Marketing to travelers has never been tougher. With a plethora of shape-shifting trends, online reviews, and unpredictable global events, travelers are bombarded with both options and restrictions—and your job as a destination marketer is a continual clusterf*** of moving parts. That’s where we come in.

Our job is to conduct the research that drives marketing strategy and campaigns for your destination or attraction. After years of working closely with big-name destination marketing organizations (DMOs) and hotels, we’ve gained a grip on what makes travelers tick—what they want and how they make choices.

As a tourism & hospitality professional, you’re all about the 4 B’s: building buzz & boosting bookings. As travel marketing professionals, we’re all about smart media strategies, researching, planning, and buying media that speaks directly to your target audience. We’re creative thinkers and problem solvers. And we delve deep into analytics to uncover the juiciest ROI metrics that drive successful destination marketing campaigns. In short, we’re a one-stop life-hack shop for tourism & hospitality promoters.

But enough about us. Let’s take a look at what’s trending in 2024.

• Americans are traveling. By any measure, 2023 was a remarkably busy year for tourism. U.S. travelers averaged 2.1 trips, with thirty-six percent traveling three or more times just for fun. What’s more, nearly half of those surveyed plan to travel even more in 2024—many with bigger budgets.
• Skip school and see the world. An astonishing forty-seven percent of parents are willing to take kids out of class for cheaper, off-peak travel. (Where were these parents when we were kids?)
• Digital nomads: Have work, will travel. More than half of people who can work remotely plan to do so from a destination in 2024—whether their employer knows it or not. Can you say hush trip?
• Daycays are here to stay. Budget-conscious travelers are thirsty to explore the world in their own backyards. Quick one- or two-day road excursions will be the order of the day (trip) for adventurers aiming to make the most of their time and finances. And they’re willing to drive up to six hours to do it.
• Destination dupes are the latest travel-twinning trend. This ultra-hot concept from TikTok has cash-strapped travelers swapping out dream destinations for comparable, more affordable options. Think Portugal in place of Italy, New Orleans instead of France, Vail rather than the Swiss Alps. (Or Breckenridge rather than Vail.)
• Gig tripping is big tripping. You don’t have to be a groupie to get your Stan on. With social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok fueling their readers’ desire for attention… er, to share adventures… music and cultural events from Coachella to the Taylor Swift Eras Tour have become major destinations. In the first half of Swift’s U.S. tour alone, hotel room revenue increased by a whopping $98.2 million. Try shaking that off.

Give them what they want.

The number one reason people want to travel in 2024 is to rest and recharge. That’s good news for the hospitality biz. But travel trends have a big say in how that recharging happens. For example, eco-travelers seek out places that champion sustainability, so many hotel marketers are waving the green flag. Others cater to the experiential crowd by offering unique, memory-making activities and services.

So, how can today’s travel marketers speak to today’s travelers? Start with the basics. Whatever the impetus for traveling, hotel guests across the board have certain non-negotiables:

• Cleanliness—always at the top of the list
• Comfort—a close second to cleanliness
• Personalization—customized room preferences, dietary and accessibility needs, welcome gifts and loyalty programs, to name a few
• Contactless solutions—mobile check-in/check-out, digital keys, in-room controls, virtual concierge and room service—anything to be left alone
• Helpful staff—when not wanting to be left alone, those same guests expect hotel staff to greet them warmly, assist promptly, and be generally available to help them throughout their stay. God love ‘em.

Beyond the basics, travel marketing paradigms will see a significant shift toward more personalized, authentic, and direct connections. Sort of a straight-from-the-horse’s-mouth approach. Here are a few tips for ‘24.

Show before they go.

Compelling video content on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram boosts your brand’s reach and potential for driving website traffic big-time. (TikTok alone gains eight new users every second.) Since 2021, the social media phenomenon has seen a mind-blowing four hundred ten percent increase in views of travel content, with seventy-one percent of European users saying they’d book a trip based solely on TikTok recommendations. From shared holiday experiences to virtual destination tours, video eye candy fuels wanderlust like nobody’s business.

Meet the mighty micro-influencers.

Teaming up with micro-influencers is a big trend for travel marketers in 2024. These smaller social media stars (1,000 – 100,000 followers) have their own little tribes of highly devoted fans within specific niches, which means they often build stronger bonds than their macro counterparts. Because of this, micro-influencers usually have higher engagement rates, and their endorsements carry weight—allowing travel marketers to tap into crowds who are really into what they’re offering.

Toss your (digital) cookies.

As apprehensions about privacy grow, the phasing-out of third-party cookies is inevitable. Travel marketers will look to alternative strategies such as first- and second-party data utilization, cross-device audience targeting, AI-powered contextual marketing, and other innovative cookie-less approaches. This includes data collected through direct interactions like website visits and app usage, as well as customer feedback and booking histories. No chocolate chip cookies will be harmed.

Morgan & Co. is the go-to team for all your media and marketing needs, especially if you’re in travel and hospitality. We’re all about bringing the latest trends and data-driven tricks to the table, making your brand shine online and off. Whether it’s killer social media moves or epic virtual experiences, we can help you stand out in the competitive tourism landscape. Hit us up.