long travels. Strategically placed in airports and travel hubs, ads humorously showcased how hunger could transform a calm traveler into a frantic, disoriented mess, suggesting that a Snickers bar could save the day.

Travelers, already familiar with the global "You're Not You When You're Hungry" slogan, appreciated the localized twist and situational humor. The relatability of being hungry and irritable during travels struck a chord. 

  • Location-specific Advertising: By targeting travelers at airports, Snickers saw a 15% increase in sales within these locations during the campaign.
  • Social Media Impact: Shareable content reached 2 million online engagements within the first two weeks.
  • Brand Alignment: Maintained Snickers' global campaign message, resulting in a 10% rise in brand recognition among the travel audience.

Campaign 3: "Live There" - Airbnb

Instead of being a mere tourist, Airbnb's "Live There" campaign invited travelers to live like locals. It showcased real Airbnb hosts sharing genuine experiences with guests — from cooking together to exploring hidden neighborhood gems. The campaign was a departure from cliched travel ads, focusing on authentic local interactions over touristy hotspots.

Airbnb's "Live There" encouraged travelers to immerse in local cultures, shifting focus from accommodations to experiences.

  • User Engagement: The campaign’s app features increased user interaction by 20%, enabling travelers to customize their experiences.
  • Global Reach: Spanned 18 different markets, contributing to a 12% increase in international bookings.
  • Media Partnerships: Collaborations with travel magazines and influencers created a 25% uplift in media coverage and online discussions about Airbnb's experiential travel offerings.

Campaign 2: "Shot on iPhone 6" - Apple

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Apple showcased the powerful camera of its iPhone 6, not through technical jargon, but by spotlighting stunning user-generated travel photos taken on the device. Billboards, print ads, and digital campaigns proudly displayed these images with the caption "Shot on iPhone 6," turning everyday users into celebrated photographers.

Apple's "Shot on iPhone 6" brilliantly transformed travel photography, showcasing breathtaking landscapes captured on the iPhone.

  • User-generated Content: Over 10,000 user submissions in the first month, creating a vast community of iPhone photographers.
  • Sales Impact: A 9% increase in iPhone 6 sales was attributed directly to the campaign during its running period.
  • Awards and Recognition: Several accolades for marketing excellence affirm Apple's position as an innovator in both technology and marketing.
  • Influence on Industry: The campaign set a trend in mobile photography, with other brands following suit.

Campaign 1: "It's More Fun in the Philippines" - Department of Tourism Philippines

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This vibrant campaign used catchy slogans, colorful visuals, and infectious local music to promote the Philippines as a top travel destination. It showcased everything from the country's pristine beaches and natural wonders to its rich cultural festivities and the warmth of its people.

The slogan "It's More Fun in the Philippines" became an anthem for both locals and travelers. It captured the heart of what the Philippines offers — an unparalleled blend of beauty, culture, and hospitality. The country saw a significant surge in tourist arrivals, rejuvenating local businesses and attractions. The slogan found its way onto merchandise, social media trends, and even local parlance, truly marking the campaign's success in engraining itself into the global traveler's psyche.

  • Tourism Growth: A staggering 20% increase in international tourist arrivals in the year following the campaign's launch.
  • Economic Impact: An estimated $1 billion boost to the local economy, benefiting various sectors tied to tourism.
  • Social Media Virality: The hashtag #ItsMoreFunInThePhilippines trended worldwide, with over 5 million uses on various platforms.
  • Cultural Promotion: The campaign promoted local culture and natural beauty, creating a sustainable and responsible tourism model.

Break away from the common marketing tactics: Try Stories

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One look at the top travel campaigns we've explored showcases a truth that cannot be ignored: individuality is a cornerstone of successful marketing. From Airbnb emphasizing local experiences to the vibrant charm of Philippine adventures, brands that present a unique, authentic message are the ones that resonate most powerfully with audiences.

As a brand, how do you craft a message that stands out in a saturated market? It's about making it personal. And in the digital age, personalization comes from interactive, engaging, and relatable content.

Try Mobile App Stories from InAppStories!   We take your user engagement and essential mobile metrics under control with our digital toolkit. But why does this matter for travel marketing?

  • Immersive Experiences : Showcase your destinations with full-screen visuals and engaging narratives. Let your potential travelers experience a 'sneak peek' of their journey right from their mobile devices.
  • Real-Time Engagement : With features like polls, sliders, and quizzes, you can gauge traveler preferences instantly. Want to know if they prefer beach holidays over mountain trekking? Just ask!
  • Tailored Recommendations : Using the engagement data, offer personalized travel packages or deals that cater to individual preferences. If a user frequently interacts with beach holiday stories, send them a special offer on a seaside resort package!
  • User-Generated Content : Encourage travelers to share their experiences through Stories within your app. There’s nothing more convincing than real travelers sharing authentic experiences.
  • Stay Updated : Travel advisories, new destination launches, or special discounts – share time-sensitive information instantly through Stories.

InAppStory doesn’t just allow you to share content; it empowers you to create a dialogue, making your marketing efforts a two-way street. By leveraging this powerful tool, your travel brand can achieve a unique voice, one that listens as much as it speaks. Try them now and see how your mobile or web app will change.

Travel marketing for agencies: Latest strategies and SMS solutions

Travel agencies face the challenge of growing and acquiring new customers in a highly competitive industry. This sector has been expanding alongside internet usage and the increasing availability of travel opportunities worldwide.

Table of contents

travel agency marketing campaigns

The travel industry has been expanding shoulder to shoulder with the internet, making digital marketing a key component of growing a travel agency business. Faced with the challenge of captivating an audience with a myriad of choices at their fingertips, travel agencies are now turning to innovative strategies to stand out in a crowded market.

From the immersive experiences of virtual reality tours to the targeted precision of Google and social media ads, there are unprecedented opportunities to engage potential travelers. Read on for an overview of fresh and effective digital marketing strategies that travel agencies can implement to attract and retain a loyal customer base.

9 Marketing strategies for travel agencies

For travel agencies looking to capture the attention of wanderlust-filled consumers, integrating innovative strategies is key. Whether you’re aiming to leverage the latest in digital marketing or refine traditional tactics, these strategies offer a roadmap to success in the competitive travel industry.

1. Showcase destinations in well-crafted videos

Video presentations stand at the forefront of digital marketing for travel agencies. They offer a dynamic and immersive way to showcase the scenery, culture, architecture, and general vibe of a travel destination. With the help of professional video production, travel agencies can transport viewers to their dream destinations, sparking the wanderlust that drives bookings.

Creating vertical videos that can be shared on popular social media platforms further enhances reach and engagement. Short-form travel videos also have a high potential of becoming viral and leading to huge sales of travel packages in record time.

2. Give clients a free trial of your destinations with VR

Virtual Reality (VR) transforms travel marketing into an immersive experience. With the help of a VR set, you can enable travelers to virtually explore the destinations, experiences or attractions you have on offer.

This immersive preview not only aids in decision-making but also builds anticipation and excitement. Travel agencies adopting VR can differentiate themselves by providing an innovative and interactive “free trial” of their travel packages.

3. Optimize your website for Google search

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is crucial for making travel agencies visible in a crowded online space. By optimizing website content with relevant keywords, meta descriptions, and quality backlinks, agencies can improve their search engine ranking, making it easier for potential clients to discover them on Google and other search engines.

If you want to get more foot traffic traffic to your physical location, start doing local SEO by claiming a Google my Business profile or optimizing your pages for relevant “near me” searches.

4. Invest in Google and social media ads

Online paid advertising is pivotal in enhancing a travel agency’s online visibility and reaching potential travelers effectively. Google Ads specifically target users who are actively searching for travel-related terms and bring highly qualified leads to your website.

Platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter offer complex targeting options, including interests, demographics, and behaviors, allowing agencies to tailor their messages to the ideal traveler profile. Social media ads can be crafted to inspire and captivate, using stunning visuals and enticing narratives that resonate with users’ travel aspirations.

5. Encourage travelers to share their experiences online

User-generated content (UGC) , such as reviews, photos, and social media posts, serves as a powerful endorsement for travel agencies. Clients can offer an engaging and authentic perspective of the travel experiences you offer that helps build trust in your brand. Social media posts created by your clients are highly likely to attract other like-minded travelers who will want to book with your agency and create a community around your brand.

6. Offer a loyalty program

Loyalty programs are a great way to encourage clients to book again. By offering points, exclusive deals, and special perks to returning travelers, travel agencies can encourage travelers to rely on them for their vacation plans for the foreseeable future. These programs not only enhance customer retention but also create brand advocates who are likely to recommend the agency to their peers.

7. Get travel influencers on board

Due to the trust and emotional connection influencers build with their audience , influencer marketing works similarly to word-of-mouth but on a huge scale, thanks to the popularity of social media platforms today. By partnering with travel influencers whose followers align with the agency’s target market, agencies can gain access to a highly engaged audience. Instagram influencers ‘ authentic storytelling and visually appealing content can inspire their followers to explore new destinations through the agency.

8. Collaborate with local businesses

Collaborating with local businesses, such as restaurants, tour operators, and cultural sites, can create unique travel packages that offer authentic experiences. These partnerships allow travel agencies to differentiate their offerings and provide added value to travelers. Local collaborations can also enhance the agency’s reputation as a provider of bespoke and authentic travel experiences.

9. Include SMS in your marketing strategy

SMS marketing offers a direct and effective channel for engaging with travelers. With high open rates, text messages can deliver timely promotions, updates, and reminders to travelers’ mobile devices. This strategy is particularly effective for last-minute deals, booking confirmations , and customer service, providing a personal touch that enhances the travel experience.

Each of these strategies offers a unique way to connect with and engage travelers in the digital age. By integrating these approaches, travel agencies can create a comprehensive digital marketing plan that enhances visibility, engages potential travelers, and drives bookings. Naturally, text messaging is the marketing tool we’re actually most excited to talk about.

SMS marketing for travel agencies

Travel agencies often face issues beyond their control that can negatively impact their clients’ experience and perception of your business. Air travel delays or cancellations, lost luggage, severe weather, and accommodation inadequacy are among the few issues that can come up and mess up travelers’ plans.

Business SMS communication allows travel agencies to quickly address clients’ concerns and discontent with the help of features such as text message automation , auto-responders , templates , distribution lists, and more.

