Ever wondered why some destinations go viral overnight while others, equally beautiful, barely register on travellers’ radars? One city is suddenly flooded with weekenders thanks to a social media trend, while another has to fight for column inches in a Sunday travel supplement. As curious, ever-alert creatures, we understand this paradox of modern tourism: attention is global, instant and fiercely competitive.
MEERKATs may be particularly drawn to sun and sand, but we’re also keen explorers who know a thing or two about travel all over the globe. We are happy to confirm that travel is booming again. According to UN Tourism, global travel spend is up 5 per cent in the first half of 2025. But how people choose where to go has shifted dramatically. Today’s travellers are looking for experiences over souvenirs, authenticity over cookie-cutter itineraries, and inspiration that feels personal. Digital platforms have disrupted traditional advertising routes, and the scroll-to-book journey is now just as important as the glossy brochure or billboard.
For tourism boards, destination marketers and travel brands, this creates both opportunity and pressure. How do you ‘stand up and out’ in a world where your competition isn’t just the next town over – it’s every corner of the planet? That’s where MEERKATworks comes in. As an independent media planning and buying agency with “burrows” in Edinburgh and Brighton, we help travel brands wanting to reach a UK market navigate this complex landscape with confidence. By blending our experience with creativity and agility, we design campaigns that don’t just make destinations visible; we make them irresistible. If you’re ready to rethink tourism advertising and put your place on the map (and in travellers’ imaginations), you’re in the right spot!
The challenge: Marketing in travel and tourism
The travel and tourism industry is exciting, fast-moving and full of opportunity. But when it comes to advertising, it’s also one of the most complex sectors to navigate. Unlike consumer goods or retail, tourism brands face shifting demand cycles, unpredictable global events and the daunting reality that their competition isn’t just next door – it’s the entire world.
Three of the biggest challenges in travel advertising are:
1. Seasonality:
Every destination has its “moment”, whether that’s a ski resort buzzing in January, a coastal town at full capacity in August or a Christmas market lighting up the winter months. But the flip side of peak season is the dreaded ‘shoulder season’, when demand drops off and hotels sit half empty. Tourism boards and travel brands often make the mistake of putting all their energy into promoting peak travel windows. The smarter move? Building campaigns that smooth demand across the year. For example, a ski resort could reposition itself as a summer hiking and wellness retreat, using targeted ads to reach outdoor enthusiasts.
According to VisitBritain, encouraging year-round travel doesn’t just boost revenue, it also supports sustainability by spreading visitor numbers more evenly and easing pressure on overcrowded hotspots.
2. Global vs. local: Different audiences, different messages
A family living two hours away might be tempted by a last-minute day trip. A traveller flying to the US needs months of planning, long-haul appeal and reassurance about safety and accessibility. Both are valuable audiences, but they require completely different advertising strategies.
Local audiences often respond well to convenience-driven messaging – think radio ads, regional out-of-home (OOH) or targeted digital campaigns highlighting easy access (“Just 90 minutes from Edinburgh, discover a whole new world…”). International travellers, meanwhile, are making bigger investments of time and money. They need inspiration and reassurance – video content that builds desire, and storytelling that puts them right in the heart of the experience. The challenge for marketers is striking the right balance.
3. Shifting traveller behaviour
The way people discover and book travel has transformed. Now a 20-second social media clip of a hidden beach can drive thousands of bookings overnight.
Social-first discovery: Gen Z travellers in particular rely heavily on TikTok and Instagram to find their next adventure. A report from Expedia shows that over 60% of younger travellers are inspired by social media when planning a trip.
Sustainability demands: Growing numbers of travellers actively look for destinations and operators that prioritise sustainability. Ads that showcase eco-friendly travel options, from rail connectivity to community tourism, resonate strongly. For advertisers, this means agility is key. A campaign that works brilliantly today may need rethinking tomorrow, as trends and platforms evolve. The winners are those who monitor behaviour closely and adapt messaging in real-time.
Assessing the competition
Here’s the reality: a city break in Manchester is up against Paris, Barcelona or Prague – all marketed aggressively, often with sizeable budgets. But this is where strategy can outsmart size. Smaller destinations and travel brands can punch well above their weight (much like us MEERKATs) with targeted media buying and smart creative.
Precision targeting: Instead of blanketing a market, a small coastal town might focus on a niche, for example, promoting itself as the UK’s top surf spot for beginners, using digital channels and Programmatic to zero in on outdoor-loving millennials.
Storytelling: A rural destination might not have the skyscrapers of New York, but it can own its narrative around peace, authenticity or cultural richness.
