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10 Promotion Strategies for the Travel and Tourism Industry that Actually Work

Almost every industry is (still!) going through tough times since the pandemic outbreak back in 2020. Some of them, though, have been affected by coronavirus far more than the others – and the travel industry is definitely one of them. Canceled trips, canceled flights, confused guests and hosts alike, countless restrictions, and the overall uncertainty of what’s coming next – all this have brought the industry to the brink of collapse.

Thankfully, most travel and tourism businesses decided to fight against the odds, and work their way through the pandemic. As of summer 2022, there are signs of coming back to (normal) life. Nobody knows, though, what autumn will bring and convincing consumers to plan their trips is far more difficult now than it ever was. That’s why clever marketing and promotion strategies seem to be the keys for the industry to get back on its feet.

Marketing for the travel and tourism industries in 2022

The pandemic isn’t the only problem the travel and tourism industry has faced lately. The economy (for example in Europe) forces people to think twice before going on costly vacations abroad. The competition is stiff as ever, and there’s still a need to maintain a healthy balance between costs and earnings. There’s no point in pumping thousands of dollars into marketing strategies if they won’t bring enough ROI. That’s why it’s crucial to select the next promotion strategy for your business carefully.

Here are some notable travel marketing trends are worth mentioning:

• TikTok marketing – this social video platform became a powerful marketing tool for those skilful enough to unlock its potential. Often referred to as a platform for children and youth (and dismissed for being such), TikTok hosts 1 billion active users. It’s a value that shouldn’t be ignored.
• Social media marketing – the dominance of TikTok does not mean that other social media platforms are doomed in marketing. Instagram, Facebook, and even LinkedIn – all those media have their place and are still valid marketing platforms. The key is – as always – targeting the right audience.
• Influencer marketing – staying in the social media area: engaging celebrities and influencers in your marketing activities is an idea worth thinking of. Of course, the influencer with a 250K Instagram profile won’t bring thousands of customers directly to your company, but the recognizability should definitely help.

What about some travel marketing trends for 2022?

• Flexibility is a key – though low prices are still important, customers are eager to find offers that enable them to get a full refund or change bookings if necessary.
• Long-term rentals – in times of remote work, more people want to try living in new places for a more extended period. So-called workations have become more popular than ever, and people expect special deals for long-term rentals.
• Geofencing – looking for attractions near the place of living has become a thing during the pandemic. People are forced to put off their travel plans until somewhere in the future, turned to what their area has to offer. With geofencing , local attractions, such as restaurants, museums, go-karting tracks, escape rooms or laser tag places, became open for people searching for “[something] near me” which, apparently, grew popular in recent years.

Enough of those trends – you’re here for the list, so here it is! 10 promotional strategies for the travel and tourism industry that actually work – they have been launched and tested by companies we know. There’s no room for hypotheses. Below you’ll find nothing but real-life examples – get ready to get inspired!

Gamecity Zoetermeer

Promotion types used: discount coupons, gift cards, giveaways.

Gamecity GoKarting Zoetermeer is a place of fun games and entertainment for people looking to do something more active and demanding than watching VOD at home or going to the cinema. Gamecity offers go-karting, laser tag, minigolf and an innovative, competitive escape room-like experience called Prison Island.

1. Social media giveaways

Pursuing the newest trends, Gamecity launched a few social media profiles, such as Instagram or TikTok (their most popular video has been watched more than 40K times!). They use TikTok not only for sharing funny, short videos but also to run giveaways for their engaged followers, thus increasing company recognizability and gaining new followers (as well as potential customers):

Online contests are usually a very effective way to raise awareness of newly-created brands. Still, nothing stands in your way if you want to organize a sweepstake every now and then to promote your already established brand.

‍ In short: a well-performed online giveaway should not only bring some attention to your company but it might also result in a significant followers increase. Each of them can become your next valuable customer!

2. Discount coupons

People who don’t order any service without typing “[name of the company] discount coupon” in Google Search won’t be disappointed, as Gamecity Gokarting issues discount coupons every once in a while. A nice 20% discount for go-karting should be enough to convince the unconvinced and create the opportunity for them to try new things while traveling or just hanging out with friends.

Discount coupons are the salt of promotion strategies for the tourism and travel industry – it’s always nice knowing that the attraction you were already willing to experience is a bit cheaper than expected. However, from a business perspective, too big of a discount can be deceptive, as people could try it once and then never come back due to the feeling that the service should be cheaper than it is. That’s why companies usually launch 10-20% discounts.

‍ In short: The most significant advantage of the discount coupon promotional strategy is that it’s not very demanding to launch and maintain such a promotion. And with a proper tool, such as the Voucherify, issuing coupons is approachable and developer-friendly.

Promotion types used: gift cards, partnerships, giveaways.

Sportihome has created its unique business model that combines two things you can find in the company name – sports and housing rentals. To make their offer attractive for sports enthusiasts and travelers alike, Sportihome runs numerous giveaways with strongly-thematic rewards, such as entries for sports events and so on:

3. Partnerships

A popular marketing strategy is partnering up with well-known brands to provide discounts, equipment and other gifts. Sportihome decided to follow this path by teaming up with Decathlon , the most prominent sports gear brand in France. Each host, who joins the Sportihome family, gets an exclusive 10% discount for equipping the lodgings they share with Sportihome customers.

In short: partnerships may strengthen your brand as showing up in the right company to a business meeting does. And if the partnership comes with benefits for the customers, you can be sure that it will positively impact your marketing efforts.

4. Gift cards

One of the ultimate travel and tourism promotion types is gift cards. However, buying holidays as a gift can cause unintended trouble – it isn’t easy to be a hundred percent sure that the gifted person won’t have any plans in a given period. Also, choosing the location and lodgings for them might not be the best idea (who knows if they’d like it?). In such a case, the best way would be to present someone with a gift card for holidays of their choice. And that’s exactly what you can do via Sportihome – choose the price (from €50 to €1,000) and choose whether Sportihome should send the card to the recipient or if you want to do this personally.

Each gift card is valid for 24 months, and the gifted person can use the code from the gift card during the payment – after choosing the most suitable location.

In short: Gift cards are present in almost any industry, but they became especially popular when the pandemic began – if all the travel companies ensured full refunds for everyone who wanted to cancel their flights, trips and vacations, they would already be out of business. One of the ways to stay above the surface while encouraging customers to return was to offer them gift cards instead of a cashback.

This is precisely the way easyJet decided to deal with the coronavirus crisis – read more about it in our case study!

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Al Ali Yachts

Promotion types used: BOGO, discount coupons, giveaways.

Al Ali Yachts is a luxury yacht-rental company based in Dubai, UAE. In a demanding market, rental companies have to try different marketing strategies to get to the right audience. One of the most effective promotions used by Al Ali Yachts is BOGO – buy one, get one free – promotion.

How does it work? BOGO promotions add an item whenever a customer orders a required number of items. For example, during the "Enjoy the Summer" promotion, Al Ali Yachts offers their customers 1 hour of yacht rental for free for every 3 hours booked. It’s easy to calculate that the offer equals a 25% discount. The difference lies in the incentive.

If a group of friends would like to rent a yacht for two hours, they might get incentivized by the promotion – they’d rather pay for 3 hours and have a boat for 4 hours.

6. Holiday giveaways

There’s always an occasion to celebrate – should it be International Women’s Day, Independence Day or National Pizza With Everything (Except Anchovies) Day, brands have learnt to incorporate them into their marketing efforts. A contest where the winner gets 1 hour of free cruising? Why not? If it brings people interested in the product, it’s probably a good idea (though there’s a million dollars for whoever creates a campaign combining National Pizza Day with yacht rental).

Dertouristik

Promotion types used: discount coupons.

Visiting the Dertouristik website for the first time is one of those unforgettable moments, when a pop-up ad doesn’t get on the nerves – why so? Because of an exclusive, time-limited offer (also the fact that it doesn’t cover the whole screen)!

7. Time-limited offers

Though setting a time limit for the offer is old as the world, it’s useful promotional tool companies use with success in 2022 (and will probably still use in 2222). Here’s what it looks like on the Dertour website:

The window pops up right after entering the website – it says that there’s a €50 discount for any travel package from Dertour, as soon as the total costs are above €500. The offer is valid until midnight, so there’s a strict deadline, but with plenty of time to think this decision through.

It’s a nice touch that after closing the pop-up window, it’s still available under the blue “Ihr Rabatt Code” button, so the customers can get back and copy their code anytime.

Promotion types used: flexibility packages, discount codes, freebies.

8. Flexible packages

Trends in the travel and tourism promotions have changed – customers expect more than low prices, loyalty solutions or various discounts. They also need peace of mind when it comes to planning their vacations. That’s why solutions such as ItaliaRail’s Flexibility packages work! With an additional fee customers can ensure that they would be able to reschedule or cancel their train tickets with an 80% or 90% refund:

9. Freebies

Genuinely taking care of customers’ well-being is one of the most effective promotional strategies – especially if the goal is to create a long-term relationship with the customer. So ItaliaRail went the extra mile and prepared a little welcoming gift for their potential customers – a free Italian phrases ebook, which can be a helpful guide for those who visit Italy for the first time. Of course, giving away an ebook like this probably won’t become a game-changing strategy for the company. Still, it’s an excellent little addition to make customers feel better about traveling, and to get some email addresses in the process.

Promotion types used: cart promotions, discount coupons.

With its branches in Switzerland, Austria, Netherlands, France, Poland, Spain, the UK, Denmark, Belgium, Norway, Sweden and Finland, TUI became one of the most popular travel agencies in Europe, offering holiday trips worldwide.

10. Cart promotions

Knowing that the most straightforward solutions are often the most satisfying ones, TUI went through with cart promotions – the discounts visible immediately while browsing the offers:

A big, red –41% alert is precisely what TUI wants people to see right after clicking the TUI Deals button on the homepage. The difference between the regular and discounted price is what drives people’s purchasing decisions more often than they want to admit. But the difference between €1410 and €831 is just too good!