Text messages can reach a high number of clients instantly, without the need for an internet connection or installing additional software, and it also doesn’t disrupt travelers’ activities as they can choose if and when to reply to texts sent by their travel agency.

SMS marketing use cases for travel agencies

Advertise travel promotions and new itineraries.

  • Target customers with SMS promotions and deals: By using past purchase information or feedback, set up marketing lists so that you can offer customers deals that they’re more likely to be interested in and increase sales and customer engagement.
  • A/B test text message promotions on fresh leads: Most of the customers in your database probably haven’t purchased anything yet. In this case, you can use A/B testing to see what kind of destinations and experiences they react to so you know how to target them with campaigns accurately.
  • Use subscription rewards to capture leads: You can set up a subscriber rewards campaign on your website or even in the physical office of your travel agency. Whether it’s offering a discount on a flight, hotel, or car rental or giving them a voucher for a free coffee at the airport, opt-in rewards are a great way to expand your contact database.

Send helpful reminders and updates

Text message reminders can be general such as heads up for their check-in and flight time or uber-specific details about their booked experiences and itineraries. Sending your customers tips and ideas that will make their trip better is also an excellent way to increase customer satisfaction. Some ideas could be:

  • Alert travelers about important booking or flight changes: “Hi Jack! Your 11 a.m. flight from New York to Paris has moved to 4 p.m. We are sorry for the inconvenience. Please feel free to contact us at this number for more information.”
  • Let them know what time they should check in for their flight: “Hi Jane, I just wanted to remind you to check in for your 10 a.m. flight from San Francisco to Philadelphia tomorrow by 8 a.m. See you then!”
  • Confirm bookings instantly: Automated hotel booking confirmations, train reservation confirmations, or flight confirmations sent via the Textmagic SMS API will instantly deliver peace of mind to your customers.
  • Give them weather updates for their destination: “Hi Jack, you might want to pack a winter jacket for your trip. The high in Paris tomorrow will be 44 °F and the low 29 °F”.
  • Give them travel tips for their destination: “Hi Jill, did you know Madrid is home to one of Spain’s oldest bullfighting rings? Check out this link for more sites and attractions”.
  • Let them know about airline policy changes: “Hi John, just wanted to make sure you’re updated on American Airlines’ new baggage policy for international flights (include link)”.

These messages accomplish a couple of things. First, they reduce the workload of your ground staff by decreasing the number of phone calls and misunderstandings they might encounter regarding check-ins, baggage policies, etc. Second, they provide valuable and personalized information to the customer that goes beyond regular customer service, improves the overall experience for the customer, and, as a result, increases their loyalty.

Get feedback from travelers

Invite travelers to offer feedback about business-to-customer communication, the destinations and experiences you offered, make sure you know what their general perception of your brand and services is. You can either send an automated text after they come back from a trip to invite them to complete an online survey or use SMS polls. Use the information you gather to address criticisms and low-scoring areas of your travel services.

According to ThinkJar stats , 70% of companies providing the best-in-class customer experience use customer feedback (as opposed to an industry average of 50%). Feedback is the ideal way to plan your customer service strategies. A poll not only gives you helpful information about your customers’ experiences, but it also sends them the message that their opinions are important to you.

Business text messaging benefits for travel agencies

For travel agencies eager to expand their reach and elevate the traveler experience, embracing the benefits of business text messaging could be the game-changer they need. Here are the main advantages:

Large audience reach

Sending text messages is easy and cost-effective, and there are fewer communication barriers between the company and customers. People are able to receive your text on any phone, without requiring an internet connection or installing any additional apps.

Increased customer satisfaction

SMS as a customer service solution has been receiving much attention because it’s fast, reliable, and personal, yet not disruptive. In an industry where customer satisfaction hugely influences people’s decisions to stick with a brand or go on to the next one, SMS becomes an opportunity to stay ahead of the curve.

Easy customer database growth

Website visitors are high-intent leads you should take full advantage of. Get them on your marketing lists with website sms subscribe forms . Create a customized form in the Textmagic web app, copy the generated code, and simply embed it into your website.

Boost productivity

Beyond marketing, SMS is a great channel for internal communication and can be used to streamline the efforts of your team or increase the productivity of customer care representatives.

Useful SMS templates for travel agencies

Attract more customers and build loyalty with our cost-effective SMS templates for travel agencies.

1.Last-minute deals

2.retargeting deals, 3.holiday package offers, 4.discounted flights, 5.customer feedback, 6.flight reminders, business texting features for your travel agency.

Sign up for a Textmagic trial and improve your marketing strategy and communication with our easy-to-use SMS features :

  • Incoming SMS automation: Automatically and instantly respond to customer requests via SMS and improve their satisfaction.
  • Zapier SMS integrations: Integrate with your favorite apps to automate your marketing campaign and increase revenue.
  • Global SMS coverage: Reach customers in 190+ countries and 1,000 mobile networks and receive responses from them.
  • Scheduled text messages: Automatically send alerts and reminders at specific times to raise customers’ loyalty.
  • Long text messages: Send travel texts up to 918 characters in length to include more useful information.
  • SMS distribution lists: Segment your audience and send targeted travel offers via the Email to SMS service.

By embracing the outlined techniques, travel agencies can enhance their market presence, engage more effectively with potential customers, and secure a stronger foothold in the global travel market.

Success in this sector is not just about reaching out — it’s about connecting meaningfully with travelers and offering them unforgettable experiences. As the industry continues to evolve, so too should the marketing approaches of travel agencies, ensuring they remain at the forefront of travelers’ minds in a world of endless opportunities.

travel agency marketing campaigns

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travel agency marketing campaigns

The Best Marketing Campaigns for Travel and Tourism

An in-depth guide to the best-performing digital campaigns for marketers in the travel and tourism industry to drive engagement, conversion, and long-term relationships with their customers.

travel agency marketing campaigns

By Michael Lee

15 min read

Introduction

Almost every industry was transformed by the pandemic, but none so much as the travel and tourism industry.

Now that the world has opened back up, people are making plans with renewed enthusiasm and new priorities. Staying home left people with a lot of time to daydream about their next travel destination and the lingering items on their bucket lists. Generic travel excursions are out and unique, personalized experiences are in as consumers search for more meaningful vacations. That search usually begins and ends online, and your digital marketing must keep up with this quick-moving audience motivated by pent-up demand.

How do you stand out from the crowd with your digital marketing strategies and tap into what this hungry audience wants? Your competitors are vying for their attention too, and you don’t want to be left behind.

If you're considering an upcoming tourism campaign, upgrading your social media marketing, or just looking for something other than traditional marketing strategies, you're not alone. Companies across the world have come to the realization that now is the time to use every tool possible to attract and retain new customers in their target audience.

Here’s a guide on the best-performing travel marketing campaigns and tourism marketing campaigns and how you can use them to your advantage to take your digital advertising to new heights.

travel agency marketing campaigns

Campaigns That Increase Conversion Rates

Travel and tourism campaigns that increase conversion rates, automated price drop notifications.

Customers want to find the best price without having to constantly monitor your site for updates.

Give deal hunters and budget-conscious travelers an enticing reason to become a subscriber (and eventually a customer) by providing them with the option to watch their desired flights and bookings. Automatically send a price drop notification or availability update as soon as there is a change. Plus, you can use your visitors’ preference data to offer them relevant recommendations as alternatives in case there are no new updates regarding their desired destination.

AI-powered Personalized Recommendations

Sub-par, irrelevant search experiences are incredibly frustrating. Visitors want recommendations of products and services they would actually want to purchase.

Using native AI recommendations, you can make your customers feel like you’re reading their minds by serving them personalized offers on flights, hotels, car rentals, and more based on their past behavior, then matching them with real-time, available inventory. You can choose a model that suits your needs, such as collaborative filtering, which harnesses user and product data to provide recommendations based on customers with similar interests.

Contextual Personalization

Providing the best possible customer experience is dependent on you truly understanding your visitors. What are their purchase drivers? Is it price? Convenience? Exclusivity, perhaps? Without understanding each visitor’s context, you can’t deliver true real-time 1:1 personalization.

AI-driven contextual personalization provides a major edge in A/B testing by determining which offer a customer is most likely to convert with from the very start of the testing. Whether it’s a discount, a free service, or a service upgrade, AI can help you match the right promotion to the right customer at the right time, offering a faster path to valuable insights and results than traditional A/B testing.

Personalized Newsletters

Newsletters typically have lower engagement and conversion rates — mostly because they are automated and on batch-and-blast schedule

Email is a noisy place to attempt to reach potential travelers, so it’s no surprise that newsletters typically have low engagement and conversion rates — mostly because they’re usually generic. Grab your prospect’s attention with personalized emails that feel so relevant to their interests that they have to click. For example, to engage a potential customer who has a clear affinity for Spain, customize the email to lead with a header image of Barcelona followed by trip ideas to Mallorca and Ibiza. This can be done through advanced customer segmentation, combining zero- and first-party data to come up with a list of criteria for your customer to be added to a segment.

Abandoned Bookings Retargeting

Your visitors are thinking about booking with you and even take the step of adding to cart or getting to the reservation page. Then…nothing happens.

An abandoned booking is an excellent opportunity for conversion. Using a variety of channels, you’ll want to get in front of your prospect everywhere they go online to remind them (“hey, you forgot something”) and sweeten the deal with special discount offers. Your retargeting campaigns should include email, SMS, push notifications, and paid ads on social media, where you can use Facebook Conversion API to serve prospects dynamic information about their unfinished bookings. Personalize your ad content to get higher conversion rates and reduce customer acquisition costs.

Prediction-based Goals

How do you really know you’re targeting the right customers and not wasting valuable ad spend?

Using AI prediction models, you can determine which visitors are most likely to book a trip or identify those unlikely to. From there, you should create a different set of goals for each of these two segments. For prospects likely to book, provide an immediate bonus during their session and increase in-session goal completions; for those unlikely to make a purchase during the session, offer an incentive for them to subscribe to your email newsletter and focus on converting them further down the line.

Zero-party Data Collection

Expectations for data privacy continue to rise, which means companies need a better approach to gathering traveller data and preferences.

The best data is data you can trust. Using zero-party data collection , ask your visitors to tell you their preferences directly. Allow them to configure their own experiences by providing you with their preferred destinations, price ranges, number of travellers, and more. Use personalization tools to collect these directly on your website and app, and adjust their offers in real time.

Local Social Proof Recommendations

Travellers tend to trust recommendations from other travellers, but how do you surface these to them in a meaningful way?

