Travel and tourism marketers are ‘keeping a pulse’ on declining visits, and tweaking messaging in a chaotic climate

With an ongoing global trade war and stricter border enforcement, the travel and tourism industry in the U.S. is starting to see a dip in visitors. During the month of March, international visits to the U.S. declined 14% year over year, according to the U.S. Travel Association, which also found, if the decline is maintained throughout the year, the U.S. will see a $21 billion loss in “travel-related exports.”

For marketers in the travel and tourism space, the effects of that drop will depend on how reliant they are on international travel. Agency executives say that the marketers who are more reliant on international travel are delaying bigger budget outlays, such as sponsorships and partnerships, as well as reworking their audience strategies to manage the current climate. 

Meanwhile, marketers who are more reliant on domestic travel are leaning into messaging for that market even further and touting messages of value — economic and otherwise — to appeal to travelers. What makes the current market so difficult isn’t just a reduction in international travel, but also the economic climate and the more “nervous and anxious” consumer mood that has marketers across the board worried about the next quarter and beyond.

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