‍ Cart-level promotions , though, offer more than only displaying lower prices. Using them, you can assign automatic discounts to each customer who meets the redemption criteria, create personalized deals, enable free shipping, bonus items and much more!

Coming up with a successful promotion strategy for the travel and tourism industry requires a lot of work and dedication – I hope the above list of examples will help you choose the best promotion type to begin with. Now, before I finish, here are three final tips you might find helpful:

• Select two or three promotion types you’re eager to try out. Learn more about them and see if they are within your reach before investing any money in them.
• Look around and search for software that would help you create and launch the type of promotions you’re interested in. It’s always a better (and cheaper) idea to find ready-made software instead of trying to come up with your own solution.
• If you’re determined to try out different types of promotions for your business, make sure that the software you’ve found in step 2 is able to handle each of them. No point in subscribing to (and paying for) two or three different software packages while you can stick to a single one.

If you’re looking for a powerful promotion engine where you can create numerous marketing campaigns (personalized coupons, cart-level promotions, digital gift cards, product bundling, loyalty and referral programs, geofencing), but pay only for the actual usage, try Voucherify. And when I’m saying “try” I mean it – Voucherify comes with a free plan, which you can use to find your way through the platform before deciding to pay any money!

Don’t hesitate any longer

Get started with Voucherify!

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Tourism Marketing: A Guide to Effectively Market Your Tours and Experiences

Discover how to strategically promote your tours with our comprehensive guide on tourism marketing and elevate your brand visibility today

by Janelle Visser | 2 February 2024

If you build it, they will come, as the adage goes. But in today’s digital age, where anyone can build anything and put it online in moments, the question becomes: how will they find — and choose — you? 

In the dynamic world of tourism experiences, the key to attracting travelers lies in successfully marketing your tours, activities and attractions. And it’s not just about attracting tourists, it’s about creating unforgettable connections that turn one-time visitors into loyal advocates for your brand. 

Marketing is consistently ranked by Arival event attendees as one of the most important topics they are looking for insights on. As traveler preferences and booking habits change, so do the most effective ways to market to them. 

In this comprehensive guide, we will delve into the evolution and strategies of marketing for travel and tourism in today’s digital era, providing actionable insights for tour operators and attractions, and answering key questions that every tour operator grapples with. From crafting a marketing strategy to understanding the components of a successful tourism marketing campaign, we’ll explore how to navigate the competitive and ever-evolving landscape of tour, activity and attraction marketing, and create lasting connections with your guests.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

What is Tourism Marketing?

The evolution of tourism marketing, how to create a tour marketing strategy.

• Conduct Thorough Market Research
• Identify Your Target Audience
• Understand Your Customer Needs and Expectations
• Create Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)
• Build a Strong Brand
• Consider Offline Marketing for Tours
• Embrace Digital Marketing Strategies
• Leverage Modern AI Technology
• Take Advantage of the Current Trends
• Monitor and Evaluate Your Strategy
• Navigating the Future of Tourism Marketing with Arival

At its core, tourism marketing is a strategic approach to promoting destinations, tourism products and services to tourists. For operators, this primarily means promoting your tour, activity or attraction offerings. The aim is to understand and meet the needs and wants of travelers, creating memorable experiences that encourage reviews, repeat visits and referrals. 

In the context of the global tourism economy, where according to Arival’s latest data the in-destination experiences industry is expected to be worth $270 billion in 2024. Tourism marketing plays a pivotal role in the success of travel businesses, helping them to stand out above their competitors and serving as the bridge that connects them with their target audiences of travelers.

As travel marketing company Blend ’s Managing Director put it recently in an interview with Arival, “The simplest way to define [marketing] is what comes to mind when someone thinks about your brand or experience. And what you do through your marketing channels is help shape that perception.”

The landscape of marketing in tourism has undergone a profound transformation since the early 1900s when the Michelin Guide first encouraged motorists to explore the world beyond their own towns. Progressing from traditional tourism promotion methods like brochures and word-of-mouth recommendations to the digital age of Google searches and social media influencers, technology has played a pivotal role in shaping how destinations and experiences are promoted. 

Fast forward to today, where the advent of short-form video marketing and generative AI has added new dimensions, allowing every tour, activity or attraction operator to engage travelers in innovative ways. These tools provide opportunities for engagement, personalization, and storytelling that were once unimaginable, and have become integral to captivating the modern traveler.

Successful marketing for tourism starts with a well-defined marketing strategy, which will help ensure the effort and resources you put into marketing are effective. The following steps will help guide you through the creation of a marketing strategy for your tour, activity or attraction company.

1. Tour Marketing Strategy

Understanding the market is the foundation of any effective strategy. Thorough research into customer demographics, travel patterns, and consumer behaviors will provide invaluable insights as you create your marketing strategy. 

Arival conducts regular tourism market research to assist tour, activity and attraction businesses with this process. For example, Arival’s latest consumer research on the 2024 U.S. Experiences Traveler found that day tours are on the rise among U.S. travelers , and that younger millennial and Gen Z travelers in particular are moving away from traditional sightseeing tours and looking for more experiential tours , such as culinary tours and immersive experiences. See Arival’s latest research here . 

2. Identify Your Target Audience

Targeting your tourism marketing plan to a specific audience is crucial, as this will enable you to enhance the relevance of your offerings, improve engagement, and maximize the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Identifying your target audience involves a strategic process that combines market research as described above, data analysis, competitive analysis and customer profiling. Google and social media platforms, for example, offer analytics tools that provide insights into the age, interests, geographic location and income bracket of your followers, that can help you to develop detailed buyer personas that represent your ideal customers, and create a plan to reach and engage these audiences. 

In addition, analyzing the target audience of your competitors will help you build on this and identify gaps or underserved segments in the market that your tourism marketing plan can effectively target.

3. Understand Your Customer Needs and Expectations

Conducting tourism market research and identifying your target audience will help you with this step. Once you have an idea of who your target customers are, you can discover what their needs and expectations are, and how to develop a marketing strategy to reach them effectively. 

For example, if you offer sightseeing tours and you have identified younger Millennial and Gen Z travelers from the U.S. as a demographic you want to market your tours to, you will need to go beyond sightseeing to attract this demographic, according to the latest Arival research . 

How can you make your tours more immersive and experiential, and reflect this in your marketing to engage this demographic? Anticipating and meeting your customers’ needs and expectations can lead to higher customer satisfaction, fostering reviews and repeat business. Personalization is key.

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4. Create Unique Selling Propositions (USPs)

One of the challenges a tourism marketing strategy needs to solve is how to make you stand out above your competitors. Why do tourists choose some travel experiences over others? One way to differentiate your offerings is by identifying and highlighting unique selling points (USPs) that resonate with your target audience.

Let’s say you have identified younger Millennial and Gen Z travelers as a group you’d like to target with your marketing efforts. In your city there are multiple competitors offering similar tour products to yours, however you’ve realized that this target audience has an affinity for food tours. You find a way to work elements of culinary tourism into your sightseeing tour offering and your marketing to set yourself above your competitors and offer something unique in your region.

5. Build a Strong Brand

A consistent, strong brand fosters trust and ensures your tour company is memorable in the minds of potential guests. You’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t recognize the logo of an apple with a bite taken out of it, or doesn’t know where the phrase “just do it” comes from. 

Brands are about more than creative logos and catchy slogans, however. Building a robust brand for your experience business involves defining a clear identity with a focused mission and incorporating those USPs described in the previous step. Then, reaching out to your target audience through engaging storytelling and content, bolstered by a strong online presence, will enable your customers to build an emotional connection with your brand. Ensuring you’re delivering high-quality customer experiences to your target audience is crucial to building trust in your brand, and encouraging positive reviews is essential to building your brand’s reputation and ensuring ongoing brand success. 

Arival Insider Pro Access members can learn more about the importance of building your brand here. 

6. Consider Offline Marketing for Tours

Before we go too deep into digital marketing in tourism, it’s important to recognize that traditional methods like print advertising, brochures, and partnerships with local businesses still have relevance and can complement digital marketing strategies.

Many travelers are still waiting to book their things to do until they are in-destination, which means there is an opportunity to meet these travelers where they are. For example, working with destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and other regional tourist organizations that operate tourist information centers can enable you as a tour or experience operator to get printed promotional material about your experiences physically in the hands of tourists looking in person for things to do. Reach out to destination marketers in your region to take advantage of this offline marketing opportunity. 

7. Embrace Digital Marketing Strategies

As travelers increasingly use digital channels to discover, plan and book their travel, operators can and should leverage a range of digital marketing strategies to effectively promote their tours and engage with potential customers. 

From Google Things to do to search engine optimization (SEO), from social media strategy to working with influencers, from effective email marketing to impactful content marketing, a strong tourism marketing plan will incorporate a variety of digital marketing elements to bring a wider audience to the top of the funnel, and engage with them throughout the funnel at various stages of their discovery, planning and booking journey.

Arival has developed a number of guides and articles to help experience operators navigate the world of digital marketing for travel and tourism. Here are a few resources:

• An Essential Guide to SEO for Tours & Activities
• Content Marketing
• Your Guide to Influencer Marketing in Travel and Tourism

8. Leverage Modern AI Technology

The popularity of AI in 2024 cannot be understated, however many companies in the travel industry have been using AI in various forms long before the release of ChatGPT in late 2022 brought Generative AI, or Gen AI to the forefront. Gen AI, though, has made it a lot more accessible for travel businesses and tourism marketers without a lot of technical expertise to integrate AI to personalize customer experiences, generate targeted content, and enhance decision-making in marketing strategies for tourism. 

Many companies in the marketing for tourism space have developed tools and resources for tour, activity and attraction businesses, some of which are listed on Arival’s list of AI Resources for Experience Operators . Find out more about what’s the latest with AI in travel and how tour and attraction businesses are using it at the next Arival event. 