Showing the most popular destinations for those in your subscriber’s region can act as social proof and inspiration to choose the next trip. What are other Berliners looking for? Where are your neighbours spending their vacations? What experiences are people closest to you looking for? Use this info to present relevant offers on your website and app or via email.

travel agency marketing campaigns

Campaigns That Increase Long-term Customer Lifetime Value (CLTV)

Campaigns that increase customer lifetime value (cltv), omnichannel welcome flow.

Your ideal prospects have recently subscribed, but they’re not yet ready to make a booking.

Go beyond email in welcoming new subscribers. In addition to launching an automated welcome email series — designed to introduce customers to your brand and ultimately incentivize them to make a purchase — create an omnichannel campaign that helps you stay top of mind. Using SMS/MMS, push notifications, in-app messages, and paid ad content, you can stay visible at multiple points of a prospect’s buying journey. When they’re finally ready to book a trip, they’ll be more likely to choose your brand.

Find Customers on Social Using High-intent Lookalike Audiences

You’ve had success gaining valuable customers, but now you want to win over more high-value travellers. How can you target your ideal audience?

Once you’ve incorporated a solid social media strategy into your omnichannel approach, you can create lookalike audiences to find high-intent prospects with similar purchasing potential. Based on a seed list of your own first-party customer data — which can include past behavior, customer attributes, and predictions — you can target new customer segments with the highest lifetime value on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat.

Best Channel Prediction

The nature of digital media and the modern buyer journey means your customers interact with your brand across multiple channels and touchpoints. How do you know which channel your customer is likely to show up on and convert?

In the travel industry, the decision-making process is longer than it is in general retail, so it’s important to find the channels where your customers are active to stay top of mind in the long term. Using AI predictions, you can determine the channels where a customer is most likely to engage with your content, which makes your distribution more effective and increases conversion rates.

Upsell Campaigns

You’ve already spent valuable marketing dollars to get visitors to choose your brand. Now, you need to maximize booking value to increase ROI.

After all the hard work of acquiring a new customer, it’s time to show them what else you can offer. Using the information from their purchase and the zero- and first-party data you’ve been collecting, hook them again as they prepare for their trip and increase the booking value. Create an upsell/cross-sell campaign featuring engaging content about recommendations of places to visit and activities to do, combined with additional services such as room upgrades, extra luggage, car rentals, and more. Emails are the most effective way to do this, as they can be seamlessly integrated with transactional communication.

Transactional and Marketing Communications Combines

Visitors expect consistent and personalized communications from travel companies to make their experience a good one.

Some of the most effective travel email campaigns combine savvy storytelling and stunning visuals with transactional calls-to-action — and, as a best practice, the more personalized, the better. By using the same email service provider (ESP) for both transactional and marketing communication, you can maintain consistency in messaging, branding, and templates. But most importantly, you can also combine the information a customer is looking for with additional offers to capitalise on high engagement.

Seasonal Promotions

Travellers seek to plan ahead by searching for the best deals during holidays or festive periods, and don’t want to be disappointed with a lack of availability or unaffordable prices.

Many people travel for events or have event-based travel on their bucket list, and it’s advantageous to find those customers and appeal to this desire. Start by identifying audiences who frequent seasonal events — for example, a music festival such as Tomorrowland or a cultural event like Oktoberfest — using data available from browsing behavior, past purchases, and recent views. Then, target them well in advance of the event with available inventory and the most up-to-date pricing ahead of the peak rush. Your customers will feel you’re looking out for them and their interests and you’ll drive repeat bookings — a win-win.

travel agency marketing campaigns

Build Customer Loyalty

Campaigns that build customer loyalty, thank your customer campaigns.

The most loyal visitors want to feel appreciated. If you don’t do enough for them, you won’t be able to push them to be brand ambassadors.

Nurture and thank your most loyal visitors — your “customer champions” — with rewards and special offers. You can find these customer champions by using RFM (recency, frequency, and monetary) segmentation, which will keep your loyal customers list up to date. Then, create a loyalty email series using loyalty tiers segmentation. Use data about average time between bookings to find the perfect time to email them and offer a special bonus for their next journey. Your customer champions will love it and it’ll grow your CLTV.

Win-back Campaigns

When customers haven’t made a booking in a while, it’s easy for them to completely lapse and never interact with your brand again.

Don’t let a customer forget about you, which can be common in the crowded travel landscape. Using RFM segmentation, you can target customers who have made a purchase in the past, but haven’t purchased recently. Launch a personalized win-back campaign using data from their past and current preferences and purchases to provide them with recommendations of similar offers, as well as new offers to discover.

Gamify Loyalty Programs and Rewards

Customers are increasingly choosing brands that provide meaningful experiences with their personal data and reward loyalty in an interesting way.

Take your loyalty program to the next level by incorporating games that incentive customers to purchase more frequently and trade their loyalty points for rewards. Spin-to-win games, friend-referral challenges, and more tap into multiple aspects of psychology including reward-seeking behavior and competitiveness. Using personalized content, create special offers for achieving new loyalty levels and reward long-term champions with discounts based on their point totals.

Feedback Campaigns

Not knowing what your customers liked or didn’t like about their visit will only lead to making the same mistakes in the future.

Close the loop on each booking by following up with a feedback email campaign that asks your customers to fill out a survey about their experience. Use the feedback data to score your customers based on their experience and create customer segments based on that feedback score. With real-time connection to your CRM or help desk systems, you can filter out customers who have a booking issue (cancellation, delay, change, etc.) and send them automatically to the help desk. The same can be done with those who provide negative feedback to immediately take action.

Reengagement Campaigns

The people in your database who have been inactive for a long time provide a great opportunity to regain revenue and create new loyal customers, but it’s not always easy to know how to start reengaging them.

When customers go dark — as in not clicking on any of your emails or other content — it’s time for a reengagement campaign. Track down these customers where they are online using omnichannel orchestration , targeting them through email, SMS, push notifications, in-app, or paid ad campaigns on Google or social media. Ask them clearly and simply why they stopped engaging. It helps to incentivize them by offering a gift or prize for providing feedback. This best practice strengthens your relationship with customers and also improves your lists. Reengagement campaigns should be used as a last attempt before unsubscribing an inactive user yourself — a healthy database brings a better customer experience, as you only send content to those who are interested in it.

travel agency marketing campaigns

Don't Settle For Less Than The Best With Travel Marketing Campaigns

With travellers both eager to get out and more particular than ever with who they purchase from, you’ll need to take advantage of a marketing campaign like the ones mentioned above to inspire travelers to establish loyalty with your brand.

If you’re ready to put some (or all) of these into practice, then look no further than Bloomreach Engagement . Our powerful platform unifies your customer data into a single customer view, making it easy to launch omnichannel campaigns across 13 channels. Plus, our AI makes it possible to personalize content and recommendations for your customers in real time, so you can drive faster ROI in a competitive industry.

Learn more about how Bloomreach Engagement can facilitate the best travel marketing campaigns today.

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Blog / Digital Marketing / Top 20+ Digital Marketing Strategies for Travel Agencies in 2024

Top 20+ Digital Marketing Strategies for Travel Agencies in 2024

Posted by gmi blogger posted in digital marketing.

In 2024, the question is not whether to invest in digital marketing, but how to do it effectively.

As your travelers are digitally connected, digital marketing has become the primary avenue to reach customers.

A prime example of this is Nova Scotia’s ‘Stay Longer ’ digital marketing campaign, which stands as a testament to the power of digital marketing in creating meaningful connections with audiences and promoting unique experiences.

This leaves no room for doubt about the necessity of digital marketing in the travel and tourism business.

As the digital world is ever-evolving, strategies that worked yesterday may be outdated today.

With this in mind, this article will guide you through the top 20 digital marketing strategies that are poised to make a significant impact in the travel industry this year.

Top 20 Digital Marketing Strategies for Travel Agencies

Digital marketing strategies for travel agencies must be current and innovative.

Every potential traveler enjoys staying updated with the latest gadgets and technologies.

Therefore, relying on outdated strategies may result in missed opportunities to connect with them.

travel agency marketing campaigns

Let us explore the top 20 digital marketing strategies for 2024 below:- 

1. Develop a user-friendly website

A user-friendly website is an essential part of a digital marketing strategy for travel brands in 2024.

Having a good mobile-friendly website helps in many ways.

The website for a travel brand should have an easy-to-use layout that makes choosing and booking trips simple.

Along with appealing destination images, website visitors can be welcomed with other useful information like trip guides, travel advice, and so on.

It is also good to provide travelers with a chance to share their experiences via social media channels that are part of the website.

If the website suggests customized itineraries based on the data received from the website, customers are enticed to explore more. 

2. Use server-side tracking

As privacy concerns shape the digital landscape, Server-Side Tracking ensures enhanced security and privacy compliance by shifting data processing from browsers to servers.

This not only safeguards user privacy but also provides more accurate insights into their behaviors.

It sets the stage for a more secure and informed marketing approach.

It’s a pivotal step to adapt to evolving privacy regulations and diminish the reliance on third-party cookies.

This fosters better relationships with your audience through responsible data management.

3. Mobile optimization

A large portion of tourists today utilize mobile devices for trip planning and booking, thus mobile optimisation is an essential component of any digital marketing plan.

As search engines like Google favor mobile-friendly websites, a site that is optimized for mobile devices not only enhances user experience but also helps with search engine rankings. 

4. Create high-quality content

Crafting compelling and informative content is crucial for travel agencies to attract their audience.

By providing valuable insights into destinations, travel tips, and unique experiences, agencies establish themselves as authoritative voices in the industry.

Quality content contributes to enhanced search engine visibility, creating a narrative that entices potential travelers.

Shareable blog posts, visually appealing multimedia, and engaging social media content foster connections and attract organic traffic.

This strategy not only boosts the agency’s reputation but also cultivates customer trust and loyalty in the competitive digital landscape.

Creating quality content is the key to standing out and making a lasting impact in the travel sector.

5. Email marketing

travel agency marketing campaigns

In 2024, sending tailored emails to subscribers is a key component of email marketing for travel brands.

These emails frequently include bargains, travel advice, and information about popular destinations.

The secret is to send different postcards to different people.

You group the items on your list according to what the travelers enjoy.

Beach lovers receive beach-themed emails, and mountain fans receive snow-themed updates.

