Julia Faria
Research lead covering advertising and marketing
Travel and tourism industry advertising in the U.S. - statistics & facts
The travel and tourism sector is a cornerstone of the U.S. economy. During the pandemic, the segment encountered unprecedented challenges, with consumers cancelling their vacations to shelter in place. By 2021, things were already starting to look up. The number of U.S. residents traveling overseas dropped by almost 80 percent in 2020, but it also grew by 85 percent the following year. With the lifting of COVID-19-related restrictions between 2022 and 2023, the industry is witnessing a surge in pent-up demand as travelers eagerly return to the roads and skies. To take advantage of this trend, companies in the travel and hospitality field are intensively promoting their services.
Travel advertising bounces back in a digitized world
Travel ad spending in the United States visibly plummeted in 2020 due to the impact of the pandemic. Luckily, already in the second quarter of 2021, the segment moved to catch up with losses, with ad spending starting to near pre-COVID levels. By early 2022, the travel sector spent nearly 500 million dollars on advertising. Apart from pandemic-induced changes, digitization is also transforming the travel and tourism landscape. Travelers integrate digital solutions into all stages of their travel experience, from researching travel destinations to booking transportation, accommodation, and on-site activities. Overall, the travel industry's digital ad expenditure was forecast to add up to 6.28 billion dollars in 2023, outdoing 2019's pre-pandemic value of 6.09 billion. In 2023, travel was also expected to see the fastest growth in any field's digital ad spending.Airbnb and Booking.com rule the market
The travel and tourism realm is a highly competitive marketplace. Even without the added burden of navigating travel restrictions and safety protocols, companies must stand out from the competition to attract customers and secure a slice of the lucrative travel pie. As of late 2022, Airbnb (2273) was the leading travel advertiser on U.S. television, spending close to 87 million dollars on TV promotion. Budget hotel chain Choice Hotels was the most-seen travel brand on TV in the first half of 2022, with a 7.19 percent share of ad impressions. Amsterdam-based Booking.com also fared well in the ad impressions department, while Airbnb ranked at number nine.AI: making strides in the vacation game
Major travel players are also scrambling to get into the artificial intelligence (AI) action. Despite AI already being used in the travel world, frequently using machine learning to anticipate customer behavior or offer personalized recommendations, companies are now looking into conversational AI tools to enhance customer service operations, adding a layer of sophistication soon. In April 2023, Expedia launched a travel planner in its app powered by ChatGPT, while Booking.com announced its new AI Trip Planner – also aided by ChatGPT – soon after that.