9. Take Advantage of the Current Trends

Staying up-to-date with the latest digital trends in marketing for travel and tourism is essential to stay relevant and get ahead of your competitors. 

For example, over the last couple of years, short-form videos on platforms like TikTok have risen dramatically as a channel for travelers — younger Millennial and Gen Z travelers in particular — to find inspiration for travel experiences. Incorporating vertical and short-form video in your tourism marketing will help you engage this audience, enabling you to meet travelers where they are online and present the experience offerings of your tour, activity or attraction company in a format your audience is familiar with.

@j_buzzi I don’t think I’ll ever get over how amazing bioluminescence is! 🤯🌌 #bioluminescence #getupandgokayaking ♬ Another Rain (From “Halo 3: ODST”) – DS Music

Justin Buzzi , founder of Get Up and Go Kayaking , jumped on the vertical video trend and attracted millions of views and over one million likes on TikTok with this short bioluminescence video.

10. Monitor and Evaluate Your Strategy

A strategy without evaluation is like a ship without a compass. Regularly assess the effectiveness of your marketing strategy using key performance indicators (KPIs). KPIs to monitor the effectiveness of your marketing strategy could include website traffic, conversion rates, social media engagement, booking levels, and customer reviews and ratings. Consistent monitoring and evaluation ensure that you not only navigate the course but also make agile adjustments, keeping your strategy aligned with the ever-shifting tides of the tourism market.

1. What are the key components of a successful tour marketing campaign?

Success lies in a well-researched strategy with clear targeting built on tourism market research, compelling USPs that speak to the needs and expectations of your target audience, and a strong brand built on a balanced mix of offline and digital marketing, as well as a compelling tourism experience product itself. All of these components work together to make for a successful marketing strategy. 

2. How often should I reevaluate and update my tourism marketing strategy?

In the world of tourism marketing, trends and traveler preferences change rapidly. Check in regularly with travel trends (and let Arival research guide you). While you might evaluate the effectiveness of your overall strategies quarterly to stay responsive to market changes and ensure your strategy remains effective, more frequent monitoring of individual social media channels, website KPIs and SEO will help you be that much more effective.

3. How can I optimize my website for tour marketing purposes?

Your website is your digital storefront. Prioritize content marketing , then optimize for search engines ( learn more about SEO here ), ensure seamless user-friendly navigation and online booking system capabilities for both computer and mobile booking , incorporate visually captivating elements like photos and videos, keep your pricing and product listings up to date, and update your content regularly. 

4. Are there any specific strategies to attract international tourists?

To attract international tourists, consider ways to tailor your marketing messages for the specific regional audiences you’re interested in reaching. Look at tourism market research and trends for the different regions you intend to target — what works in the U.S. might not work in Asia and vice versa. Your local and regional destination marketing organizations (DMOs) may be able to help with this, as destination marketers often conduct research on the international travelers coming to your destination. Consider utilizing multilingual content to reach a broader range of potential travelers, and explore partnerships with international travel agencies. Check out Arival’s list of OTAs organized by geographic region to help you identify potential distribution partners in other languages and regions.

5. How important are customer reviews and testimonials in tour marketing?

Customer reviews and testimonials play a crucial role in tour marketing, acting as powerful social proof that influences potential customers. Positive reviews build credibility and trust, addressing concerns and reservations prospective customers may have. Encourage your satisfied customers to share their experiences on platforms like TripAdvisor or Google, or wherever they booked, and don’t forget to respond to these reviews, whether positive or negative.

6. What are some unique challenges in tourism marketing compared to other industries?

Tourism marketing faces unique challenges such as seasonality, unpredictable external factors (e.g., natural disasters ), and the need for real-time adaptability to changing travel trends. High competition demands innovative strategies to stand out, and the reliance on positive word-of-mouth makes ensuring customer satisfaction even in the face of unpredictable challenges critical. 

7. How can I use tourism marketing to cope with seasonal fluctuations in the industry?

To cope with seasonal fluctuations, craft seasonal promotions, diversify offerings to match changing preferences, and use marketing to highlight the unique experiences available during different seasons. Some strategies include implementing targeted off-season promotions, creating incentives for bookings during slower periods, and developing themed tours or events that align with seasonal interests and capitalize on festivals or holidays. Implementing dynamic pricing strategies , where prices vary based on demand, can also help maximize revenue during peak seasons and encourage more visitation during slower periods.

Navigating the Future of Tourism Marketing With Arival

Success in tourism marketing lies in learning about your audience, developing practical strategies to reach them, constant adaptation to keep up with changing market conditions and traveler trends, and utilizing tools and research like what Arival provides to stay ahead in a competitive landscape. 

Keep in mind that you don’t have to do this alone. There are multiple marketing agencies out there that specialize in marketing for travel and tourism companies, with some even focusing specifically on tours, activities and attractions. Check out our curated list of the tourism marketing agencies for tours and attractions here. 

Even better, join us at the next Arival event where we’ll dive into the latest tourism market research insights and trends in travel experiences, and share practical tourism marketing strategies and other actionable takeaways to help you reach your target markets, increase your bookings and grow your business.  

Become an Insider Pro Access member today and get access to the full library of Arival research, plus many other benefits such as free consulting sessions, special discounts and 20% off in-person events, starting from $179 per year.

Sign up to receive insights tailored for the in-destination industry as well as updates on Arival.

Header photo: Unsplash / Merakist

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Since 2019, Arival has hosted one major event in Europe each year. For 2024-2025, we’re thrilled to offer two exciting events: Arival 360 | Valencia and Arival | Activate Edinburgh. Here’s a quick comparison to help you decide which event to attend—or why you might want to come to both:

• Scope : Flagship European Event with a global reach; up to 30% of attendees from outside Europe, including the U.S., Middle East, LATAM, and APAC.
• Audience : Experience creators, tech and distribution companies, and industry professionals from around the world.
• Arival Theater Content : Global topics including: over-tourism and sustainability, technology, distribution, European consumer and operator trends.
• Breakout Sessions : In-depth workshops on operational best practices, product expansion, AI, channel management, marketing tech, a Spain-specific track and an Innovation Showcase highlighting the most tech-savvy companies in our industry.
• Networking : Connect with leading OTAs and distribution companies, and build valuable partnerships.
• Location : Valencia, a stunning coastal city offering rich cultural experiences.
• Attendees : Approximately 800, providing extensive networking opportunities.
• Scope : Regional focus on the UK, Ireland, and the Nordic regions.
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• Global vs. Regional Focus : Valencia is a global event with an international audience, while Edinburgh is a regional event focused on the UK, Ireland, and Nordic regions.
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How to Promote Tourism

Last Updated: April 3, 2024 Approved

This article was co-authored by Anyah Le Gilmore-Jones . Anyah Gilmore-Jones is a Social Media Marketing Expert based in Nashville, Tennessee. An innovative experiential and social media marketer, Anyah is skilled at creating engaging brand experiences and leverages her passion for connecting people and ideas to drive organic growth for purpose-driven brands. As the founder of GROW by Gilmore, a social media strategy company, Anyah develops data-driven social media strategies focused on authentic community building. She has over 4 years of experience spearheading viral campaigns and producing content for brands like HBCU Buzz, Black & Scholared, SHEIN, and Project Art Collective. She received her BA from Howard University in Political Science and Government. wikiHow marks an article as reader-approved once it receives enough positive feedback. This article received 11 testimonials and 100% of readers who voted found it helpful, earning it our reader-approved status. This article has been viewed 206,662 times.

Looking to attract some new visitors to your town or city? In our current digital age, getting tourists to pay attention to a specific place is more possible than ever. Developing a marketing plan and using tools social media and other promotional materials, can all help to promote tourism in your town or city.

Creating a Marketing Plan

• Focus on activities or attractions that are specific to your town. Even a small or strange attraction could attract visitors and bring attention to the town, from the world’s largest paper clip to a man made wave in a river. Ask yourself: What makes the town worth a special trip? What do you have that a tourist can’t get or do somewhere else?
• Work with a tourism planning committee and narrow your focus on the top three things your town has to offer. The more specific, rather than generic, you can be, the more likely your town will be of interest to tourists.

• What do you think attracts a visitor to the community?
• What type of visitor do you see coming to our community?
• How can we do to improve the visitor’s experience?

• Where does the visitor live?
• What attracted the visitor to the community?
• How did the visitor find out about the tourist attractions?
• What type of businesses or facilities did the visitor use?
• What kinds of accommodations or services are needed?
• A third party endorsement from previous visitors to the town or current visitors is a good way to determine how to better serve future tourists.

• Geographic market areas, with a section for day trips, overnight trips, and extended visits.
• Outdoor recreation activities, if any, such as camping, hiking, fishing, and picnicking.
• Entertainment, such as historic sites, fairs or festivals, shopping, and dining.
• Other travel purposes, such as business trips and family visits.

• Think about successful slogans, like Las Vegas’ “What happens here, stays here”, New York’s “The City That Never Sleeps” or Calgary, Alberta’s “Heart of the New West”. They work because they are unique and avoid generic terms or phrases.

• The overall recommendation from the tourism planning committee, including the proposed slogan and branding.
• The budget of the marketing plan, including the costs of all promotional materials.
• The source of the funds to put the marketing plan into action.
• The responsible parties of putting the marketing plan into action.
• A timeline for the completion and launch of the marketing plan.

Using Promotional Materials and Local Media

• Sell these promotional materials at local gift shops located close to popular attractions.

• The map can include a brief description of key attractions and sites, as well as activities tourists can do at these locations.

Using Social Media and Other Online Tools

• A good way to get more traffic to the website is to create a blog section on the site and make sure it is updated regularly. Conduct interviews with locals and post the interviews on the blog, or do a post on the best activities to do in the town based on the season.