These emails heavily rely on visual components, such as eye-catching graphics and tailored recommendations.

Metrics like open rates and click-through rates are used to understand the effectiveness of e-mail marketing. 

6. Social media marketing

Social media marketing can help travel companies in a variety of ways.

For example, social media sites like Instagram display breathtaking images of distinctive lodgings and entice tourists to visit new places.

Also, specialized Facebook advertisements make sure the right people see their services.

Paid promotions on social media not only bring in more visitors but also aim at the right audience.

Quick updates, engaging content, and happy customer stories create a direct connection, building trust with potential travelers.

Using the active nature of social media, travel agencies can stay in the spotlight.

They can use it as a strong tool for advertising, connecting with customers, and building loyalty in the competitive travel industry.

7. Paid advertising campaigns

Along with organic traffic, travel businesses should also invest money in paid advertising campaigns in 2024.

This pushes their website into a prominent position in the paid search results, helping travelers find them quite easily.

To retarget potential clients who have already visited their website, they should also run display ads on a variety of websites.

Using platforms like Google Ads and Facebook Ads, agencies can accurately reach the people they want.

Well-made ads with catchy words and appealing pictures don’t just make more people know about the brand but also bring in measurable results.

8. Influencer marketing

travel agency marketing campaigns

Influencer marketing is the trending marketing strategy of 2024.

The technique is quite simple, a travel brand teams up with an influencer with a large social media presence.

This influencer in turn creates engaging content showcasing the agency’s premium packages, staying at luxurious resorts, and experiencing exclusive activities.

The followers are easily enticed to book their trips through the travel agency. 

9. Video marketing

Videos provide a dynamic medium to convey the fun of travel.

Things like live streams and behind-the-scenes footage can foster real-time connections with potential travelers.

Therefore, all travel agencies should consider adopting a video marketing strategy in 2024.

This can help them effectively showcase their destinations and services, as demonstrated by Airbnb’s “ Live There ” campaign.

In this campaign, local hosts crafted short videos sharing their experiences in various locations, establishing a heartfelt connection with the audience.

This emotional engagement inspired viewers to explore vacations with Airbnb.

Platforms like YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok serve as excellent avenues for sharing immersive travel stories, ranging from virtual tours to destination highlights.

10. App marketing

In 2024, it’s crucial for travel agencies to create a user-friendly app, considering everyone’s on their phones.

Promoting the app through email campaigns, social media, and teaming up with travel influencers is essential.

Offering special discounts or in-app perks can motivate users to download and use it.

To maintain a positive app reputation, regular updates, good user feedback, and helpful customer service are necessary.

Agencies can use push notifications to share exclusive deals and updates directly with users.

The app becomes a convenient solution for managing itineraries, booking services, and accessing real-time travel info.

Exclusive app promotions boost downloads and repeat usage, while integrated loyalty programs and personalized suggestions not only build brand loyalty but also provide valuable insights for refining services.

11. Virtual reality (VR) and Augmented reality (AR)

Imagine giving visitors the option to virtually explore hotels or destinations before making a reservation, all from the comfort of their homes.

Marriott Hotels is a noteworthy example of a company that has adopted this digital marketing strategy.

The “VRoom Service,” introduced by Marriott Hotels, allows visitors to order VR headsets for their rooms.

These headsets allowed visitors to take virtual tours of numerous travel locations, which ultimately piqued their interest in making new travel arrangements.

Along with raising brand engagement, this immersive experience also enhanced reservations and consumer happiness.

Similar to other industries, travel companies can use VR and AR to offer immersive previews of their products, letting clients “try before they buy” increasing their excitement and knowledge of their travel choices.

12. Geo-targeted SEO

travel agency marketing campaigns

Geo-targeted SEO is a strategic method that focuses on targeting audiences, enabling travel businesses to engage with travelers who are actively searching in specific geographical areas, thus boosting the chances of conversions.

In the competitive world of travel, SEO not only helps maintain competitiveness but also ensures efforts are directed towards the right audience.

The use of geo landing pages, local SEO optimization , and the creation of localized landing pages all contribute to increased visibility, improved user experience, and higher traffic for travel businesses.

From keeping Google Business Profiles updated to managing online reputation, every aspect of local SEO services enhances the broader Geo-targeted SEO strategy, ensuring that travel brands excel and prosper in the digital world.

13. Retargeting and remarketing

Retargeting and remarketing are essential digital marketing techniques in 2024.

They entail showing customised advertisements to visitors who have browsed the agency’s website or connected with their content in the past but haven’t made a reservation.

For instance, if a user looks up flights to Paris but leaves without booking any tickets, the algorithm will track the user and remind them of tempting offers on flights or hotel bookings in Paris.

This retargeting or remarketing technique maintains the agency’s name in the consumer’s mind. 

14. Social media utilization

Social media platforms, with their vast user bases and visual appeal, offer effective ways to reach and engage potential travellers.

They provide targeted advertising, influencer collaborations, e-commerce integration, and analytics tools, all of which offer additional benefits to travel agencies.

Being present on these platforms ensures brand visibility, builds trust, and allows for adaptability to evolving consumer trends, making it a crucial strategy for success in the competitive travel industry.

In addition to their core features, these platforms often introduce new initiatives that can benefit businesses in the travel sector.

For instance, in 2022, Meta launched the #ReelAdventures campaign to promote the use of Facebook and Instagram Reels for sharing travel experiences in Kenya.

This campaign was a huge hit among travel enthusiasts.

In 2024, travel agencies can tap into such campaigns or create similar ones to engage with their audience and promote their offerings in a more interactive and personal way.

15. Chatbots and live chat

travel agency marketing campaigns

Leveraging tools like chatbots and live chat can significantly enhance a travel agency’s ability to respond swiftly to customer inquiries.

A chatbot can provide instant information on various locations or packages, addressing traveler inquiries promptly and efficiently.

This immediate response system can greatly improve customer satisfaction.

On the other hand, live chat offers a more personalized touch.

A live chat representative can provide tailored recommendations based on the specific needs and preferences of the traveler, significantly enhancing their journey and making them feel valued and understood.

16. Social media contests and giveaways

To boost their online presence, travel agencies can run fun contests on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter.

By giving away cool travel prizes, they get people excited and motivated to share with friends.

This not only spreads the word but also creates a sense of community and loyalty.

Social media contests are a great way for agencies to connect with users, making them more aware of the brand. 

These contests create buzz and draw in potential travelers who want to explore what the agency has in store.

17. Google my business

Google My Business (GMB) is a vital tool for businesses, providing essential details like contact information and operating hours, and ensuring visibility in local search results.

In 2024, its significance is further amplified as travelers increasingly rely on GMB listings for swift decisions.

To get new clients, travel agencies should enhance their GMB profiles with compelling descriptions and top-notch photos.

Leveraging features like posts and Q&A allows direct engagement with potential travelers, while positive reviews and high ratings build trust, influencing decision-making.

With mobile users heavily dependent on local searches, an optimized GMB profile becomes indispensable for travel agencies vying for attention in the local market.

18. Online reviews and testimonials 

travel agency marketing campaigns

Positive reviews and genuine testimonials prominently showcased on platforms like TripAdvisor or Yelp, wield significant influence over prospective travelers’ choices.

Responsively engaging with both positive and negative reviews demonstrates a commitment to customer satisfaction.

Transparency and honesty in addressing feedback are paramount.

Incorporating these reviews into social media, and the agency’s website enhances their reach, crafting a compelling narrative that resonates with a wider audience.

This strategic integration not only boosts bookings but also fosters brand loyalty as travelers are drawn to the authentic experiences shared by others, creating a positive and trustworthy image for the agency.

19. Get involved in social media travel groups

In 2024, engaging in travel-centric social media groups proves to be a good strategy.

Take Expedia’s Viewfinder Community , a blog where travel enthusiasts and professionals exchange stories and recommendations.

By actively participating in social media groups and forums, like those on Facebook and Instagram, agencies can forge direct connections with passionate travelers.

Expedia, for instance, not only shares insights but also actively engages in discussions, gaining valuable insights into the preferences and trends of its audience.

This approach fosters close relationships, positioning agencies to better understand and cater to the ever-evolving tastes of travelers.

20. Personalize your marketing

Personalization gives the digital world a human touch by doing everything from recommending places based on previous searches to addressing consumers by name.

It involves anticipating visitors’ requirements, providing them with special offers, and interacting with them.

Through dynamic content, location-based offers, and customized recommendations, every traveler feels like their journey is  going to be unique.

The future of travel is digital, and these 20 strategies provide a roadmap for travel agencies to successfully navigate their digital marketing journey.

A key takeaway for businesses in the travel and tourism sector is the importance of aligning their marketing efforts with special occasions, such as popular festivals or cultural holidays.

Such targeted marketing campaigns, offering special deals and packages, can have a significant impact.

They generate travel interest in the minds of people and lead to increased bookings.

The ROI of digital marketing campaigns can be higher.

Another important strategy is teaming up with other businesses like hotels and airlines.

This can be a big advantage.

TripAdvisor, a well-known travel review and booking site, showcases partnerships with restaurants, museums, and attractions worldwide.

These businesses can manage their TripAdvisor profiles, interact with customers by responding to reviews, updating info, and offering exclusive deals.

Such collaborations can enhance the customer experience and boost business growth.

Global Media Insight is a pioneer in the field of digital marketing with over 23 years of experience. We offer web design and website development along with SEO services for travel and tourism , real estate, ecommerce and other major industries. Our team prioritizes customer engagement through innovative marketing approaches. We can make your travel business better for visitors and help you succeed in the tough digital landscape of 2024! Contact us today!

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5 Awesome Travel Marketing Campaigns

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Building a clever and memorable travel marketing campaign can be a challenge for most travel marketers. Especially with numerous travel agencies, airlines, and hotels, the competition for brand awareness can really heat up.

A lot of marketing campaigns are a dime a dozen, especially when they attempt to leverage a multichannel approach by bridging both online and offline platforms.

We searched far and wide for some of the most compelling travel marketing campaigns out there. You’ll notice a common trait amongst these marketing campaigns, which is they all share is a multichannel approach. Whether it’s social media, video content, display, email or direct marketing, using an integrated approach helps travel marketers build a campaign that compels consumers to go on their next travel adventure.

Here’s a roundup of five travel and tourism marketing campaigns you should check out.

