9 Proven Travel Marketing Tips for Sky-High Success

Travel marketing helps businesses in the industry entice potential travelers to visit a particular destination and improve the overall travel experience. Read on for proven strategies that’ll take your travel marketing to the next level.

With the rising popularity of new social platforms and travel vloggers dominating the video space, travel – and travel marketing – is booming.

However, the marketing possibilities for travel brands can be overwhelming.

To help you narrow it down, we spoke with HawkSEM senior SEM manager, Cristin Barta, for her expert tips on creating or revamping your travel marketing strategy.

While you want to head into 2023 as prepared as possible, your best-laid plans could very well go out the window. (Image: Unsplash)

What is travel marketing?

Travel marketing is a broad term that covers marketing strategies used to grow revenue by all sorts of travel companies, including hotels and lodging businesses, transportation companies, tourist destinations, travel agents, tour operators, and more.

You might also hear the terms “tourism marketing” or “destination marketing” in the travel industry.

All of these facets of travel marketing point to the same goal: appealing to potential travelers, trying to get them to visit a particular destination, and improving the travel experience.

Travel marketing can take many forms, and there are plenty of avenues for digital marketing, including social media marketing, email campaigns, and paid advertising.

Of course, marketing efforts can also extend to the physical world with materials like flyers, brochures, and billboards.

9 pro tips for building an awesome travel marketing strategy

The tourism industry has a particularly tough challenge to face when it comes to marketing: the constant shifting of the market itself.

Travel trends change quickly, but with a solid marketing strategy in place, your business can be prepared for anything.

When you’re outlining, updating, or expanding your strategy, keep these marketing tips in mind.

1. Don’t oversell

We’ve all had a travel experience or two that fell short of expectations (some more than others).

Whether it’s fancy social media campaigns that don’t accurately reflect reality or unfulfilled promises, overselling your offering can harm customer relationships long term.

For example, if you oversell hotel amenities or a tour’s exclusivity and don’t deliver, customers are more likely to feel misled.

Naturally, disappointed customers are more likely to leave negative reviews, provide poor word-of-mouth referrals, and share their not-so-great experiences on social media.

This can hurt both your reputation and credibility over time. And with 75% of travelers seeking authentic experiences, building trust and credibility with your brand is paramount.

2. Center the customer

When you’re marketing for your brand, the focus shouldn’t actually be on your brand. It should be on the customer.

Think about it this way: customers don’t just want to know what you can do. They want to know what you can do for them.

Keeping the customer at the center of your marketing efforts is a surefire way to make your campaigns stand out.

Rather than simply focusing on the specific products or services you offer, highlight the problem your business aims to solve or how it benefits your audience.

If you’re stumped on how to go about this, start by asking questions like:

• What does our target audience want from us?
• What do happy customers say about us?
• How can we help guests picture themselves in the experience?

Your business practices are inherently focused on the customer experience, so your marketing efforts should be, too. From the booking process to the customer service experience, there are plenty of tweaks you can make to your strategy to enhance user experience.

Plus, the way people search for travel destinations and experiences is evolving every day. As of 2024, 35% of folks seeking new places to travel are doing so on Instagram.

3. Keep wiggle room in your plan

In travel marketing, it’s key to expect the unexpected. The past few years have only highlighted how quickly things can change in the travel industry.

And while you certainly want to be as prepared as possible, keep in mind that your best-laid plans could very well go out the window.

There are a handful of ways to account for the unexpected when creating your travel marketing strategy, including:

• When calculating your key performance indicators (KPIs), create both regular goals and stretch goals.
• Make a note of any algorithm or industry changes that could affect your Google Analytics as they happen.
• Focus on search engine optimization (SEO), which is less vulnerable to hiccups than pay-per-click (PPC) marketing.
• Regularly reassess your target audience to see if their demographics, budget, or needs have changed.

4. Double-check your keywords

When it comes to both paid search campaigns and SEO strategies, keywords are, well, key. And, for better or worse, keyword research isn’t a one-and-done job.

With how much the travel industry continues to change, it’s a good idea to make sure you’re on the right path and know what keywords people are using to find your business – and be as specific as possible.

Barta’s recommendation? Don’t attempt to rank (or pay) for a “things to do in Colorado” keyphrase.