• You can also create a hashtag that uses the slogan for the town and use it often at the end of every tweet or Instagram post. This will help you track if the town is trending among users and improve your posts to get more attention on these platforms.

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Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about promoting tourism, check out our in-depth interview with Anyah Le Gilmore-Jones .

• ↑ http://smallbizsurvival.com/2013/03/how-to-market-a-community.html
• ↑ http://www.tourism-review.com/social-media-marketing-in-tourism-industry-page659

About This Article

To promote tourism in your town or city, start by making a list of the things that make your area unique, such as lots of outdoor activities or a unique attraction. Then, create a slogan that reflects what makes your town special, avoiding common, generic phrases like, “best kept secret.” Additionally, try making a Facebook page for your town and posting pictures or event information every day to make sure people notice the page. You can also open Twitter and Instagram accounts and come up with a hashtag based on your city’s slogan. For tips on how to create a tourist map of your area to give to visitors, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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What Is Tourism Marketing?

Published: December 12, 2023

Modified: December 28, 2023

by Oneida Gruber

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Introduction

In today’s fast-paced and interconnected world, the tourism industry has become increasingly competitive. To stay ahead and attract travelers, destinations, tour operators, and hoteliers need to implement effective marketing strategies. This is where tourism marketing plays a vital role.

Tourism marketing encompasses a range of activities aimed at promoting and selling travel services, experiences, and destinations to potential customers. It involves understanding consumer behaviors, identifying target markets, creating compelling messages, and deploying various promotional tactics to reach and engage with the right audience.

With the rise of the internet and social media, the tourism industry has witnessed a significant shift in how marketing is conducted. Digital platforms have opened up new avenues for reaching and engaging with travelers, providing ample opportunities to showcase destinations, attractions, and services.

The primary goal of tourism marketing is to increase awareness, generate interest, and drive bookings or visits. It is about inspiring and influencing travelers to choose a particular destination, tour package, or accommodation option. By effectively marketing their offerings, tourism businesses can enhance their revenue, grow their customer base, and build long-term relationships with their target audience.

However, effective tourism marketing goes beyond simply promoting travel products. It involves creating a holistic and immersive experience for travelers, reflecting the unique qualities and appeal of a destination. This requires a deep understanding of the target market’s needs, preferences, and aspirations, as well as the ability to effectively communicate the value and benefits of the travel experience.

Moreover, tourism marketing is not limited to tourism boards or large travel companies. It is also essential for small and medium-sized businesses within the industry, such as local tour operators, boutique hotels, and restaurants. By implementing targeted marketing strategies, even smaller players can compete on a global scale and attract their ideal customers.

Definition of Tourism Marketing

Tourism marketing can be defined as the strategic planning and implementation of activities that aim to promote and sell travel-related products and services. It involves understanding consumer behavior, identifying target markets, creating compelling messages, and deploying various marketing tactics to reach and engage with potential travelers.

At its core, tourism marketing is about showcasing the unique experiences and attractions that a destination has to offer. It involves leveraging the distinctive cultural, natural, and historical aspects of a place to appeal to travelers’ interests and desires.

One of the key objectives of tourism marketing is to create awareness and generate interest in a particular destination or travel experience. This can be achieved through a variety of marketing channels, including digital platforms, traditional advertising, public relations, and partnerships with travel agents and tour operators.

In addition to promoting destinations, tourism marketing also encompasses the marketing of travel services such as accommodation, transportation, activities, and tours. It involves highlighting the unique features, amenities, and benefits of these services to differentiate them in a crowded marketplace.

Moreover, tourism marketing often involves segmenting the target market based on various factors such as demographics, psychographics, and travel preferences. This allows marketers to tailor their messages and marketing strategies to specific customer segments, increasing the chances of attracting the right travelers.

Effective tourism marketing requires staying updated with the latest trends and leveraging technological advancements. With the rise of the internet and social media, digital marketing has become a crucial aspect of tourism marketing. This includes activities such as search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing, social media advertising, influencer marketing, and online reputation management.

In summary, tourism marketing is the strategic promotion and selling of travel-related products and experiences. It involves understanding consumer behavior, creating compelling messages, and deploying various marketing tactics to reach and engage with potential travelers. By effectively marketing destinations and travel services, tourism businesses can attract more visitors and drive growth in the industry.

Importance of Tourism Marketing

Tourism marketing plays a crucial role in the success and growth of the tourism industry. Here are several reasons why tourism marketing is important:

• Increasing Destination Awareness: Effective tourism marketing helps to create awareness about destinations. It showcases the unique attractions, cultural heritage, and natural beauty of a place, encouraging travelers to consider it as a potential travel destination.
• Attracting More Visitors: Through targeted marketing strategies and promotional campaigns, tourism businesses can attract more visitors to their destinations, hotels, and tour packages. By effectively communicating the value and benefits of a travel experience, marketing efforts can inspire and influence travelers to choose a specific destination.
• Boosting Local Economy: The tourism industry is a significant economic driver in many regions. By promoting tourism and attracting more visitors, tourism marketing helps to generate revenue for local businesses, create jobs, and stimulate economic growth.
• Enhancing Competitiveness: In a highly competitive tourism industry, effective marketing can give destinations and businesses a competitive edge. By promoting unique selling points and differentiating offerings, tourism businesses can stand out from the competition and attract their ideal customers.
• Cultivating Repeat Visitors: Marketing efforts, such as personalized email campaigns or loyalty programs, help to cultivate repeat visitors. By nurturing relationships with past visitors, tourism businesses can encourage them to come back and explore more of what the destination has to offer.
• Driving Collaboration: Tourism marketing often involves collaboration among stakeholders within the industry. Destination marketing organizations, hotels, tour operators, and local businesses work together to promote the destination as a whole, leveraging each other’s strengths and resources for a more impactful marketing strategy.
• Creating Positive Perception: Effective tourism marketing not only promotes destinations and travel services but also helps create a positive perception of a place. Through storytelling and compelling narratives, marketing efforts can shape and enhance the reputation of a destination, making it more appealing to potential travelers.

In a nutshell, tourism marketing is essential for raising destination awareness, attracting visitors, boosting the local economy, enhancing competitiveness, fostering repeat business, driving collaboration, and creating a positive perception of a destination. By investing in well-planned marketing strategies, tourism businesses can thrive in a highly competitive industry and contribute to the overall growth and development of the tourism sector.

Components of Tourism Marketing

Tourism marketing involves various components that work together to create effective promotional strategies. Here are the key components of tourism marketing:

• Market Research: Market research is an essential component of tourism marketing. It involves gathering and analyzing data to understand consumer behavior, travel trends, market demand, and competitor strategies. This helps tourism businesses identify their target market, tailor their marketing messages, and make informed decisions.
• Segmentation and Targeting: Segmenting the target market is crucial to deliver tailored marketing messages. Tourism marketers divide the market into specific segments based on demographics, psychographics, and travel preferences. This enables them to customize their marketing efforts and reach the right audience with the right message.
• Positioning: Positioning refers to how a destination or travel service is perceived in the minds of consumers. Tourism marketers define a unique selling proposition (USP) and create a positioning strategy to differentiate their offerings from competitors. This involves highlighting the unique features, benefits, and experiences that set them apart from others.
• Branding: Branding plays a crucial role in tourism marketing. It involves creating a distinct brand identity, including a logo, tagline, and visual elements, that represents the destination or travel service. A strong and consistent brand helps build trust, recognition, and loyalty among travelers.
• Advertising and Promotion: Advertising and promotion are key components of tourism marketing. This includes traditional advertising such as television, radio, and print ads, as well as digital advertising through search engines, social media platforms, and display networks. Promotional tactics may also include public relations, partnerships with travel influencers, and participation in travel fairs and events.
• Content Marketing: Content marketing involves creating and sharing valuable and informative content to attract and engage potential travelers. This can include blog posts, articles, videos, infographics, and social media posts that showcase the destination, provide travel tips, and inspire wanderlust. Content marketing helps build brand credibility, increase website traffic, and foster customer loyalty.
• Online Presence and Website Optimization: A strong online presence is crucial in tourism marketing. It includes having a visually appealing and user-friendly website that provides relevant information, easy navigation, and online booking options. Website optimization, including search engine optimization (SEO) and user experience (UX) optimization, helps improve visibility in search engines and enhances the overall online presence.
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Effective customer relationship management involves building and maintaining strong relationships with past, present, and potential customers. This can include personalized email marketing, loyalty programs, and customer feedback management. CRM helps nurture repeat business, encourage positive reviews, and strengthen customer loyalty.

By integrating these components into their marketing strategies, tourism businesses can create comprehensive and effective campaigns that resonate with their target audience and drive bookings and visits to their destinations and services.

Strategies and Tactics in Tourism Marketing

Tourism marketing involves a range of strategies and tactics to effectively promote destinations, travel services, and experiences. Here are some commonly used strategies and tactics in tourism marketing:

• Targeted Advertising: Tourism marketers utilize targeted advertising to reach specific demographics and interests. This includes running targeted ads on social media platforms, search engines, and travel-related websites to reach potential travelers who are most likely to be interested in a specific destination or travel service.
• Content Marketing: Content marketing involves creating and sharing informative and engaging content to attract and engage potential travelers. This can include blog posts, articles, videos, and social media posts that inspire and educate travelers about destinations, travel tips, and experiences. Effective content marketing builds brand credibility and connects with the target audience on a deeper level.
• Social Media Marketing: Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter have become powerful tools in tourism marketing. By creating compelling visual content, engaging with followers, and running targeted ads, tourism businesses can reach a wide audience and generate brand awareness. Influencer partnerships and user-generated content also play a significant role in social media marketing.
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): A well-optimized website is crucial for tourism marketing. SEO involves optimizing website content, meta tags, and other on-page elements to improve search engine rankings. A higher ranking in search results increases visibility and organic traffic to the website, ultimately leading to more bookings and visits.
• Online Reputation Management: Online reviews and ratings have a significant impact on travelers’ decision-making process. Tourism businesses need to actively manage their online reputation by encouraging positive reviews, responding to negative feedback, and addressing customer concerns promptly and professionally.
• Partnerships and Collaborations: Collaborating with influencers, local businesses, and other tourism stakeholders can amplify marketing efforts. Partnerships can include influencer campaigns, joint advertising initiatives, and cross-promotion to reach a wider audience and provide added value to travelers.
• Personalization and Customer Relationship Management (CRM): Personalization is a powerful tactic in tourism marketing. By collecting and analyzing customer data, tourism businesses can deliver personalized marketing messages, custom offers, and tailored experiences to individual travelers. CRM tools and strategies help manage customer relationships, nurture loyalty, and drive repeat business.
• Event and Experience Marketing: Hosting or sponsoring events and creating unique experiences can be highly effective in tourism marketing. This can include cultural festivals, adventure challenges, or themed tours that attract attention and create a buzz around a destination or travel service.