Westin Hotels & Resorts – You Need Better Vacation Days

Westin Hotels & Resorts is a leading wellness and hospitality organization with over 200 hotels in nearly 40 countries.

What’s different about Westin Hotels & Resorts from other organizations is their position on empowering the well-being of their consumers. Most notably, right on their website homepage is the message of “Empowering Your Well-Being.” Even when you’re looking to book a stay, the message includes “Stay Well at Westin.”

Westin Homepage

In true Westin fashion, one of their recent travel marketing campaigns aimed to put vacations back on the forefront for busy professionals.

There was a lot of media coverage on how Americans were leaving too many vacation days on the table. According to a study by Oxford Economics , American workers on average used just 16 of their available 21 vacation days. This added up to about 169 million vacation days and $52.4 billion in lost benefits.

To help busy professionals take their vacation days back, Westin launched the You Need Better Vacation Days campaign . They promoted something called the “Out of Officer Generator” which was a digital tool that made a custom, tongue-in-cheek automatic response for your email inbox and social media channels.

Westin OOO Generator

Why make your own out of office reply when you can generate a funny, quirky one?

Westin OOO Message

People were able to visit the website and generate their own out of office replies. Similar to the example below, Westin’s humor really shined through. In a humorous way, Westin was able to poke fun at a growing challenge for many busy professionals.

Are you going to take time off and travel? Westin thinks so.

Travelocity – Where the Gnomes Roam

Travelocity is an online travel agency most notably known for one of their popular integrated marketing campaign with the Roaming Gnome .

Essentially, the Roaming Gnome is a lawn ornament placed in some of the most beautiful locations across the globe. Travelocity’s Roaming Gnome became a social media star and eventually the smiling face of the brand.

With a strong presence on Twitter, Facebook, and his own blog, the Roaming Gnome’s travel adventures have been well documented. In one of Travelocity’s most recent adventures called Cabin Fever: Finding The Cure , the campaign promoted winter getaway deals on Travelocity including skiing and beach locations.

Travelocity Roaming Gnome

According to Victoria Tryger, CMO of Travelocity North America, “Using the gnome is a fun way to get them inspired and to interact with our brand. It all ties into a big sale; it is all about encouraging consumers to get out and take their ski or beach vacations.”

The campaign promoted consumers to interact with the gnome and vote for his three winter trips on Travelocity’s social media pages. The website also collected user-generated content of other travelers sharing photos of themselves on their winter trips as well.

Roaming Gnome

Outside of this specific winter campaign, fans of the Roaming Gnome can follow his ongoing travels on Twitter. Catch him roaming the streets of Austin, Texas or sipping on a Pina Colada on the beaches of Puerto Rico.

Recently, he teamed up with Thrifty Car Rental for a road trip which he documented on social media for followers to tag along.

The documentation of the road trip included photos of landmarks and tips on things to do. His adventures generated nearly 800,000 impressions, 106,000 engagements just on social media alone. In total, the campaign generated 1.5 million impressions through social media, website, email and digital advertisements.

Booking.com – Wing Everything

Drop everything, pack your bags and let’s go on an impromptu road trip. Booking.com’s campaign called Wing Everything campaign captures the spontaneous impulse to make the most of your summer to go on a holiday adventure.

Sean Condon, Wieden+Kennedy’s Creative Director mentioned “It has Booking.com’s typical energy, spirit, and boldness. It also has a very distinct point of view on summer, a theme that all too easily dissolves into cliché.”

The main component of this marketing campaign is a fast-paced 30-second video with jazzy hitting drums, quick video cuts, moving visuals and a lot of summer vacation fun. Created by the talented folks at Wieden+Kennedy, the video can be seen on Booking.com’s digital hub which also includes user-generated content from real travelers. This campaign was run across different locations such as the U.S. and U.K. through different mediums such as print, radio, digital and social media.

Now, we’re not saying you should drop everything and hop on a plane, but if this video makes you do so then kudos to Booking.com.

Club Med – Escape a la Club Med

Club Med is one of the largest global travel agencies which has been around since 1950. The Club Med brand has really become a household name lately with their content strategy.

One of Club Med’s most notable travel marketing campaigns is Escape a la Club Med which drew on the idea that people today need to slow down and disconnect. This messaging was demonstrated through one of their marketing taglines “swap the computer screen for the sunscreen.”

Through a multi-channel approach which included their website, email, social media and direct mail, they delivered a message that helped them stand out. As Alicia Javelin, head of Content and Product Marketing pointed out, “We really wanted to state things in a fun way, to be a bit different in tone, maybe even a little bit quirky.”

The video below is just one example of a compelling piece of content that tells the Club Med brand story.

WestJet – Christmas Miracle

WestJet has been leading the path in travel and tourism with content marketing over the past few years. Their Christmas Miracle campaign stood out to deliver a memorable and heartfelt experience for customers and employees.

By leveraging content marketing, WestJet created their 2015 holiday campaign called “WestJet Christmas Miracle.” Through the use of video content, the goal of the campaign was to encourage 12,000 WestJetters to perform 12,000 random acts of kindness on December 9th over a 24 hour time period and submit them through social media.

This campaign involved everyone within the WestJet network, 101 bases in total and evolved quickly over the globe. Their own employees were encouraged to participate in the campaign. 12,000 WestJet employees were given Blue Santa hats, instructions to perform miracles, and supported with a budget to activate these little miracles across airports.

Start Your Next Travel Marketing Campaign

We hope these five travel marketing campaigns inspire you to kickstart your next campaign, if not then hopefully it encourages you to disconnect and travel the world. What are your favorite travel marketing campaigns? Share them in a comment or Tweet us @PostBeyond .

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Email Marketing for Travel Agencies: The Complete Guide

travel agency marketing campaigns

Rida Ali Khan

Table of contents.

“Travel brings power and love back to one’s life.” - Rumi

Indeed it does. 

People love to travel. In fact, even saying this seems like an understatement. However, in 2020, the travel industry had to face some serious challenges due to the unfortunate pandemic. 

Statistics say that the decline in travel spending due to Covid-19 resulted in a $500 billion loss. But hey! The rough patch is over, and it’s high time that you and all other travel marketers start inviting people to resume their jet-set lifestyles. 

And with 80% of businesses using email to acquire and sustain their customers, it’s safe to say that email marketing is the best way to build and nurture relationships with new and old customers. 

Doubtful? Well, then the following reasons will convince you why travel email marketing is advantageous. 

How Beneficial Is Travel Email Marketing Exactly?

Advantages of travel email marketing

If the animal kingdom represented marketing, then email marketing will be the lion, for sure. 

Email marketing earns this title because of its consistent record of informing subscribers well, effectively boosting sales, and promoting brands. 

According to research, 58% of people say checking emails is the first thing they do in the morning. Plus, email marketing allows you to send segmented and personalized messages to your customers. Segmented campaigns alone result in a 760% increase in revenue. 

Additionally, the success of email marketing can be proven by the fact that 87% of B2B marketers use it for the successful distribution of content. Also, the travel industry has a pretty high average email open rate, i.e., 20.44% . The competition is crazy.

So, if you want to win over your subscribers, you must go the extra mile to be the best. Keep on reading to know all the tips and techniques to run a successful travel email marketing campaign.  

We’ll start by telling you the types of emails that you can send as a travel agency.

Types of Travel Emails You Can Send to Your Subscribers

Contemplating on what exactly to send? Well, you can send different types of emails to your subscribers depending on where they are on their customer journey. These types are mentioned below;

Welcome emails

Welcome emails are the first impression you give to your subscribers; make sure it’s a solid one. ​​Welcome emails are reported to have an open rate of 91.43% . 

You can add more charm to your welcome email by giving your subscribers a special discount offer, introducing your brand, or by giving them instructions for the future. 

Here’s a welcome email template that you’d love to use or take inspiration from. 

Example of welcome email template for travel email marketing

Exclusive offer emails

Want to secure your customers for another trip with you?

Then send emails that have a loyal customer, birthday, or a basic discount offer. You can do this by giving a special discount offer for their next trip or creating a campaign where you give them reward points for each trip they take. 

It’s a clever tactic to keep your customers hooked on traveling with your company. Here’s a sample template that you can use or refer to;

Exclusive offer email template for travel email marketing

Newsletter emails 

Newsletters are great for nurturing relationships with your subscribers. You can give valuable information about your services, feature the best locations to visit, or add useful details about some tourist destinations. 

The following newsletter template will allow you to add the information mentioned above perfectly and its eye-catching design will stand out in your reader’s inbox.

Newsletter email template for travel email marketing

Thank you emails

Thank you emails make your customers feel that they are appreciated. Also, it provides you with a chance to get valuable feedback about your services. 

You can send these right after your subscribers book your service or after they have traveled with you. Add a vibrant call-to-action button if you wish to take their feedback through survey or review forms.

Take a look at this attractive-looking thank you email template below;

Thank you email template for travel email marketing

Notification/Confirmation emails 

If your customer books a holiday or tour with your company, then send them transactional or confirmation emails . 

These emails have an open rate of 65% . You can give them trip details, an order summary, or a general heads up about the trip they are going to take with you in these confirmation emails. 

Take a look at this template below and you would understand better; 

Confirmation email template for travel email marketing

Promotional emails 

If you want your subscribers to make decisions in your favor, then send them promotional emails. You can tell them about special places to visit, introduce them to new services you’re offering, or help them select the best package. 

Here’s a promotional email template below that can grab your customer’s attention instantly. 

Promotional email template for travel email marketing

10 Tips to Create High-Performing Travel Emails 

Convincing people to travel with you is not that easy. People are super picky (read: sensitive) about their travel experiences.

But we’re here as your knight in shining armor; because below, we have mentioned the 10 necessary tips to create a travel email marketing campaign that is highly likely to convince your subscribers. 

1. Think of campaign ideas that customers will love

First things first, select a campaign idea. 

If your mind feels like a blank slate, look at the campaign ideas mentioned below. These can help you create high-performing travel emails. 

Campaign ideas for travel email marketing

  • Add testimonials to woo your subscribers

Want to know the power of testimonials? 

According to research, 93% of consumers say that online reviews influence their purchase decisions. So, create and send emails that have testimonials from happy clients. These can be in the form of videos, pictures, and/or written reviews. 

By doing so, you increase your reader’s confidence in your brand, which further motivates them to travel with you. 

  • Suggest them travel destinations

Your suggestion should vary according to the time of the year. Give them suggestions to visit places during the high, low, and shoulder season. 

