Years after the pandemic, the travel and tourism industry is once again booming as people are eager to explore new destinations and build new connections. However, travelers today are more discerning — expecting personalized experiences, engaging content, and value-driven experiences from the brands they support.

How can you ensure your marketing strategies are effective and aligned with these preferences? One way to stay competitive is to leverage insights from the marketing data available to you. Oh, and did we mention we already compiled some?

In this blog, we’ll explore 25 key travel and tourism marketing statistics to keep in mind as you craft future campaigns!

Overall Marketing Statistics in the Travel & Tourism Industry

Before we take flight, let’s first understand the current state of the travel and tourism industry.

• 2024 is projected to be a record-breaking year for travel and tourism, with the sector’s global economic contribution set to reach an all-time high of $11.1 trillion (The World Travel & Tourism Council, 2024).
• In 2024, ad spending in the travel and tourism industry is expected to double that of 2022, reaching nearly $8 billion. That’s about a 14.3% increase from 2023. By 2025, travel ad spending is projected to increase to $8.77 billion (Advance Media New York, 2024).
• Travel and hospitality marketing budgets increased from 7.3% in 2023 to 8.4% of total revenue in 2024 (Gartner, 2024).
• The travel and tourism industry is expected to employ up to 430 million people by 2033, which is about one in nine jobs globally (Bloomberg, 2023).
• International visitor spending is expected to reach $1.89 trillion in 2024, which is close to the pre-pandemic 2019 peak. Domestic tourists are expected to spend more in 2024 than any year on record, reaching $5.4 trillion (The World Travel & Tourism Council, 2024).

Travel & Tourism Social Media Statistics

Social media is incredibly prominent in the travel and tourism industries. Whether they’re searching for trip inspiration by hashtag or sharing that perfectly Instagrammable spot with their followers, your customers are active on social platforms — which means you should be, too.

• 88% of travel and tourism businesses actively utilize social media to promote destinations and offers, making it a primary marketing channel within the industry (Mize, 2024).
• 81% of travelers use social media to research destinations before booking a trip (The Marketing Collective, 2024).
• TikTok remains the champion platform in terms of engagement in this industry. Travel brands on TikTok experience high engagement, with a median engagement rate of 7.43% per video, outperforming the overall median of 5.69% across industries (RivalIQ, 2023).
• Around 48% of travelers rely on social media platforms for travel inspiration, with Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest being top choices for discovering new destinations (MyTravelResearch.com, 2023)
• 57% of travelers say they like to capture content for their social media accounts during their travels (Statista, 2024).

Travel & Tourism SEO Statistics

Search engine optimization is particularly crucial in the travel and tourism industries as a majority of searches are based on location. To enable hyper-focused reach, an optimized website is an essential tool for tourism brands looking to attract travelers or customers in specific areas.

• 69% of tourism sales occurred online in 2023. A well-crafted SEO strategy is essential for tourism marketers (Statista, 2023).
• More than 90% of travelers research online, and 82% book online (Mitto, 2024).
• Travel-related searches for “tonight” and “today” have grown over 150% on mobile over the past two years (Google, 2024).
• The average conversion rate for travel websites is around 4.7%, but top performers can achieve rates as high as 23% (Ruler Analytics, 2021).
• The typical traveler engages in 38 website visits before finalizing and confirming a booking (WeGoPro, 2024).

Learn more about our SEO services for QAA

Travel & Tourism Digital Advertising Statistics

Digital advertising includes pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns through platforms like Google Ads or social media ads. These types of campaigns can be the digital catapult you need to further propel your brand into the spotlight once a solid marketing foundation has been built.

• Nearly one in five travelers said advertising influenced their decision to book a trip (Expedia, 2023).
• In 2024, the travel industry is expected to spend nearly $8 billion on digital ads, which is double the amount spent in 2022 (Advanced Media New York, 2024).
• The United Kingdom (13.2%) and Australia (12.3%) lead the world in travel and leisure digital ad spending. Thailand is at the other end of the spectrum at 0.9% (Statista, 2024).
• Search ads account for a higher share of digital ad spend in the travel industry than display ads (eMarketer, 2023).
• In 2023, the average click-through rate (CTA) for Google Ads was 6.11%, but the travel industry’s CTA was 10.03% (Promodo, 2023).

Travel & Tourism Website Design & Development Statistics

When booking transportation details or brainstorming a dream trip, the last thing consumers want to deal with is a slow website. For this reason, a fast, functional website optimized for the user experience and aligned with your brand is crucial for success.

• 80% of travelers feel it’s important to be able to book their trip entirely online (Hilton, 2024).
• In the travel industry, the usual bounce rate is around 50.65%. If a travel site has a bounce rate below 23.8% (desktop) or 36.5% (mobile), it’s doing better than 80% of other sites (Promodo, 2023).
• Almost one-third (32%) of travelers used a website through a mobile device to book travel and 23% used a mobile app directly in 2023 (TravelPerk, 2024).
• 76% of global travelers said they appreciate travel apps that reduce the friction and stress of travel (Hilton, 2024).
• 52% of mobile travelers would switch to another site or app if the one they’re using takes too long to load (Google, 2024).

Learn more about our web design services for U.S. Sedan Service

We’ll Help Your Brand Take Flight

Champ has over 15 years of experience working with travel and tourism brands. Focused on transportation and aviation, we’re able to understand the needs of your customers and adapt to the trends impacting your industry.

Whether you’re looking for a branding refresh, SEO support, or a full suite of services that work in tandem to achieve your marketing goals, we’re here to help. Check out our portfolio or reach out to get a brainstorm started!