It’s important for tourism marketers to employ a combination of these strategies and tactics, tailored to their target audience and marketing goals. By implementing a comprehensive and integrated approach, tourism businesses can effectively engage with travelers, drive bookings, and ultimately succeed in a competitive industry.

Digital Marketing in Tourism

Digital marketing has revolutionized the way tourism businesses promote their offerings and engage with travelers. With the proliferation of the internet and social media, digital marketing has become a crucial component of tourism marketing strategies. Here are some key aspects of digital marketing in the tourism industry:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is essential for improving a tourism website’s visibility in search engine results. By optimizing website content, meta tags, and backlinks, tourism businesses can rank higher in search results and attract organic traffic.
• Content Marketing: Content marketing is a powerful tool in the digital landscape. By creating high-quality and valuable content, such as blog posts, articles, and videos, tourism businesses can attract and engage potential travelers, build brand credibility, and drive organic traffic to their websites.
• Social Media Marketing: Social media platforms provide tourism businesses with a direct way to connect and engage with travelers. Through strategic social media marketing, businesses can build a strong online presence, cultivate a loyal following, and showcase their destinations, services, and experiences.
• Online Advertising: Online advertising, including search engine marketing (SEM) and social media advertising, allows tourism businesses to reach a targeted audience. By running well-crafted ads, businesses can increase brand visibility, drive traffic to their websites, and generate bookings or inquiries.
• Influencer Marketing: Collaborating with travel influencers can be highly effective in digital marketing. By partnering with influencers who have a large and engaged following, tourism businesses can tap into their influence and reach, showcasing their offerings to a wider audience and gaining credibility through authentic recommendations.
• Online Travel Agencies (OTAs): OTAs such as Expedia, Booking.com, and Airbnb have become prominent players in the digital marketing landscape. Tourism businesses can leverage these platforms by listing their offerings and optimizing their presence to reach travelers who use OTAs for travel bookings.
• Email Marketing: Email marketing allows tourism businesses to nurture relationships with past and potential customers. By sending personalized and targeted emails, businesses can provide relevant offers, travel updates, and exclusive deals to encourage bookings and foster customer loyalty.
• Website Optimization and User Experience (UX): A well-designed and user-friendly website is crucial for digital marketing success. Ensuring fast loading times, easy navigation, mobile responsiveness, and clear call-to-action buttons can significantly improve user experience and boost conversion rates.

Implementing a comprehensive digital marketing strategy can give tourism businesses a competitive advantage in reaching and engaging with the modern traveler. By leveraging digital channels effectively, businesses can increase their online visibility, attract more visitors, and ultimately drive bookings and revenue.

Challenges and Trends in Tourism Marketing

The tourism industry is constantly evolving, and with it comes new challenges and emerging trends in tourism marketing. Here are some of the key challenges and trends that tourism businesses need to be aware of:

• Rising Competition: The tourism industry is becoming more competitive with the rise of digital marketing and the ease of global travel. Tourism businesses need to find innovative ways to differentiate themselves and stand out from the competition.
• Managing Online Reputation: With the increasing influence of online reviews and social media, tourism businesses need to actively manage their online reputation. Addressing customer concerns, responding to reviews, and providing excellent customer service are crucial for maintaining a positive online image.
• Changing Consumer Behavior: Consumer behavior is continuously evolving, with travelers becoming more tech-savvy and seeking personalized and unique experiences. Tourism businesses need to adapt their marketing strategies to cater to the changing preferences and expectations of travelers.
• Data Privacy and Security: With the collection and use of customer data for marketing purposes, data privacy and security have become significant concerns. Tourism businesses must comply with privacy regulations and ensure the security of customer information to maintain trust and protect sensitive data.
• Sustainability and Responsible Tourism: The growing importance of sustainability and responsible tourism has led to a shift in consumer attitudes. Travelers are increasingly seeking environmentally friendly and socially responsible travel options. Tourism businesses need to incorporate sustainability practices and communicate their commitment to responsible tourism in their marketing efforts.
• Technological Advancements: Emerging technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and artificial intelligence (AI) are transforming the tourism industry. Tourism businesses need to stay updated with these advancements and explore ways to incorporate them into their marketing strategies to provide immersive and personalized experiences to travelers.
• Shift towards Experiential Travel: Travelers are seeking more authentic and experiential travel experiences. This has led to a shift from traditional sightseeing to immersive and meaningful experiences. Tourism businesses can capitalize on this trend by designing unique experiences and crafting compelling storytelling in their marketing campaigns.
• Influence of Social Media and Influencers: Social media platforms and travel influencers have a significant impact on consumers’ travel choices. Tourism businesses need to harness the power of social media and build relationships with influencers to effectively engage with their target audience and tap into their influence.

By acknowledging and adapting to these challenges and trends, tourism businesses can stay ahead of the curve and create effective marketing strategies that resonate with today’s travelers. Embracing technology, promoting sustainability, and delivering personalized and experiential travel offerings are key to success in the dynamic tourism industry.

Tourism marketing plays a vital role in the success and growth of the tourism industry. It encompasses various strategies and tactics aimed at promoting destinations, travel services, and experiences to potential travelers. In today’s digital age, digital marketing has become an integral part of tourism marketing, allowing businesses to reach and engage with travelers on a global scale.

Effective tourism marketing is essential for raising destination awareness, attracting visitors, boosting the local economy, enhancing competitiveness, fostering repeat business, driving collaboration, and creating a positive perception of a destination. By implementing well-planned marketing strategies, tourism businesses can thrive in a highly competitive industry and contribute to the overall growth and development of the tourism sector.

However, tourism marketing also faces various challenges, including rising competition, managing online reputation, changing consumer behavior, data privacy concerns, and the emergence of new technologies. It is crucial for tourism businesses to stay updated with the latest trends and adapt their marketing strategies to meet the evolving needs and expectations of travelers.

Looking ahead, sustainability, experiential travel, technological advancements, and the influence of social media and influencers will continue to shape the tourism industry. Tourism businesses that embrace these trends and incorporate them into their marketing strategies will be better positioned to attract and engage with modern travelers.

In conclusion, tourism marketing is a dynamic and ever-evolving field that requires creativity, adaptability, and a deep understanding of consumer behavior. By leveraging targeted strategies, embracing digital marketing channels, and staying ahead of industry trends, tourism businesses can effectively promote their offerings, attract visitors, and contribute to the growth and success of the tourism industry.

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Effective Tourism Marketing and Promotion Strategies in 2024 and beyond

By: Marium Farooq

December 12, 2023

Table of Contents

According to a study by Statistica in February 2023 , global travel is expected to go up in 2023 and 2024. After a big drop during the COVID-19 pandemic, travel started picking up again in 2022. The forecast predicts a 15.5 percent increase in people visiting different countries in 2023 compared to the year before. At the same time, the number of people traveling from one country to another is estimated to go up by nearly 16 percent during this period.

The tourism industry stands out due to its distinctive nature – it involves marketing and selling experiences that include various elements such as destinations, services, and activities. Unlike typical products, the competition in this industry is consistently intense. To effectively compete with others, marketing strategies must be not only creative and unique but also comprehensive. This calls for meticulously crafted approaches that offer a distinct edge over competitors.

To thrive in this expanding and profitable industry, you require a marketing strategy that suits the modern, ever-changing digital landscape. Run promotional campaigns to increase visibility for your brand, and most importantly, attract more customers. Here are some strategies that can give you the competitive edge you’re seeking:

1. It all begins with understanding your Target Market

The first step is to comprehend your ideal customers. Understanding your customers is the initial key to a powerful marketing strategy. The most effective way to do this is by creating an ideal customer profile that addresses key questions: Who are your customers? What is their demographic information? What motivates them? What interests them, and where do they seek information? How do they prefer to book their experiences? If you have successfully answered all these questions, you can start mapping out your communication strategy that highlights what makes you unique. These customer personas will form the foundation of your marketing strategy.

2. Social Strategy 

As we’ve discussed previously, what sets the tourism industry apart is the intense level of competition it faces. In the world of tourism, the saying “seeing is believing” holds significant weight. Nowadays, customers have high expectations, seeking a fully immersive experience and meticulously planning every aspect of their trips – from bookings to sites and experiences. The key? They want to visualize it all before embarking on their adventure. Given these dynamics, social media is an essential part of your digital marketing that emerges as one of the most potent marketing channels for your tourism organization – provided you choose the right platforms. Each platform presents its unique features and challenges. The two most popular social media platforms for travel marketing are:

Instagram: Instagram boasts over 1.5 billion monthly users , and its user base continues to expand. The platform’s remarkable growth positions it as one of the most trending platforms, coupled with the fact that it is entirely visual. This unique characteristic makes Instagram exceptionally effective for tourism marketing.