Something that goes like; Hey! Guess what? Paris - the city of love, has its arms open for you with a 20% discount on return tickets. 

You can also suggest which place is more economical or safe to visit during specific times of the year. 

  • Give them an incentive 

One of the greatest attractions for a tourist to travel with agencies is their incentives or discounts on travel destinations.

You can offer free or discounted adventure park tickets, or free food at a particular restaurant. 

It’s almost impossible for someone to turn down such an opportunity. 

  • Understand their interests through questionnaires 

You won’t be able to entertain your subscribers or send them personalized emails until you understand their interests, would you?

So, here’s what you can do; send your subscribers questionnaires or review forms to collect information from them. This will skyrocket the engagement rate of your emails and help you nurture relationships with them.

  • Suggest limited time offers 

They say, “Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.” So, let’s cash on people’s desire to avail limited time offers. 

Send them emails with limited-time offers and see how impulsively they rush to travel with you. We’ll discuss the importance of such email designs later in this article but for now, just shortlist this idea for your travel email marketing campaign. 

2. Be cautious about your subscriber list

Creating a subscriber list is similar to making friends; make sure you shortlist the most reliable ones. 

You can create your subscriber list by placing a sign-up option at a visible and prominent place on your website. You can also use social media posts to collect subscribers’ email addresses. 

Apart from this, you can also collect email addresses in person from people who make reservations at the resort that your company collaborates with. 

Lastly, you can use double opt-in forms for careful screening of your subscriber list. 

3. Segment and personalize your emails 

We can't emphasize enough the significance of both of these practices.

Segment your subscriber list based on criteria like age, customer’s interests, or your subscriber’s travel history. This allows you to send personalized emails conveniently. 

Speaking of which, you can personalize your emails in different ways, such as through email subject lines, by adding names with the help of merge tags, or by sending emails that are specially designed for a specific segment of subscribers. 

Research says segmented emails are responsible for a 14.31% higher open rate than non-segmented campaigns. Besides this, both segmentation and personalization are responsible for creating a better user experience. 

4. Convince them with written content

Your email copy is the voice of your brand. Not to add pressure on you, but it has the tendency to make or break your deal. 

Keep it as personal and conversational as possible. It makes your reader feel that you are talking to them exclusively, which keeps them interested in your message. 

Moreover, using industry jargon is a big no-no because how will people respond to your message if they don’t even understand it? So, use comprehensive and personalized language in your travel emails to connect with your audience. 

5. Create visually appealing travel email designs 

Design tips to create travel emails

Did you know that 90% of the information received by the brain is visual? 

Yep, that’s right. So if you want your brand’s identity imprinted in your subscriber’s brain or wish to deliver your message more effectively, then you need to give some serious attention to your email design . 

You can do this in many ways; 

  • Wisely add images

As a travel company, the easiest way to lure your subscribers to travel with you is by embedding breathtaking images of travel destinations. But if overdone, it can backfire. 

There are 2 important things to be careful about when you're embedding images in emails . First, use only high-quality images, and second, always add text along with the image. 

Also, be wise in the image selection. It’s your embedded image that is most likely to turn your subscriber’s response positive. 

  • Cleverly select a color scheme

Go for a color scheme that will complement your brand, your message, and the interactive elements embedded in your emails. It’s preferable to use color contrasts as it can attract your customers’ attention.

  • Necessarily opt for responsiveness 

There’s one element or design feature that you must never compromise on, and that’s your email design’s responsiveness. 

Research says, 51% of emails are opened on mobile. So, ensure that the designs you select are responsive on all kinds of devices.

  • Carefully insert countdown timers

Well, it’s the holiday season, and everyone’s planning to travel. It’s the ideal time to use the FOMO element in your emails. 

To gear up the urgency factor in your emails, add countdown timers. If you find yourself puzzled about doing so, here’s a glimpse of Unlayer allowing you to embed countdown timers in your emails with great ease. 

  • Sensibly create and place CTA buttons

What if your subscriber agreed to travel with you but kept scratching their head about what action to take next? Yep, let’s avoid that. 

Add prominent, well-designed, nicely labeled, and properly placed call-to-action buttons in emails . This allows the readers to take further action more easily and increases the clicks up to 371% and conversions up to 1617%.

6. Give them reasons to choose you

​​The bitter truth is that you’re not the only one who wants your subscribers to travel with them. 

So you’ve got to earn those stripes by showing them what you have is the best. For instance, create a humorous email. Something like, “We heard you settled for less. So we’re here to help you reconsider and choose the best.” 

You can also mention how your travel package is better than anyone else in the market. It could be either because of the lower prices or better travel destinations and accommodations, etc. 

7. Send trigger emails 

Research says trigger emails result in 24 times more revenue per send as compared to other emails. 

Well, this statistic alone should be enough to convince you. You can send trigger emails based on your subscriber’s actions or behaviors. This will increase their interest in your email and also boost click and conversion rates. 

For instance, send your user a welcome email after they sign up. This can include special deals and discounts (as mentioned earlier). 

If they buy your service, then send them a transactional or confirmation email. If they complete a trip with you, send them a thank you or feedback email. 

Take a look at the automation flow chart below to understand this better. 

Triggers email’s automation flow chart for travel email marketing

8. Use software that can boost your email’s performance 

You must have heard people say, “Work smart, not hard”. Well, that’s exactly what email marketing software offers you. 

Here are the 3 most useful and reliable email marketing software that can help you create the best travel emails. 

Unlayer is a user-friendly drag and drop editor that helps you to create and modify professional-looking emails. The best part is that you don’t need coding skills to design top-notch emails with Unlayer. 

They provide a range of attractive travel email templates that can be modified according to your choice, and yes, all these templates are responsive on all devices. 

Using it can save your time, effort, and cost of designing captivating travel emails.

Travel Email Templates That Convert Crazy Good

Email Templates

This is the best and most economical tool for email automation. 

Some of the best-selling features of Moosend are its behavior tracking, lead generation, A/B testing, and email segmentation features. Besides this, it also provides excellent workflows.

Optinmonster

It is the most powerful lead generation software. 

It allows you to create multiple quality lead forms such as lightbox popups, floating bars, scroll boxes, gamified wheels, etc.

Some major plus points are that it doesn’t require any coding skills and has a very powerful segmentation engine that reaches out to the right people at the best time.  

9. Ensure your email is friends with the law

If you skip this step, there's a major loophole in your travel email marketing campaign. Always comply with the legalities to save your email from landing in the spam box or facing any penalties. 

Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing or CAN-SPAM act is a set of rules for commercial email marketing. 

According to CAN-SPAM, you must;

  • Avoid the use of fake or wrong headers. 
  • Give recipients an option to opt out whenever they want. 
  • Give a valid postal or physical address.
  • Monitor what people are doing on your behalf. 
  • Avoid misleading subject lines. 
  • Not send messages that identify as an advertisement.

This act is specially designed to eliminate false identities and ensure authenticity. Make sure you abide by it.  

10. Encourage travel email marketing in the holiday season

Can’t emphasize enough the importance of email marketing during the holiday season. 

It’s the textbook definition of doing the right things at the right time. People are in the holiday mood and ready to travel around with their loved ones.  

So try to create holiday-centric email designs, give them special holiday or limited-time offers, or tell them which destination is ideal to visit during a specific holiday season. People are more vulnerable to the discount offers and promotions that you are going to offer. So, don’t miss out on this chance.  

Well, that’s about it. 

You’re all set to create the best travel email marketing campaign. Just follow the tips and guidelines mentioned above, and you’re golden. 

Good luck and safe travels.

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Travel Agency Email Marketing: How To Do It Right

Travel Agency Email Marketing: How To Do It Right

Why email marketing for travel agencies is so important

The key aspects of a successful travel agent email to a client, most popular travel agency email types, how to set up a campaign, best travel agency email examples, final thoughts.

Now that the pandemic restrictions are lifted, more people start traveling. If you work for a travel agency, it’s time to start an email marketing campaign to boost the recovery of your business and engage new customers. Read this article and learn about tips and best practices and create effective travel agency emails.

Tourism was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic — people traveled less due to restrictions and infection threat. According to UNWTO , in 2020 international tourism receipts dropped by 62% compared to 2019. International arrivals followed this trend — the decrease reached 72%.

Statistics of international tourist arrivals and receipts from UNWTO

And lockdowns were not the only factor. Measures were less strict in 2021 but people still were not ready to travel. For example, according to Statista, 42% of Spanish citizens planned to decrease their travel budgets for 2021.

COVID-19 influence on travel budgets

But what about 2022? Consider this graph.

Tourist arrivals in Europe 2019-2022 from Statista

As you can see, people started traveling more often than in 2020 or even last year. And that’s why email marketing for travel agencies is important — it’s an easy way to re-engage your former clients and boost the recovery of your business.

Now that you know the importance of email marketing for travel agencies, let’s take a look at the recipe for a good email campaign in this industry. 

Personalization

71% of customers expect personalized communication from brands. When it comes to personalization in email marketing , it’s more than including your customer’s name in the greeting or the subject. One of the ways to make your marketing emails more personal is giving relevant recommendations.

Recommendations email from Airbnb

For example, Airbnb implemented location-based personalization. Right after the customer arrives somewhere, they suggest what to do and where to go.

Subject lines

A good email subject line can vastly improve your open rates. Here’s how you can create catchy subject lines specifically for travel agency emails:

Appeal to the value of traveling. People travel for different reasons — depending on the niche of your agency, you can use different buzzwords in your subject lines. Possible options include:

  • Discovery, Enlightenment, Experience
  • Relaxation, Vacation, Getaway, Weekend
  • Adventure, Bucket list, Road trip

These word groups appeal to different audiences — know your customers and use what triggers them.

Use urgency markers. Word combinations like “Last chance”, “Starts now”, “Don’t miss it”, and other similar subject lines will trigger FOMO. But don’t overdo this — some words might get you a one-way ticket to the spam folder.

Use jokes and puns. A funny email subject is a great way to stand out in your customer’s inbox. Examples include “Czech this out: 10 places to see in Prague” or “Been to South America? I don’t Bolivia”. Opportunities are endless — use your sense of humor to increase sales.

Get down to business. For sales emails, the best tactic is to describe your offer in the subject line. Examples include “Get 30% off our July package holidays” or “Save money on your next dream vacation”.

