How to market your tourism business: 5 strategies for success

When planning how to advertise a tourism business the options are almost endless, but simply pouring your time and resources into every technique is a sure-fire way to waste both. So how can you build an effective marketing plan amidst the many options and industry changes? Here, we outline five of the most effective marketing strategies for the tourism industry that can be implemented at any business size.   

Bring your tourism business online in the right ways

You could be wasting advertising dollars and missing bookings if you don’t have the right online presence to capture demand. Put simply: if you want to know how to increase sales in the tourism industry, information and booking must be readily accessible! This will generally mean:

• Ensuring you have a mobile-friendly website with 24/7 online booking 
• Advertising via social media and/or paid search, as and if relevant for your business
• Creating quality content on your website and social sites to drive organic traffic 
• Requesting customer reviews through automated follow-up messaging
• Making the most of your customer database by sending personalized email marketing
• Maintaining cohesive tourism destination branding and storytelling across all channels for a rich customer experience.

You can refer to our free business growth Master Class to dive into further details on each of these areas. 

Become the local authority on your destination

One of the most effective advertising techniques in tourism is to be truly useful to your target audience. Aim to become the ultimate trusted tour guide for your area. You might publish amazing itineraries for three-day and five-day holidays in your region, recommending accommodation, dining, tours and activities. You could use your social media pages to share what’s new and provide tailored recommendations to followers. Charter fishing companies could release an in-depth local fishing guide, while a kayaking business could describe a handful of detailed routes complete with dynamic videos. This kind of high-quality information can lead to quality link-building, increased traffic, and best of all – a boost in bookings. To further enhance your online presence and drive more traffic, considering outsourcing link-building could be a strategic move, leveraging external expertise to secure valuable backlinks efficiently

Drive exposure through reseller & influencer relationships

Working with third parties can be a real win-win all round. You could use a reseller Marketplace to easily: 

• Provide live availability to visitor centers and hotel concierges in your area
• Work with niche and industry-specific tourism resellers by incorporating unique travel agency ideas to build partnerships
• Offer bookings through the most popular online travel agencies (OTAs) such as Expedia and TripAdvisor.

You might also work with other businesses in the area to create appealing getaway packages or giveaways including accommodation, dining, and experiences. Or, you could reach out to appropriate influencers to help promote your tours or activities. Here’s just one example: the once-sleepy town of Derby in Tasmania rapidly became a world-famous destination for mountain biking after a handful of prominent mountain bikers gave rave reviews about their experiences there. 

Tailor marketing efforts to different traveler types

Targeted marketing can be one of the most important aspects when planning how to market your tourism products. Your marketing plan will ideally outline different strategies for different customer demographics and psychographics, based on your data analytics. Here are a few ways this might play out:

• Targeting different age groups by the media they use most. For example, older audiences might respond better to Facebook-based advertising, while your Millennials and Gen X audiences might respond better to informal Instagram or TikTok content.
• Coming up with specific deals or offerings for certain groups. Some examples might be family-friendly discounts for larger bookings or romantic packages designed for couples.
• Rewarding customer loyalty through offers like anniversary discounts and special deals for repeat bookings.
• Offering team-building packages to appeal to businesses in your area – this can be a great option to improve bookings in the slow season!

Promote what makes your tourism business unique

There are certain things that your business can offer that no one else can. Perhaps your team is like a close-knit family and this makes for an incredible customer experience. Maybe you have special equipment or transport that allows you to take people to a hard-to-reach location, or perhaps you’ve added special cultural or environmental elements to your tours. Hone in on your business’s unique offerings, and spread the word with videos, photos, and stories about those factors.

When setting out how to promote your tourism business, the foundations are always key. Rezdy offers a modern online booking system and so much more for tourism businesses. We’re here to help you to grow your reseller bookings, provide a stellar guest experience and build up amazing customer reviews. You can sign up for a free 21-day trial right now, or request a demo with our friendly team.

For more support and tips on how to increase sales in your travel & tourism business, follow the Rezdy blog.