The platform has witnessed substantial growth in its mobile video content since its launch, with brands increasingly relying on this medium to enhance engagement metrics and conversion rates. As a tour operator, your responsibility is to assist your potential customers in crafting the perfect tour package and ultimately a great vacation experience. On Instagram, you can captivate your audience by sharing pictures of experiences, hotels, meals, and itinerary events to facilitate their planning process for your tourism business.

Facebook: With over 3 billion monthly active users , Facebook stands out as the most populated social media platform, underscoring the importance of establishing a presence on this platform. However, how can you effectively leverage Facebook for your travel marketing? First and foremost, ensure that your business information on Facebook is complete. Often, travellers access such information about the tourist activity or tourism product through your Facebook profile, particularly if you operate a small business or if your official website has a low ranking on search engines. Given Facebook’s status as the most populated platform, it consistently receives high rankings and Domain Authority on search engines making it an essential tool for your social media marketing.

Another way travellers love to interact with a tourist destination is through check-ins, especially beneficial for destination marketing. Ensure that you use location targeting in your ads, as well as other parameters such as language, age, gender, interests, behaviours, etc. for a highly targeted marketing campaign.

Whether employing precise targeted advertising or a tourism promotion, the platform guarantees that your offers reach your intended target audience. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to deepen your understanding of your customers, ultimately boosting sales for your travel brand.

3. Create Immersive Content with Reels

When it comes to visual content, more is better. Reels are one of the most exciting features offered by social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, and they are excellent for capturing the attention of diverse audiences. Reels provide a fun and interesting way to connect with your audience. When considering the duration of your video content, ensure it includes all aspects of your experience. You can later break it down and repurpose it on different platforms. Create stories, TikTok reels, visuals for your Facebook creatives, and more.

Depending on your content, you can attract more audiences, increase your brand awareness,inspire your audience, and showcase your services. Focus on what your audience is looking for instead of creating mundane behind-the-scenes videos of your work unless that’s what your audience desires. Otherwise, stick to the fully immersive experience you offer. Your visual content is the key for the successfulness of your content marketing.

One of the key challenges tour operators face is how to distribute content effectively without being too redundant. As mentioned earlier, more is better. Create multiple videos of your offerings, focusing on each aspect of the services you provide. This way, you have plenty of options to choose from and can easily edit and use them on multiple platforms using various online tools.

Another crucial aspect is not to omit important information. If your audience is inspired by the experiences you offer, they will likely be interested in tiny details such as the location, prices, availablilty, customizations, and who they can contact to work out a plan. Make sure you address all these questions.

4. Leverage Social Media Influencers

After creating and effectively distributing your video content, if you find it becoming repetitive, consider engaging Instagram influencers followed by your target audience. Influencer Marketing not only adds credibility to your business but also plays a crucial role in expanding your reach to new audiences.

The key lies in selecting influencers wisely. As a tour marketer, it may be tempting to focus solely on the number of followers each influencer has, but this approach overlooks two crucial pieces of information. Firstly, consider whether there is a match between the influencer’s brand personality and yours. Is your target audience likely to follow this specific influencer? This question harks back to the beginning of our blog, where we emphasized creating an ideal customer profile. If there is a match, the second crucial piece of information is the level of influence the influencer has over their audience. This can be determined by analyzing the engagement of the influencer’s followers. At times, influencers may have a modest follower count but a high level of influence, presenting an opportunity for you to strike a profitable deal with them which might be essential for a successful tourism marketing campaign.  

5. Create a Seamless Website Experience

Your website serves as the primary tool to enhance your conversion rates, representing a critical component of your customer’s journey where key decisions are made. The first crucial aspect is to ensure all essential information is readily available, creating an easy booking process. Missing information may prompt customers to leave your website to seek details on your social media platforms or, worse, abandon the booking process. Display all relevant pictures, video content, and details where the booking occurs.

Pro Tip: Enhance your website’s efficiency by utilizing advanced booking software like Zaui, which significantly aids in establishing a seamless booking process for your guests.

The second pivotal element is the user experience on your website. If it is cluttered, slow, or difficult to navigate, it can significantly impact your booking numbers. It is important to maintain a well-designed and organized website for a smooth user experience. The third key point is to integrate a booking system directly into your website to initiate online bookings. Consider using Zaui, a popular booking system that enables revenue growth and automates everyday reservation tasks. Book a demo, and our experts will guide you through the platform, addressing all your questions.

6. Google Things to do

Consider the first step in trip planning: a keyword search on a search engine. With Google commanding over 90% of search traffic, securing visibility on this leading platform is crucial. Ensure your presence spans four relevant surfaces: Google Maps, Google Travel, Google Search, and your Google My Business Profile, each with unique attributes.

To learn how to enhance your visibility and outperform popular OTAs on these platforms, download our Google Things to do ebook . Alternatively, reach out to us for a personalized demo to experience our advanced integration with the Google Things to do platform. Over the past year, our Zaui experts have dedicated themselves to providing tour operators with a premium experience on Google Things to do, marked by advancements in integration and exemplary support. Download the ebook now to get started. CTA – Download Ebook

7. Email Marketing

If you currently don’t have an email list, it’s time to start building one. Your email list is among the most crucial marketing assets you possess, offering greater power than many other marketing channels since Email Marketing is the third-highest return on investment (ROI) .

Ideally, incorporate a subscription form on your website to invite visitors into your online community. This allows you to reconnect with them and potentially convert them into paying customers.

Another facet of your Email Marketing strategy involves guest communication . Establish a seamless guest experience with effective pre and post-trip notifications. Utilize this avenue to build credibility through reviews, ensuring the automation of review notifications. If you find this challenging, there’s no need to worry; your booking software can seamlessly handle it. Book a Personalized Demo with Zaui to explore these features further.

8. Tap into The Power of Reviews

Your reviews serve as a window into customer satisfaction, and there has been a consistent increase in reliance on them. Multiple review sites, such as Yelp, TripAdvisor, and Google Local, are perfect for building an online presence and reputation. Consider joining one or a couple of notable platforms and be diligent in responding to all reviews, both negative and positive. This demonstrates that you are attentive and value all feedback.

Another crucial aspect is the use of pictures, which provide the highest form of credibility. This is where you can elevate your marketing efforts. Photo marketing tools like Fotaflo and PicThrive can seamlessly integrate with your booking system , assisting you in getting direct referrals and reviews that outshine your competition, thereby enhancing your visibility. In tourism marketing, visual content plays the most important role, and professionally taken pictures shared through photo marketing tools provide control over the quality of visual content, as well as improving the overall guest experience.

Standing out in the tourism industry can be a daunting task. However, by incorporating a few unique and modern marketing tactics, you can create a memorable experience for your customers, ultimately strengthening your tourism marketing strategy. With the right strategy and approach, your marketing efforts can help you build deeper connections with your target audience, allowing you to stand out in a crowded market and achieve long-term success in the tourism industry.

If you are seeking unique ways to outshine your competition, get in touch with Zaui. We offer an All-in-One Booking Solution fully equipped with tools and services to help you attain the marketing success you are seeking for your business.

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The collision of world events offers a compelling reason to travel close to home. | Photo by James Lee on Unsplash

Rethinking Tourism

August 24, 2021

4 Ways to Promote Domestic Tourism + Destinations Leading the Way

The tourism industry is fighting through all a myriad of challenges to reopen borders, kickstart tours again, and get back to business. If ever there’s been a scrappy industry that refuses to die, the tourism industry would be it.

In all seriousness, though, the collision of countless factors recently convinced a lot of folks to embrace local travel — a trend lots of analysts predicted in spring 2020 when COVID-19 swept around the globe . It’s nearly 2022 now and many people in high-income countries are vaccinated .

Yet, given the current state of affairs, I wouldn’t be surprised if people continued to cut back on international travel and prioritized domestic travel.

Today, we face COVID-19 variants, a looming climate crisis , civil unrest, and violent weather events. People were signing flight-free pledges prior to 2020, and now even more climate-conscious consumers are questioning whether it’s ethical to fly. Though COVID-19 vaccines offer a buffer of protection and peace of mind, ongoing restrictions, unpredictable closures and cancellations, and expensive tests add increased stress and financial limitations. Additionally, many people have spent the past year broadening their understanding about inequities and racism, and travels that were at one time carefree and comfortable now might seem particularly privileged, frivolous, and wasteful.

It’s safe to say we live in a volatile world — but also one that is more hyper-aware and tuned in to reality. And though people are eager to travel, staying home looks awfully appealing.

If the domestic tourism trend is here to stay, it’s time for destinations to rethink their long-term domestic tourism marketing strategies. It’s also time to appreciate the value of local travelers and help them fully embrace their backyards.

Here are several tourism campaigns leading the way.

Embrace Space

One of the tourism industry’s biggest challenges going into 2020 was overtourism . Too many people were heavily clustered in just a few select places, creating bottlenecks, unpleasant spaces for local residents , and conditions for inappropriate behavior. 

But this city-centric problem isn’t just a tourism issue. We are creatures of habit, and nearly 60% of people live in cities . Think of your own neighborhood and routine: How far from home do you travel every day? How much of your life is built into a routine? And, how much is there to explore if you step beyond those daily, urban boundaries?

Gothenburg, Sweden, isn’t an unusually large city, but its tourism board has actively encouraged people to move beyond the city center with its Next to Gothenburg campaign since April 2019. I interviewed a representative from the tourism board in early 2021, and she told me this strategy was intended to disperse travelers across a wider geographical area throughout the entire year and promote activities beyond the city center, but it’s also meant to encourage more domestic travel.

Similarly, the Azerbaijan Tourism Board’s Adventure is Near campaign targeted domestic travelers. Recognizing people weren’t interested in being in enclosed places and longed for nature, the campaign encouraged “Azerbaijanis themselves to discover the rich and diverse offerings of their own country, from the prehistoric petroglyphs of Gobustan and the Sheki Khans’ Palace, to hiking in the Caucasus mountains and the ever-burning patches of Yanardag,” according to an article in Skift .