Use of visual aids

There are many ways to use visual aids. You can use photos, GIFs, videos, and illustrations — or come up with a minimalist email design that only highlights the important elements. Typefaces and layouts also count — they make customers pay attention to important parts of email content like CTAs.

Email from Contiki Travel Tours

This World Food Day email from Contiki Travel Tours uses vibrant pictures and warm colors to create a certain mood. But aside from photos, they accentuated the part with CTA with an all-caps header and a bold yellow frame. These simple tricks instantly draw attention to the button.

Sense of urgency

The usage of FOMO in email marketing is not limited to travel agencies. For example, it’s often used in retail during Black Friday or holiday-related promotion campaigns.

Sales email from Friendly Planet

This email from Friendly Planet is a great example of how urgency works in campaigns for travel agents. Its subject line is “Our newest trips + Last chance to save!” and we see a big “Deals expire tonight!” header in the email body. Urgency is created via verbal cues — use them in email subjects and content copies.

Shared opportunities

Even the most aesthetically pleasing email with the funniest subject line wouldn’t work without a valuable offer. Here are some ideas for what you can suggest to your customers via email:

  • Promo codes and discounts
  • Last-minute tours that are cheaper than regular tours
  • Convenience — for example, a fully-planned vacation plan
  • Helpful content related to traveling — for example, guides on packaging or what to see in a certain city
  • Unique experiences — these offers work best for niche travel agencies

Another promo code is not the only reason to send emails. Let’s take a look at the most popular travel agency email types. Most of these email types are not specific to the industry — but they work well for travel agencies too.

Welcome emails

Sending a welcome email to a new customer is like giving a house tour to a first-time guest. If you show your guest where the bathroom is and offer them tea, they will be more comfortable staying at your place and might come over again. 

It works the same with email marketing. According to GetResponse , welcome emails have a 50% open rate, which is 86% better compared to newsletters.

Welcome email from AllTrails

This email from AllTrails is a great example of onboarding — they give the guide on using the service right away.

Newsletters

A newsletter is an email you send regularly to share updates. They can be used for introducing new offers, giving them something fun or useful to read, or inviting them to take part in a contest. Newsletters are great because:

  • It’s a good source of traffic for your website.
  • It increases brand recognition — the tone of voice and the choice of content add more details to your brand personality and make it more charismatic.
  • It increases customer loyalty — by regular communication, you build stronger relationships between customers and your business.
  • It gives room for personalization — by tailoring suggested website content, you can increase customer satisfaction. 

And speaking of personalization, here’s a great example from Airbnb.

Newsletter from Airbnb

They came up with a newsletter specifically for hosts — and included lifehacks and policy updates.

Confirmation emails

Customers need confirmation emails so they know that the transaction was successful. They also need these emails to get important information like delivery details or the hotel’s address. Confirmation emails also give further directions for the next step in the customer flow — that’s why they are so important.

Confirmation email from Vacasa

A good example of a confirmation email is this one from Vacasa. It contains all the necessary information for checking in — the lockbox code, the address and driving directions, and even the weather forecast for easier packing. 

Thank you messages

Thank you messages are sent after a customer completes the target action — like buying something or subscribing to an email list. They might not be as important for the customer journey as confirmation emails. But thank you notes express appreciation and help you build warmer relationships with your customers.

Thank you email from HotelTonight

This email from HotelTonight is a great example of a thank you note for a traveling business. They don’t just show appreciation with words — they suggest what to do next, including taking part in a loyalty program. 

Informational emails

There is a difference between newsletters and informational emails. Newsletters are sent weekly or monthly and they give an overview of the latest updates. And informational emails are sent in case of emergency.

Informational email from Airbnb

For example, this Airbnb informational email is about current policies and how the company handles the situation. 

Re-engagement emails

Imagine that your best friend hasn’t reached you in three months and has been ignoring your text messages where you suggested hanging out or watching a movie they liked. If you forget them and move on, you will lose a friend. But a wellness check message will increase the chance to win your friend back. 

Email marketing works the same. You will lose customers — just like you will grow apart from friends. But you can decrease these losses if you send re-engagement emails .

Re-engagement email from TripAdvisor

This is a great example of a personalized re-engagement email from TripAdvisor. They saw that a customer was browsing Boston-related pages — and based on the hypothesis that this customer was too confused to make a decision, they provided extra information on this region.

Seasonal offers

Many industries have seasonal offers to give. But traveling is probably the most season-driven industry. According to Eurostat , one-third of the nights Europeans spent in tourist facilities were in July and August. And it’s reasonable — people plan long trips for summer and short trips for holidays. That’s why travel agencies should send emails with seasonal offers.

pic

This email by Sonder is a great example of how to do a seasonal offer message right. They don’t just give an offer — they also give useful information on planning a summer trip, which adds more value to the email.

Upsell emails

Upsell emails suggest a more expensive version of the same product or service after your customer completed the transaction. Not only does this type of email increase sales — it also raises brand awareness and increases your customers’ lifetime value.

pic

This email from Scott’s Cheap Flights is a perfect example of upselling. After a new customer used their app, they suggested a premium membership and explained its value. They also offered a free trial period so customers won’t feel pressured to spend money right now and try it out instead.

Keep in mind that these are not all the possible types of emails that can be used for promoting travel-related businesses — we’ve listed the most popular types. And these types can be mixed together. For example, you can include a thank you note in a confirmation email or add a seasonal offer to a monthly newsletter — it depends on the goal of your campaign.

Setting up a campaign for a travel agency is not different from other industries. Here’s a short recap of the whole process.

Define the goals

Every campaign starts with an email marketing strategy . You need to understand why you’re running a campaign in the first place — for example, to increase sales.

The next step is defining success criteria using the SMART framework:

For example, if your goal was to increase your website blog’s readership, your success criteria would look like “Increase the number of daily unique visitors by 30% by the end of this month”.

Build your mailing list

A mailing list is a list of users who will receive your marketing emails. Keep in mind that buying readymade email lists online and using them for marketing campaigns is illegal. Build your list using opt-in forms and pop-ups. To learn more, read our article about building an email list . 

Segment the list

Segmenting your email list is important for sending relevant emails. There are many segmentation criteria — age, location, website activity, and so on. The choice of criteria depends on your campaign and your market niche. To learn more about segmentation with Selzy, visit this page .

Decide on the type of content

The type of content you chose will affect the subject line, the copy, the CTA, and the email layout. Choose the content type depending on your marketing campaign goal.

One of the types of emails often used for travel agencies is last chance emails. Use these emails for promoting seasonal offers — and use our guide on last chance emails with writing tips and best practices.

Design your email

Good email design draws attention to CTAs, improves email readability and helps you express the charisma of your brand. And a trendy look will keep your subscribers engaged.

To learn more, read our guide on email design with tips and best practices.

Test and analyze the results

Once you’re done with your email content and design, test your emails before sending:

  • QA testing — to make sure that your email campaign is set correctly, all the hyperlinks work as intended and customers won’t receive an email with a “Hello <undefined>” greeting.
  • Split testing — to validate your ideas and hypotheses and make smarter marketing decisions. 

And this is how you set up a campaign for a travel agency. And if you’re afraid to miss something, use our email marketing checklist .

Now that you know how to set up an email campaign for a travel agency, let’s take a look at some examples of great campaigns in the industry. We’ve picked 4 good travel agency emails for your inspiration. 

Vacasa: Wanderlust-worthy road trips

Vacasa is a rental management company that operates in North and Central America. And although their business is focused on destinations, they ran a campaign that’s all about the journey.

Newsletter from Vacasa

Domestic and rural tourism were a big traveling trend in 2021 — and it’s predicted to continue in 2022 . Vacasa caught up on this trend and made a guide on interesting road trip destinations within the US. We love how visually appealing this campaign is — and the lovely “Life is a Highway” CTA button. Another good thing about this email is that you can look through rentals right away if you like a certain destination — it’s convenient for customers.

Intrepid: Celebrating BIPOC culture

Intrepid is a US-based company that specializes in small group tours and adventure trips. Since the questions of oppression and justice in the postcolonial world have been around for a long time, they rolled out a series of educational tours and ran an email campaign.

A newsletter from Intrepid

It’s hard to run a campaign like this without being offensive. Educational tours are great but they shouldn’t look like a trip to a zoo where the privileged group looks down on the culture of those who survived genocide and occupation. Intrepid handled the subject matter gracefully — they give the word to local experts and aim at educating, not just entertaining. And the campaign itself is great — it’s well-written, and beautiful pictures and minimalist email design create a stylish look.

Oliver’s Travels: God Save The Queen!

Oliver’s Travels is an agency that specializes in luxury vacations and high-end real estate rental in Europe. And they’ve prepared something special for The Queen’s Jubilee.

Invitation email from Oliver’s Travels

First of all, just because you’re a luxury brand doesn’t mean you can’t throw a pun in an email. And they didn’t stop here. Apart from the invitation, they added topic-related blog articles and links to luxury castles in the UK. Maybe they overdid it with CTAs. But overall, this email makes you feel like a queen. Or a king.

Tripaneer: Yoga in the USA

Tripaneer is a travel agency that specializes in wellness holidays like retreats for mindfulness, weight loss, spiritual growth, and so on.

A newsletter from Tripaneer

This email about US-based yoga retreats doesn’t have a lot of text — but it’s incredibly well-written. And we appreciate creative CTAs — like the one about rolling down mats. We also like that Tripaneer added a link to a guide on their website instead of writing the whole article for the email.

Running an email campaign for a travel agency is a good way to re-engage your customers who stopped traveling due to lockdowns and increase sales. Some common types of emails for campaigns in this industry include:

  • Welcome emails — use them to introduce customers to your service and explain how it works.
  • Newsletters — it’s a great way to draw more traffic to your website and stay in touch with your customers.
  • Confirmation emails — use them to share valuable information and notify that the transaction was successful.
  • Thank you messages — this type of email increases customer loyalty and helps you build stronger relationships.
  • Informational emails — unlike newsletters, these emails are not sent regularly and are used to share important information, for example, about emergencies.
  • Seasonal offers — since tourism is a season-driven industry, emails with summer vacation or holiday offers will help both you and your customers.
  • Upsell emails — suggesting a more expensive version of what your customers already bought will increase your revenue.