Instead, try a more focused approach such as “day hikes near Vail,” or “Swedish massage near downtown Denver” vs. “spas in Denver”.

From there, ensure that your pages have high-quality content to help them rank highly on search engines and find their way to your most promising potential customers.

Last but not least, don’t forget to create a negative keyword list to exclude your ads from popping up in conjunction with irrelevant search terms.

Pro tip: There are plenty of keyword research tools at your disposal, both free of charge and for a fee. Check out sites like AnswerThePublic, Ahrefs, and Semrush.

5. Pay attention to industry trends

Along with the keyword tools above, travel marketers can also benefit from sites like Google Trends. That’s because factors like region, seasonality, and social media trends play a huge role when it comes to travel.

In fact, just this year, TikTok’s #travel surpassed 265 billion views.

All this to say: Dig into your data. What keywords are people using and when? What time of year do certain pages get the most traffic, and why?

Once you have a firm grasp on how these trends affect your travel business, you can be more intentional about how, where, and when you position your offerings through marketing. Research marketing trends often and update your strategy at least every quarter to reflect the latest happenings.

Airline brand Air Tahiti Nui fills their Instagram grid with stunning photos of scenic nature. (Image: Instagram)

6. Lean on visuals

The tie-dye sky of a Hawaiian sunset, the bright blue water of the Amalfi coast, and the breathtaking exterior of the Taj Mahal – sightseeing is one of the top reasons people choose to travel.

Even if people are traveling for work or non-sightseeing purposes, visually appealing marketing can still inspire them to explore their surroundings.

No matter what your travel offering is, don’t make visuals an afterthought.

Having professional photos taken – whether you’re an all-inclusive resort, a travel agency, or a transportation service – can benefit several aspects of your tourism marketing strategy.

Include photos and video content in your social media posts to make them more engaging. You can also create a “virtual tour” if it makes sense for your business.

Video marketing strategies like these add legitimacy to your brand and help people feel more confident in knowing what to expect before making a purchase.

Visuals can enhance your marketing efforts on any platform from Facebook to LinkedIn to TikTok. You can even take things a step further with unique strategies like virtual reality, which is particularly appealing to younger travelers.

7. A/B test ads and landing pages

“Set it and forget it” may be an appealing tactic to take with your digital marketing. But if you’re not regularly testing and monitoring your performance, you’re more likely to get scooped by the competition.

Taking the time to A/B test your ads and landing pages will give you peace of mind that your campaigns are optimized and speaking to your target audience as intended.

You can play around with copy, page layout, calls to action (CTAs), imagery, and more to see what resonates most. Don’t forget to test your pages on desktop as well as on mobile devices; nearly 60% of global internet traffic comes from mobile browsing!

Explore partnering with a complementary brand or a travel influencer who can boost your brand awareness through their sizable following. (Image: Unsplash)

8. Keep the content coming

Back to SEO: With all the ups, downs, and unknowns that remain when it comes to travel, investing in SEO and content marketing can add a helpful dose of consistency to your travel marketing strategy.

As booking system company Checkfront explains, “With a well-maintained blog, you can establish authority as a destination expert, attract more visitors to your website, and best of all, boost SEO, according to booking system company Checkfront..”

Consider creating content ahead of time and using automation software to keep your posts consistent.

If you’ve got the bandwidth, you can take things a step further with social media partnerships. As we’ve mentioned before, travel is one of the top-performing industries on social media.

Pro tip: Content is king – and keeping content fresh and current does wonders for SEO rankings. You can repurpose high-ranking content to reach an even wider audience, like making a TikTok or Instagram Reel that aligns with a high-performing blog post (think, “5 Hong Kong Travel Tips ” popping up on a social media scroller’s Explore page or their FYP).

9. Leverage customer reviews

We tend to take advice or make purchases based on recommendations of people we trust. I mean, who hasn’t browsed a site after asking a friend where they got their cute top?

The same is true in the world of online tourism. Engaging with your traveler community and encouraging them to share personal experiences (both positive and negative) is a surefire way to build trust and credibility.

Platforms like TripAdvisor, Yelp, and Google are go-to’s when people are looking for a great local spot. And responding to reviews in a timely manner shows your commitment to customer satisfaction.

