Digital marketing for travel & tourism
Inspire, engage, and convert travellers before they book with someone else
Digital marketing for travel agencies, tour operators, and destinations. We build marketing strategies that capture the imagination, drive direct bookings, and reduce dependency on OTAs.
5.1x
return on ad spend
287%
increase in direct bookings
83%
of trips start with an online search
The challenge
Why travel & tourism marketing is different
Every industry has its quirks. Here is what makes marketing in travel & tourism uniquely challenging.
OTA commission is killing margins
Booking.com, Expedia, and TripAdvisor take 15 to 25% per booking. Every direct booking you generate keeps that margin in your business.
Seasonal demand volatility
Peak season sells itself. Your marketing needs to work hardest during shoulder and off-peak seasons when bookings do not come naturally.
Inspiration to booking is a long journey
The average traveller visits 38 websites before booking. Your brand needs to be present and persuasive throughout that entire research journey.
Visual content demands are relentless
Travel marketing lives and dies by visual content. Stunning imagery and video are not optional. But producing enough high-quality content consistently is expensive and time-consuming.
Reviews and social proof are everything
Travellers trust other travellers. A 4-star rating loses bookings to a 4.5. Your reputation management strategy directly impacts your revenue.
What we do
What we do for travel & tourism
Not a cookie-cutter package. Every service is tailored to the specific needs and opportunities in your industry.
Travel SEO
Rank for destination and experience searches: 'best things to do in [location]', '[destination] tours', and '[type] holidays'. Long-form destination guides and itinerary content that captures planning-stage traffic.
Paid search and social ads
Google Ads, Meta, and Pinterest campaigns targeting travellers by intent, destination interest, and travel dates. Dynamic retargeting to bring dreamers back when they are ready to book.
Social media and inspiration
Stunning visual content for Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Pinterest. Destination showcases, guest stories, travel tips, and behind-the-scenes content that makes people want to go there.
Email marketing and CRM
Dream-stage inspiration emails, booking abandonment recovery, pre-trip information, post-trip review requests, and loyalty campaigns. Full lifecycle marketing from dreaming to rebooking.
Content and video production
Destination videos, property tours, experience showcases, and travel guide content. Professional production that showcases the magic of the experience you offer.
Review and reputation management
Proactive review generation on TripAdvisor, Google, and Trustpilot. Monitoring, response management, and strategies to consistently improve your ratings.
Real results
Numbers that speak for themselves
287%
increase in direct website bookings
for a tour operator reducing OTA dependency
5.1x
return on Google Ads spend
for a boutique hotel group running seasonal campaigns
890K
video views per month
for a destination marketing organisation's social content
42%
increase in average booking value
through upsell and experience add-on email campaigns
Why us
Why Ikaroa for travel & tourism
Industry expertise, not guesswork
We have worked with dozens of travel & tourism businesses. We know what works, what does not, and how to avoid the mistakes that waste your budget.
Transparent reporting, always
Monthly reports you can actually understand. No vanity metrics, no jargon. Just the numbers that matter to your business and clear explanations of what we are doing and why.
Full-service, one team
SEO, ads, content, design, development, and strategy under one roof. No middlemen, no hand-offs between agencies. One team that knows your business inside and out.
FAQ
Common questions
Can you help us compete with massive OTAs?
You will never outspend Booking.com, but you can outmanoeuvre them. Direct bookings come from brand loyalty, better content, and targeted marketing to people who already know and like you. We build strategies that make your direct channel the preferred choice.
How do you handle seasonal marketing budgets?
We plan annual budgets with seasonal weighting. More spend during shoulder and off-peak periods when you need the most help, and strategic spending during peak to capture demand at the best cost.
Do you work with both B2C and B2B travel?
Yes. We work with consumer-facing travel brands and B2B travel companies including TMCs, group travel operators, and MICE organisers. The channels and tactics differ significantly.
What role does Pinterest play in travel marketing?
A big one. Pinterest is a planning tool, and travel is one of its top categories. We run both organic and paid Pinterest strategies for travel clients, capturing people at the dreaming and planning stages.
Can you help us produce video content for destinations?
Yes. We produce destination videos, property walkthroughs, experience showcases, and social-first short-form content. Video is the single most effective content type in travel marketing.
How do you measure success beyond just bookings?
We track the full funnel: website visits, brochure downloads, enquiry submissions, booking completions, and average booking value. We also track assisted conversions to understand which channels influence bookings even if they do not get the last click.
Ready to grow your travel & tourism business?
Tell us about your goals and we will put together a strategy that fits your industry, budget, and timeline.
Get your free strategy callOther industries
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