To run a successful campaign for a travel agency, don’t forget about:

  • Personalizing your campaign to give more relevant offers
  • Catchy subject lines — use humor, add a personal greeting, or appeal to the value of traveling depending on your niche
  • Visual aids — they will gently coax your customer into clicking on the CTA button
  • Sense of urgency — verbal urgency cues will trigger FOMO
  • Shared opportunities — offer your customers something valuable.

Daria Zhuravleva

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Hummingbird are a great digital implementation agency. I’ve worked with them for a year & am highly impressed with their proficiency in managing our social media platforms. They are enthusiastic, knowledgeable, organised, creative and has developed great insight into our business, so much so that they feel like a part of our in-house team.

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Pain Point: Many travel businesses may not have a dedicated marketing team or the expertise to handle the complexities of modern digital marketing. This can lead to ineffective campaigns, wasted budgets, and missed opportunities.

Solution: Our agency is equipped with a team of seasoned marketing professionals who specialize in the travel industry. By outsourcing to us, travel businesses gain access to a wealth of expertise, from PPC specialists to content creators, ensuring that their marketing is both effective and innovative.

Pain Point: Despite their best efforts, many travel businesses struggle with fluctuating leads & bookings, which can impact revenue and growth.

Solution: Our data-driven marketing strategies are tailored to the unique needs of each client. We utilise a mix of targeted advertising and content marketing to boost visibility, drive traffic, and increase bookings consistently.

Solution: By outsourcing their marketing to us, travel businesses can free up valuable time and resources. We handle everything from strategy to execution, allowing them to focus on what they do best - providing exceptional travel experiences.

Pain Point: The digital landscape is constantly evolving. From algorithm changes to emerging platforms, it can be challenging for travel businesses to keep up and stay competitive.

Solution: We pride ourselves on staying at the forefront of digital marketing trends. By partnering with us, travel businesses benefit from cutting-edge strategies and technologies, ensuring they remain ahead of competitors and resonate with the modern traveler.

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University Arms

Surge in bookings, increase in rebookings, email open rates, why partner with us.

Experience-Driven Approach: We understand the travel mindset, ensuring every campaign resonates with the wanderlust in your audience.

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Yes, we have a rich history of working with travel brands and have garnered deep insights into the travel industry’s nuances. Our tailored strategies have consistently delivered exceptional results for our travel clients, making us a go-to agency for travel marketing.

We offer a comprehensive suite of marketing services, including but not limited to Social Media Management, PPC, Email Marketing, Content Creation, SEO, and Display Advertising. Our holistic approach ensures that brands have a consistent and impactful presence across all marketing channels.

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While results can vary based on various factors, our clients typically see a significant boost in brand visibility, engagement, and conversions. Our data-driven approach ensures that we continually optimize campaigns for maximum ROI.

Our team is committed to continuous learning. We regularly attend industry workshops, webinars, and conferences. Additionally, we invest in training and tools that keep us at the forefront of digital marketing innovations.

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COMMENTS

  1. 13 Best Travel Agency Marketing Ideas to Grow Your Business

    Best Marketing Ideas for Travel Agencies. 1. Use content marketing and effective copywriting with Jasper.ai. 2. Use Search Engine Optimization to organically drive leads with Surfer SEO. 3. Put your email list to work with Constant Contact. 4. Develop a content marketing plan with WriterAccess.

  2. 12 game-changing tactics to boost travel agency marketing

    Travel agency marketing tactics can boost business growth, improve conversion rate, and grow your brand. Learn how today. Call Sales: 1 800 561 3357. Solutions. ... Review marketing means leveraging the power of reviews across your marketing campaigns to boost social proof, build trust, and improve the conversion rate of your business. ...

  3. Travel Marketing: Most Effective Strategies to Boost Business

    Focus areas. Data Analytics & Insights Gain a deeper understanding of your customers and marketing performance through forecasting, full-funnel exploration, and campaign impact analyses.; Dashboard Development Our dashboards provide easy-to-read marketing performance visuals based on your preferred metrics hierarchy.; Conversion Rate Optimization Increase conversion rates and decrease customer ...

  4. 10 examples of great travel marketing campaigns

    1. Inspired by Iceland. Promote Iceland's website, Inspired by Iceland, and its accompanying campaigns since 2010 (the year of eruption) have been a joy to interact with. At the time of writing, visitors to the website can explore the a-ö of journeys, tastes and living in Iceland, with rich features on the Northern Lights, ice climbing or birch syrup (for example).

  5. 10 Travel Agency Marketing Tips to succeed

    Implement Email Marketing Campaigns. Collaborate with Influencers and Partners. Offer Irresistible Deals and Promotions. Leverage User-Generated Content. Enhance Website User Experience. Utilize Online Advertising. Analyze and Adapt Strategies. The competition in the travel sector is increasing daily. With so many firms competing for clients ...

  6. Marketing for Travel Agencies: A Complete Guide

    Basically, the high-level, strategic goals of modern travel agency marketing are clearly articulating a narrow segment that you address (lower prices in specific destinations, traveler region, demographics, etc.) and choosing the best tools to promote the service. So, let's start with understanding customer segments.

  7. The Best Marketing for Travel Agency: A Complete Guide

    3. Place: For a travel agency, place can include both online and offline sales outlets, such as tour operators, wholesalers, OTAs (Online Travel Agencies), mobile apps, websites and retail stores. To maximize reach potential your customers should be able to book flights and tours conveniently across all these platforms. 4.

  8. Travel Agency Marketing (11 Proven strategies & Tips)

    Travel Agency marketing is something that I'm passionate about, and I'm pretty good at it too. It's also how I really started in marketing in 2009, working on my mom's niche travel agencies. ... Putting money behind average campaigns is how I see most business owners lose faith in online marketing. Use your social media to remind and be ...

  9. Creating Your Travel Agency's Digital Marketing Plan: 8 Best Practices

    An effective travel agency marketing plan tailored to your niche and target market is essential for maximizing your ROI. This article provides 8 updated tips and best practices for creating a successful marketing plan that resonates with customers and drives growth in the travel industry. ... Create full funnel campaigns that drive real ...

  10. Travel Advertising & Marketing Services

    Travel advertising that delivers results. We've got decades of experience helping advertisers bring travelers to their destination, book hotels and flights, and more. We get you to the right traveler at the right time and through the right channel. You need someone who understands the travel business better than anyone else, and that's ...

  11. Marketing Strategies for Travel Agents

    Retargeting campaigns allow your agency to reconnect if potential customers are ready later. You could finally receive the lead's business. 12. Promote User-Generated Content. User-generated content or UGC can generate big results for your travel agency marketing campaign.

  12. Creative Travel Marketing Campaigns Around The World

    Creating a successful travel marketing campaign can be a challenging task for most of the travel marketers. With numerous travel agencies, airlines, and hotels in line, there is fierce competition for brand awareness. A lot of travel marketing campaigns try hard to capture the curiosity of travelers, but fall flat.

  13. 8 travel marketing tips and strategies for 2023

    The term travel marketing (or tourism marketing) is used to describe the marketing strategies used by brands in the travel industry, including hotels, resorts, destinations, and travel agencies. It's essentially the act of running campaigns on a variety of different platforms to attract potential travelers and turn them into paying visitors ...

  14. Top 10 Travel Industry Marketing Strategies

    10 Digital Marketing Strategies for Travel Agencies to Grow Post-Pandemic . In the new normal, travel agency campaigns will need to focus on the right messaging and target the right channels to drive engagement and growth. Asking the right questions will be critical to uncovering the best-performing travel industry marketing strategies.

  15. Top 10 Travel Marketing Campaigns & Innovations

    Some of the most iconic campaigns have transcended traditional marketing, turning into cultural phenomena, and inspiring a new wave of wanderlust. This article highlights the top 10 travel marketing campaigns that have done just that, analyzing the strategies and impact that put them ahead of the pack. Top 10 Travel Marketing Campaigns

  16. Travel Agency Marketing Guide: Latest strategies & SMS solutions

    Local collaborations can also enhance the agency's reputation as a provider of bespoke and authentic travel experiences. 9. Include SMS in your marketing strategy. SMS marketing offers a direct and effective channel for engaging with travelers. With high open rates, text messages can deliver timely promotions, updates, and reminders to ...

  17. The Best Marketing Campaigns for Travel and Tourism

    Some of the most effective travel email campaigns combine savvy storytelling and stunning visuals with transactional calls-to-action — and, as a best practice, the more personalized, the better. By using the same email service provider (ESP) for both transactional and marketing communication, you can maintain consistency in messaging ...

  18. 20+ Top Digital Marketing Strategies for Travel Agencies

    In 2024, travel agencies can tap into such campaigns or create similar ones to engage with their audience and promote their offerings in a more interactive and personal way. 15. Chatbots and live chat. Leveraging tools like chatbots and live chat can significantly enhance a travel agency's ability to respond swiftly to customer inquiries.

  19. The best travel agency ads to get inspired by

    What your travel agency advertisements need to accomplish. 4 examples of travel agency advertisements to get inspired by. Travel agency campaigns on Google Search Ads. Travel Leaders. Go Wheel the World. Travel agency campaigns on paid social platforms. Muscatine Travel. Levon Travel Bureau. Facebook Travel Ads.

  20. 5 Awesome Travel Marketing Campaigns

    Club Med - Escape a la Club Med. Club Med is one of the largest global travel agencies which has been around since 1950. The Club Med brand has really become a household name lately with their content strategy. One of Club Med's most notable travel marketing campaigns is Escape a la Club Med which drew on the idea that people today need to ...

  21. Email Marketing for Travel Agencies: The Complete Guide

    Segmented campaigns alone result in a 760% increase in revenue. Additionally, the success of email marketing can be proven by the fact that 87% of B2B marketers use it for the successful distribution of content. Also, the travel industry has a pretty high average email open rate, i.e., 20.44%. The competition is crazy.

  22. Travel Agency Email Marketing: How To Do It Right

    The COVID-19 threat seems to be less relevant now — that's why more people resume their pre-pandemic traveling habits. It's a great time for an email campaign to engage more customers in traveling. Read this article to learn why email campaigns for travel agencies are important and what the key aspects of success are. And of course, we gave you some inspo — look at our selection of ...

  23. Travel Marketing Agency

    Hummingbird: Elevating travel brands with innovative marketing strategies. Our agency specializes in crafting memorable campaigns that inspire wanderlust and drive bookings. Partner with us for a journey to success. ... We understand the travel mindset, ensuring every campaign resonates with the wanderlust in your audience. Data-Driven ...