Embrace a Sense of Wonder

There’s something about international travel that beckons to people. Perhaps it’s the total and complete unknown in comparison to that daily routine toward which we tend to gravitate. The good news is that domestic tourism can seed that sense of awe and surprise that people seek. 

With strictly closed borders, New Zealand still has to rely on domestic tourism. A survey early in the pandemic indicated 84% of Kiwis said there was somewhere in New Zealand they wanted to go but had never visited. With this information in mind, the tourism board launched its Do Something New campaign to help locals experience their country with a renewed sense of discovery. 

The key message — that now is the perfect time for people to tick off their close-to-home bucket lists — resonated with travelers. A March 2021 survey indicated 75% of Kiwis traveled domestically over the past year, and respondents rated their experience an average of 8.7 on a 10-point scale.

Embrace Local Pride

Despite DMC’s best intentions to position their destinations as perfect and ideal in comparison to others, the truth is that every place is flawed. That’s not a bad thing. It’s simply the reality of the complex world we live in. But instead of shying away from the complicated intersections of people, culture, and place that have helped shape a destination’s uniqueness, lean into this. Using domestic tourism as an opportunity to unravel these quirky and messy bits is an opportunity to seed a sense of pride.

Australia’s Holiday Here This Year campaign emphasized “unexpected adventures” and a chance to “explore somewhere new.” However, it also unscored the value of supporting local tourism businesses with special discounts and activity guides for families.

Canada took a different approach with its recently launched, two-pronged domestic tourism campaign focused on people rather than places. The Heartbeat of Canada video featured 10 Canadians working in the tourism industry and reflected an optimistic vibe set against a harmonious “heartbeat” of sound. Additionally, a postcard campaign encouraged residents to download, write, and mail a message to someone they love on the back of a beautifully branded Canadian postcard. Nothing seeds a warm, squishy feeling quite like a handwritten note to someone you love.

Embrace a New Story

One of the good things to come out of the recent past is the recognition by people of privilege that they need to learn about and reckon with the structures of racism and colonialism from which they’ve benefited. Tangentially, that also means this is the perfect time for destinations around the world to surface and amplify the often silenced stories that shaped them. 

It’s been a breath of fresh air to see lots of socially focused tours receiving more exposure and getting more traction. The Meaningful Map from Tourism Cares is the most recent example of a tool available for independent travelers interested in planning more interesting and honest trips that embrace a new story.

Unsurprisingly, I haven’t found a destination campaign specifically focused on sharing oppressed, untold, and unheard perspectives. Top-down financed campaigns aren’t likely to expose and promote the violent, ugly parts of its history or the dark, cast-aside corners of its community. 

Yet, there is a huge opportunity for destinations to acknowledge their complexity and invite domestic travelers to embrace a new story. The question is, which will be first to do it?

JoAnna Haugen is an award-winning writer, speaker, consultant, and solutions advocate. She is also the founder of Rooted, a solutions platform at the intersection of sustainability, storytelling, and social impact. Hire her as a consultant or to speak at your next event . Find JoAnna on LinkedIn , and stay inspired by following Rooted on Instagram .

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5 Ways to Promote Your City or Town to Increase Tourism

At a time when travel restrictions are implemented, cities and towns are frantically searching for ways to increase tourism.

The internet is filled with travel guides and firsthand accounts of visitors detailing their experiences. It’s more difficult to come across tips from a local—someone who knows the ins and outs of the area. Unfortunately, we don’t all have the luxury of knowing someone within our destination’s limits. Consider these five tips when communicating your community’s charm to increase tourism:

Highlight the history and culture 

Every destination has its own unique story.

Aside from the well-known attractions, consider sharing some of your community’s lesser-known treasures. This may involve obscure facts about your town’s early settlers or the spooky tale about the mansion on Main Street. A picture of these treasures with a description of their significance is an opportunity for you to highlight your community’s unique history to increase tourism.

Share your tasty tips

There’s no feeling better than a full stomach after a day of exploring.

Food largely defines a community’s culture.  When promoting your city or town, be sure to discuss local dishes and the best places to try them. Consider explaining the flavor profile of the dish and the best way to eat it. With ketchup? With a root beer? At midnight? Who knows, maybe visitors will find their new favorite food or restaurant and come back for more!

Offer visitors a breath of fresh air

We all crave a breath of fresh air.

Provide visitors with the best spots to catch their breath and revel in the wonder of your community’s natural beauty. Be sure to detail the best seasons and times of day for visitors to capture the full essence of the landscape. Also, include any materials that they should consider bringing or leaving behind for their visit.

Suggest local stores and businesses

The word souvenir is French for “to remember.”

Tokens of remembrance can be as simple as a keychain or as complex as a scarf woven by natives. Present visitors with an opportunity to remember their visit to your community with recommendations for local stores and businesses. This is also an opportunity for you to help local businesses during these difficult times.

Include your personal testimony

They say that home is where the heart is.

Share the little things that you love about your city or town. This may include how you love the transition between one season to another, or your favorite road to drive down in the summer. Personal testimonies appeal to an audience’s emotions. Provide insight into the small and special things that define your love for your community.

Tip: Include hashtags (i.e., #NewOrleans, #ExploringTheCity, #GetInMyBelly) and/or create a page for your city or town. This will help potential visitors easily locate your stories and recommendations.

When implementing the tips listed above, be sure to consider all audiences (independent travelers, couples, families, and seniors). By showcasing your community’s local treasures and adding a personal touch, you can offer visitors valuable information on what to experience when visiting your community.

Enlist PivotPath’s team of innovative creators to help you fulfill these tips and increase your city or town’s tourism. Contact us  today for a consultation. 

5 Destination Marketing Strategies & Ideas To Promote Tourism

Most DMOs don’t have hundreds of employees or multi-million dollar budgets. They are teams (perhaps just like yours) made up of a handful of passionate tourism marketers who need to make the most of the resources they have. 

That’s getting harder and harder to do. 

Years ago, DMOs could put a couple of ads into a seasonal brochure, set up a stall at an event and get local travel agents to sell their destination. 

Now? Travelers crave real stories from real people. The kind of stories that grab your target audience’s attention and convince them to put your destination on their list of must-visit places. The good news is a successful destination marketing strategy is something every DMO can execute—with the right planning.

Let’s talk about how DMOs can do less with more with these destination marketing strategies 👇

What’s ahead

What is destination marketing.

Destination marketing is any activity that promotes a country, region, or city to attract more visitors. 

It’s an overarching strategy that digs into who your target audience is and what they want out of their trip. These considerations are then used to create targeted, engaging campaigns to entice potential visitors to book a trip to your destination. 

So, how exactly does it work? 

Most destination marketing strategies have several layers:

• Brand awareness. Travelers do a lot of research before they step foot on a plane (or train, car… boat?) to get to you. A destination marketing strategy can paint an image in their mind about what they will experience during their visit. Destination branding can amplify the highlights and hidden gems of a region as well as amplify stories of other happy visitors to get people excited about their trip. 
• Community support. Destination marketing aims to power every corner of a local economy. A successful strategy will have partnerships with local businesses and tourism operators to create content and advertisements to drive visitors.
• Local initiatives. Is your region all about sustainability and eco-tourism? Celebrating local heritage? Being a safe and welcoming place for minority travelers? Your destination marketing strategy can make these initiatives your superpower and demonstrate to visitors why your destination is the perfect place for their next vacation. (Pssst, if you’re looking to build a sustainability strategy, check out our comprehensive Sustainable Tourism eBook !) 

But (and there is a but), nailing destination marketing isn’t easy. There are some hurdles even the most seasoned Destination Marketing Organizations struggle with 👇

Travel Industry Challenges: Where Do Destination Marketers Struggle Most?

DMOs must engage with travelers throughout their buyer journey, from creating awareness, to inspiring action, and providing key information for planning the details of a trip. 

It’s easier said than done. Many DMOs try to hit these goals but battle against the constraints of small teams and limited budgets. 

CrowdRiff’s 2024 Trends Report found 61% of teams pump out content on an annual budget of $200,000. Only 20% have budgets of $600,000 or more. These numbers show it’s important for DMOs to get savvy and find ways to do more with less. 

Here are some of the biggest hurdles 👇

📲 Picking the right social media channels. 77% of travelers now use socials in the early stages of trip planning. But where should DMOs start? TikTok. Instagram Reels. YouTube. Facebook. It can be difficult to decide what channels will resonate best, especially with constantly changing social media trends and shifting algorithms.

🤝 Getting buy-in from locals. DMOs rely on the unique voice of their destination to attract visitors. However, not every local is on board with more tourists in their area. DMOs must find ways to work better with local tourism partners to avoid resistance. 

👀 Finding content creators/influencers. Unfortunately, there isn’t a roadmap for how to work with non-traditional strategies like influencer marketing. It can be a minefield to find a social media content creator who can tell your story, connect with your audience and fit into your budget. (Note: This is exactly why we launched CrowdRiff Creators , which we will talk about later 👀)

📈 Measuring campaign success. Every social media marketing campaign should track metrics like conversions, impressions and audience insights to measure success. But not all of us are social media gurus and—without the right analytics tools —it can be a tough learning curve. 

Understanding where to focus strategic marketing services for maximum impact is a challenge for DMOs. However, DMOs can overcome these challenges with a strong social media strategy, knowing their target audience and amplifying diverse voices. And these things can be done even on the tightest budgets. 

Here are five ideas to market your destination 👇

Destination Marketing Strategies: 5 Ideas To Promote Tourism

How are DMOs overcoming the above challenges to successfully promote their destinations? Let’s take a look at how to build a high impact tourism marketing plan that brings in results. 

1. Expand Your Reach With More Diverse Representation  

Travelers want more than a vacation—they want to feel welcomed like a local. To truly meet visitor expectations, DMOs should showcase everyone that makes up their region, including local stakeholders, unique experiences, and minority communities. 