But don’t slack on your social media platforms. Barta explains, “Social chatter in itself is a “review”. So engaging users talking about you and the messaging around your travel business is important.”

What does a successful travel marketing strategy need?

Everything from health and safety concerns to deciding where to go in the first place can cause major overwhelm for potential customers.

Here’s how you can help make the process easier.

Audience targeting

All marketing campaigns, regardless of the industry, need a properly defined target audience. Who are you trying to reach with your messaging?

Market research can help you define your most likely customers. You should aim to learn:

• Your customers’ demographics, including age, income level, gender, location, etc.
• The typical travel habits of your audience, including favorite vacation spots and preferred seasons to travel
• Your audience’s pain points surrounding travel, such as difficulty planning activities or budget concerns

Don’t be surprised if you find more than one target audience you’re trying to reach. If so, you can create buyer personas to represent each segment of your audience.

For instance, first-time visitors to a travel destination will have different needs and expectations than those who return year after year. On top of that, targeting new customers will require different strategies than retargeting cold leads.

Segmenting your audience will help give direction to your campaigns and ensure you’re properly serving all potential customers.

Selling points

From travel agencies and hotels to attractions and tours, everybody has a competitor. The key to drawing business is establishing how your company beats out the rest.

Your company should have established its USPs, known as “unique selling points” or “unique selling propositions.” Communicate your USP clearly and quickly in your marketing campaigns.

Customers should be able to tell, almost instantly, how your business is different from others and how you can best help them solve their pain points.

Marketing channels

Once you know who your audience is, you’ll need to figure out where to reach them. Your marketing channels can span everywhere from social media to email marketing to paid ads on Google or other search engines.

Here’s a quick-start guide to help determine which ones are right for you.

Social media

Visually-driven travel brands can find a lot of engagement on platforms like Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, and Facebook. Social media works well for storytelling, user-generated content (UGC), and engaging younger audiences.

YouTube

Video content is ideal for showcasing activities, destinations, and testimonials from satisfied travelers.

Google Ads

As we’ve touched on, search campaigns, PPC, and remarketing are great for engaging travelers who are already searching for specific services or destinations. Keep in mind this is highly conversion-focused.

SEO

SEO ensures your brand appears in organic search results, and is essential for intent-driven traffic (callback to “best day hikes in Vail). This works best if you have a clear value proposition like specific tours, hotels, or unique experiences.

Keep in mind, this is just a quick overview – and it still seems like a lot. That’s where a travel marketing agency partner can help iron out the details and deliver a killer strategy to reach and engage with potential travelers. We know a good one.

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Partnerships

You can’t market inside a bubble. Partnering with relevant companies or engaging in influencer marketing can help get the word out about your business and lead you to audiences you might not have previously reached.

When you work with other big names in your industry, you’re establishing your business as an authority. If an audience sees your company associated with someone they already trust, they’re likely to start extending that trust to you.

Marketing mix

A marketing mix, a concept that originated with the Four Ps, refers to the four key elements of any marketing plan: product, price, place, and promotion. Your marketing mix can help focus your strategies and ensure you’re covering what really matters to the customer.

• Product: What is this product or service?
• Price: How much does it cost?
• Place: Where/how can I buy this product/service?
• Promotion: What strategies can you use to raise awareness of this product and entice customers to make a purchase?

Even beyond these Four Ps, you can incorporate three additional Ps: people, process, and physical evidence.

Who is your audience interacting with when they deal with your business? What’s the process for delivering products or services to the customer? Finally, where do customers interact with your company? All of these elements can help shape any marketing campaign you run.

If you’re not regularly testing and monitoring your performance, you’re more likely to get scooped by the competition. (Image: Unsplash)

The takeaway

People are finally feeling comfortable enough in 2023 to plan those big getaways they may have been putting off for the last couple of years.

By keeping the customer at the center of your marketing campaigns and being strategic about how you position your travel offerings, you can set your business up for success.

HawkSEM can help you adjust or revamp your marketing strategy to adapt to any circumstances and keep your business growing.

Our industry experts can help set up and launch your campaigns, and our proprietary ConversionIQ technology turns real-time data into actionable insights you can use to improve future efforts.

This article has been updated and was originally published in November 2021.