2019 has been a massive year for the travel and tourism industry, and 2020 doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. Whether you own a boutique hotel, a destination attraction, or represent your regional’s tourism board, we’ve got the top travel and tourism industry statistics that you need to know to start your new year off with a bang!
Let’s dive in (pun intended).
25 Travel and Tourism Marketing Statistics
General Statistics
1) The US travel market grew 5% in 2018 and maintained this growth in 2019.
2) By 2022, it’s estimated that total gross bookings will hit $441 billion.
3) 79% of travel marketers used Facebook Ads.
4) Digital advertising accounts for 47% of all travel global ad spending
5) 81% of travel respondents say that it’s crucial for travel brands to provide personalized experiences.
Budgeting & Spend Statistics
6) Travel advertising spend (ad spend) in the US hit $7.6 billion in 2018.
7) Travel advertising spend in Europe hit $4.6 billion that same year.
8) The travel industry makes up 10.9% of the total US search spend ($5.84 billion).
Channel Tactics & Strategies
9) Facebook (30% and Instagram (28%) are seen as the most effective channels for targeting new audiences.
10) 80% of travel marketers consider SEM to be the most effective channel for delivering bookings.
11) More than 50% of tourism website traffic comes from a mobile device.
12) 53% of travel and tourism brands use personalized email content in their marketing strategy.
Social Media Usage Statistics
13) In 2019, 1,000,000 travel-related hashtags are searched on a weekly basis.
14) 74% of travelers state they use social media while traveling.
15) 97% of millennials report that they share photos on social media while traveling.
16) It’s estimated that 75% of travel followers will engage with their friend’s travel posts.
17) 84% of millennials say that they are likely to plan their own vacation based on someone else’s social posts.
18) 34% of millennials have booked a holiday because of someone’s social media post.
19) 43% of millennials won’t go on a vacation if they aren’t sure their followers can view their vacation posts.
Experiential Travel Statistics
20) 67% of high-income travelers say they would rather spend their money on activities and experiences versus a more expensive hotel room.
21) Tourists spend collectively $129 billion on activities – making it the third largest segment of travel.
22) 50% of all activity bookings are made within eight days of activation.
23) 21% of tourists use social media to research information on attractions.
24) 40% of travelers post experience reviews on social media after their trip
The Future of Travel and Tourism
25) Over the next five years, marketers state they believe the following technologies are most likely to disrupt travel marketing:
- 20%: augmented reality or VR
- 17%: real-time travel audience data
- 13%: smart speakers or voice search
What Does This Mean for Your Travel Marketing Strategy?
Statistics are great and all, but how can you leverage these insights to support your own marketing efforts?
Here are our key takeaways to help you strengthen your travel marketing plan:
- Make sure your travel and tourism brand has some Instagrammable moments.
- Ensure that you have a healthy wifi connection for your customers.
- Leverage your ad spend to showcase your most inspirational content.
- Follow-up with your customers after their travels to encourage them to leave reviews and post their best pieces.
- Implement an advocacy marketing program to help distribute your social content, highlight your patron’s user-generated content, and reward loyalty.
Attention Travel and Tourism Brands, Are You Ready for 2020?
Want to learn more about how you can leverage advocacy marketing to support your travel and tourism brand? We can help. Connect with SocialToaster today to schedule a demonstration of our award-winning advocacy marketing platform and let one of our advocacy marketing experts help you craft a program unique to your needs and marketing business.