Agility: Destinations can react quickly to opportunities, from heatwave-driven “book now” messaging to fast-turnaround placements in digital display, OOH or radio. The key is to deliver destination advertising that speaks directly to the right travellers, in the right context.
Bringing it all together
Seasonality, global versus local balance, shifting behaviours and fierce competition all make tourism advertising uniquely challenging. But they also make it one of the most rewarding fields for creativity and smart strategy. When destinations embrace these challenges, tailoring campaigns to audience needs, they don’t just attract visitors – they attract the right visitors.
At MEERKATworks, solving these puzzles and sniffing out the right opportunities for our clients, are what we love most.
Our approach to travel advertising
For the savvy MEERKATs, travel advertising isn’t about throwing money at the biggest billboard or buying space in every magazine. It’s about building a smart, balanced plan rooted in audience insight and measurable goals.
We know that the same traveller might book a luxury spa weekend one month and a budget adventure holiday the next. That’s why we start every campaign with research – who your audiences are, where they spend time and what motivates them to take action.
Our media planning blends creativity with analytics, ensuring your campaign doesn’t just look good but performs brilliantly. Whether you’re promoting a hidden gem in the Scottish Highlands or a dream break to the Bahamas, we make sure your message lands with impact.
Creative campaign execution that drives results
Data is powerful, but creativity is what makes a traveller stop, look and dream they are there. The MEERKATs bring destinations to life through campaigns that combine smart media placement with compelling storytelling.
We’ve placed destination advertising in airports, train stations and city centres where travellers are already thinking about their next trip. We’ve run multi-channel campaigns spanning digital display, out-of-home (OOH), TV, radio and print. It’s not just about visibility, it’s about sparking emotion – making someone picture themselves in your location, suitcase in hand, adventure ahead.
Travel advertising examples and case studies
We don’t just talk about results – we deliver them for travel brands, tourism boards and transport providers.
Nassau & Paradise Island
An example of a campaign that made viewers stop, look, dream, and follow the call to action is the programmatic OOH campaign we planned and bought for Nassau & Paradise Island. The MEERKATs planned the activity on digital screens in affluent areas across London. Utilising a clever ‘trigger’ mechanism, the campaign was activated by cold, rainy weather. In this way, passers-by received timely, weather-controlled ads inspiring visits to the blue skies, sparkling waters, and sun-drenched beaches presented in the on-screen narrative.
Explore Georgia
The MEERKATs delivered an impactful integrated Programmatic and TV campaign to promote the American State of Georgia as a destination to the UK market. The activity – which drew in viewers with the State’s mountains, cities and coasts – began with Programmatic. Using a combination of standard and high-impact creative, the Programmatic carefully targeted those in market to travel.
The MEERKATs further flexed their planning and buying muscles for the ‘Explore Georgia’ campaign by securing high added-value activity on ITVx across London and the South-East. Using Experian data, programme select and TGI, we pinpointed key audiences with an affinity to travel.
Travel audio advertising
Our travel advertising expertise covers a wide variety of media strategies, channels and approaches. One channel that is often forgotten is audio. At MEERKATworks we have numerous powerful examples of travel audio campaigns we have created, planned and bought across radio, digital and podcasts. Take a listen to our showreel of travel audio ads which demonstrates how we have creatively evoked destinations, promoted seasonal getaways, built travel brands and inspired people to act.
These examples highlight what happens when clever planning meets creativity: measurable impact.
Travel audio campaigns from MEERKATworks
Partner with the MEERKATs for your travel advertising
Tourism boards, destination marketers and travel brands choose us because we’re:
Strategic: Every campaign is tailored to your audience, budget and goals.
Creative: We know how to tell stories that resonate and inspire travellers to act.
Insight-driven: Our research and tools keep campaigns grounded in real data.
Flexible: Whether your audience is local day-trippers or international tourists, we adapt strategies to fit your precise needs.
Approachable: We’re not just smart media planners and buyers – we’re widely known to be agile partners who listen, collaborate and have our clients’ backs. As our motto says: we’re friendly and don’t bite, unless you’re a scorpion.
From Edinburgh to Brighton and beyond, our MEERKAT “burrows” are full of big ideas, sharp insights and a proven track record of helping destinations shine.
Ready to start your journey?
If you’re ready to make your destination or travel brand impossible to ignore, we’d love to talk.
At MEERKATworks, we dig deep to combine strategy, creativity and insight to deliver tourism advertising campaigns that do more than look good; they bring real results. Get in touch today to explore how we can give your brand MEERKAT punch, and help you stand out in the world of travel and tourism.