According to Pew Research , post-Millennials are the most ethnically and racially diverse generation, and 42% of travelers want to visit a destination that supports Indigenous cultures and heritages. DMOs can tap into these key demographics and celebrate diverse voices to add authenticity to a campaign. 

Here’s a few tips to ensure your DMO’s marketing is inclusive: 

🗣️ Use their voices. Tap into the diversity in your area to foster collaboration and hear their perspective. Hold social media take-overs across different communities or spotlight the stories of your diverse neighbors.Tactics like these allow your audience  to see your destination from different points of view, and you get to avoid bias and create content that will truly resonate. Oh, and no matter who you work with, make sure you credit them! 

📦 Think outside the box. Be bold and talk about underrepresented topics to grab your audience’s attention. Destination Canada did this by promoting Indigenous traditions and talked about throat singing in a recent TED talk series. Your audience wants to learn, so give them the information to do it. (Pssst: We wrote an eBook on how to build bridges with Indigenous Tourism if you want to continue learning how to be more inclusive! 📖)

👍 Ensure content is accessible and respectful. True representation means making your content available to everyone. Add alt text to social media images, closed captions on any videos, and be mindful of any cultural sensitivities. Also be aware of updated terminologies to avoid disrespecting readers. If you have a global audience, consider multi-language campaigns and captions.

Visit Phoenix uses a mix of UGC imagery and diverse voices to increase the representation on its marketing campaigns and website. The Visit Phoenix website includes resources on LGBTQ+ and accessible travel, and images of real people make these resources authentic. Steven Totten, who is part of Visit Phoenix’s marketing team, says DEI has become a natural part of the DMOs work. 

“We have a shared doc called ‘Stories to Tell’ and this is where everyone from our marketing department adds ideas, like ‘Oh, I learned about this interesting business or there’s this iconic person we want to highlight. They all happen to fall under the DEI spectrum.”

Steve Totten , Visit Pheonix

The DMO has incorporated diverse representation in every corner of its digital marketing strategies: 

🌈 They look for UGC that shows underrepresented groups living their everyday lives, like LGBTQ+ individuals outside of Pride festivities, to highlight the region’s diversity 

🧑🏼‍💻 The travel marketing team checks its CrowdRiff database daily for new UGC assets to use in Visit Phoenix’s galleries. The 7,000+ assets allow the DMO to collaborate with local AAPI, BIPOC and LGBTQ+ communities to promote inclusive travel

These assets are then used on social media platforms and the DMOs homepage to celebrate the diverse communities that make Phoenix unique. Not only does this help the DMO tell interesting stories, it taps into more target markets to attract more visitors.  

2. Leverage the Insider Knowledge of Local Creators To Gather Short Form Video Content

Travelers love short-form video content.

TikTok is now a major player in the travel planning and booking process. The platform reports that since 2021 there has been a 410% increase in views of travel content. For European TikTok users, 71% say they’re likely to book a vacation based on recommendations they’ve seen on the platform.

These stats show DMOs have a unique opportunity to tap into social media audiences and get on their radar.

Think about when COVID-19 hit. Tourism really felt the pinch. Without interstate and international visitors, many DMOs turned to locals to fill the gap.  

This is exactly what happened when—almost overnight—Torontonians became Destination Toronto’s only customers. The DMO pivoted and launched a campaign called “ Never Have I Ever, TO ”. It encouraged residents to rediscover the city they lived in—to explore new neighborhoods, eat at different places, and dive into local culture. 

Torontonians responded (very) enthusiastically, ready to share their favorite parts of the city on social media. The campaign also asked locals on the street about parts of the city they had never seen:

On the back of locals’ tips, Destination Toronto created neighborhood guides packed with hidden gems and unique itineraries to help residents explore. 

This campaign is great. But producing short-form video content like this is time consuming, especially with a restricted budget. That’s why we built CrowdRiff Creators . DMOs can outsource content creation to scale short-form video production and gather unique assets from talented creators. 

These local creators don’t just create clips to use across your social media channels—they know your area inside out. Local creators know the best places to eat and explore, and they are ready to share. Tapping into their knowledge can provide a wealth of content for DMOs with limited resources. 

Elevate Your Destination Marketing Strategy with Short-Form Video at Scale

3. increase website engagement with ugc imagery.

User-generated content (UGC) is content like images and videos posted by people online, mainly on social media platforms.

DMOs can leverage this content on their own channels to save time , connect with their audience and maximize even the smallest budget . 

You might already be sharing UGC on your social channels, but UGC can add value at every stage of the traveler’s buying journey. DMOs can use UGC images on their websites to boost time on site, the number of page views, or scroll depth. 

Some ways to introduce UGC into a tourism marketing campaign are: 

🧑‍💻 Embed images. First, use images from happy visitors to tell your story 

🤳 Spread the (UGC) word on socials. Then, recycle this UGC across your social media channels to maximize reach

🎟️ Drive conversions with UGC. Finally, link UGC directly to your marketing ef forts. This could be ticket sales, events, or even full destination packages. Just embed a link into the UGC and direct potential visitors to your site 👌

Using UGC to power campaigns is the exact strategy Dollywood used to earn more than $90,000 in bookings. Their destination marketing strategy was simple. Instead of trying to sell tickets, they let their happy customers do it for them. 

The first change was embedding a CrowdRiff Gallery to Dollywood.com. This Gallery automatically pulls images from social media using CrowdRiff’s Rights Management feature and creates a page packed with real, authentic customer experiences. When a website visitor clicks on an image from the gallery, they don’t just get a caption—there is a link that takes them straight to Dollywood’s ticket portal:

The addition of UGC and targeted conversion links has paid off big for Dollywood: 

📈 On-page engagement has increased by 25%

🎢 42% increase in views and interactions on the “Rides and Attractions” page

💰 $90k in ticket sales booked directly through embedded UGC links

Instead of recycling a handful of marketing images in campaigns, Dollywood now uses fresh images to showcase its destination to visitors. 

4. Speak to Concerns Like Sustainability & Local Economies

Travelers are increasingly driven by values when choosing their next travel experience or a particular destination. The impacts of climate change, overcrowding, and a lack of local housing in many places are prompting visitors to think more carefully about travel choices. 

According to Booking.com’s 2023 Sustainability report , 53% of people say recent news about climate change has influenced them to make more sustainable travel choices. A further 43% have traveled outside of peak season to avoid overcrowding. 

What’s interesting is that the same report showed 69% of travelers want their purchases to stay within the local community. This gives DMOs an opening to celebrate smaller businesses and highlight how buying from them can help with sustainability and local economies. 

This is the exact approach Visit Lake Tahoe took in a recent campaign . The aim of the campaign was to tackle sustainability by promoting shoulder seasons and lure travelers away from the overcrowded summer and winter months. 

The campaign focused on some key opportunities: 

• Encourage travelers to visit throughout the year, rather than just at peak winter/summer times
• Target audiences not traditionally focused on sustainable tourism
• Partner with paid media in Seattle and Portland to drive travelers up North

According to the DMO’s case study, this messaging struck a chord.

higher overnight visitor rate

growth in average visitor spending

increase in year-over-year visitors

Now, people look at Lake Tahoe not just as a winter or summer destination, but as an all-year round spot to take a vacay. 

5. Tap Into Your Target Audience’s Curiosity

Understanding the motivations and behavior of the visitors you want to attract is key to balancing effective destination marketing with a sustainable visitor economy. 

As mass tourism crowds out popular places, for example, more people are seeking off the beaten track experiences. The American Express Travel 2023 Global Travel Trends Report names traveling off the beaten path as the number one trend for 2023, with 68% of survey respondents agreeing that they pride themselves on finding lesser-known vacation spots before they become popular. 

This trend is an opportunity for DMOs to tap into the sentiment of curious travelers, while also addressing the social and environmental needs of local communities. 

💎 Highlight “hidden” gems. Visitors don’t want to see what everyone else is seeing. But they also want to go to places that are prepped and ready for tourists. Think about what areas only locals know about that don’t get enough love but have the resources to welcome new visitors. Promote these hidden gems alongside your other big attractions in your next campaign. 

🌮 Uncover local spots to eat. Food and drink is a major part of every traveler’s experience. 87% of us now want immersive, authentic, cultural experiences. Another 53% of travelers want hyper-local, neighborhood-to-table dining—so seek out those hole-in-the-wall hotspots. 

Tourism New Zealand tapped into these desires with its recent If You Seek campaign . 

The DMO knows its target audience inside-out—they are curious adventurers and want to visit places off the beaten track. Instead of promoting Hobbiton or Waiheke Island, the campaign highlighted places that were off the beaten path. This included places like Tāne Mahuta and Hell’s Gate which already had the facilities in place to welcome an influx of travelers, but locals still considered them hidden gems.  

“We wanted to tap into the curiosity of our target high–quality traveler, who we know are adventurous and keen to dig beneath the surface of the places they visit.” 

René de Monchy , Tourism New Zealand chief executive

The campaign worked. Video views reached 135M, there were 1.3M visits to the DMO’s website, and 178K referrals were made to tourism operator websites. 

Use Content to Drive Your Destination Marketing Campaigns

Expensive, polished marketing content is out. Authentic, user-driven content is in. 

DMOs are at a crossroads with destination marketing. Visitors don’t just want to see the “biggest” or “most popular” attractions promoted to them anymore. They want something different and unique. They want a destination to post on their Instagram Story to give all their friends FOMO. 

Meeting these expectations starts well before a visitor steps foot in your destination. 

A destination marketing strategy can promote your region as a place that celebrates diversity, helps local businesses thrive, and wants to share hidden gems with outsiders. Once you know what your target audience is looking for, you can use it to craft compelling content and convince them to book their tickets. 

So… are you ready to use authentic content to take your destination to the next level? 🤔

Own your destination’s story and build a compelling strategy to attract more visitors.

Download our guide to UGC to learn how to turn authentic experiences into higher visitor numbers. 

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