Tourism marketing is the strategic process of promoting travel destinations, experiences, and services to attract and engage potential visitors. This multifaceted approach combines online and offline tactics designed to influence travel decisions and drive visitor engagement.
At its core, effective tourism marketing uses strong storytelling, modern technology, and great visitor experiences.
As modern travelers look for real connections and personalized experiences, they avoid generic ads. They do their homework before booking, trust peer reviews, and expect smooth digital interactions every step of the way.
Understanding these changing preferences is key for destinations that want to stand out in a crowded market.
In this article, we’ll share 12 tourism marketing strategies to help destinations attract more visitors, and turn them into loyal advocates.
1. Use Storytelling to Connect Emotionally
Authentic storytelling transforms ordinary destinations into extraordinary experiences.
When you share genuine stories from locals or previous visitors, you create emotional connections that statistics and features alone cannot achieve. These narratives help potential travelers visualize themselves experiencing your destination firsthand.
For example, hearing a recorded account of a city’s founding or watching historic footage while standing at a landmark can help visitors connect more deeply with the history of the place.
Consider embedding audio and video content in kiosks and self-guided tours to bring stories to life. This approach makes experiences more memorable and meaningful because stories stick with people long after facts fade.
2. Build an Experience-First Destination Website
Having a website is essential for tourism marketing. It serves as the digital gateway where potential visitors form their first impression. This impression plays a crucial role in whether they decide to book a trip or continue searching elsewhere.
A recent survey shows that 80% of travelers consider it important to be able to book their entire trip online. To meet this expectation, your website must provide a smooth and user-friendly experience.
Since many travelers research and plan trips using mobile devices, it is important that your website is easy to navigate and loads quickly on any device.
Beyond listing attractions, an effective tourism website focuses on highlighting the unique experiences visitors can enjoy. It shows what travelers will see, feel, and learn during their visit.
Your website should also share stories that show the benefits visitors will enjoy. This helps travelers feel more connected and makes your destination stand out.
3. Leverage Self-Guided Tours
Self-guided tours offer flexibility and immersion that traditional group tours cannot match. Platforms like STQRY enable destinations to create rich, multimedia experiences that travelers can enjoy at their own pace and according to their specific interests.
A great example of this is The Walt Disney Family Museum. They use self-guided tours to bring exhibits to life while making the content accessible to all visitors.
Tracie Timmer, Senior Public Programs Coordinator at the museum, shares:
“Our favorite features are the accessibility features, as we believe they add a much-needed new dimension to our existing content that makes the museum that much more accessible for everyone.”
A key technology in self-guided tours is geofencing. It uses GPS or Bluetooth to know where visitors are and automatically shows them the right information at the right time. This helps guide visitors smoothly through exhibits, trails, or outdoor areas.
Self-guided tours work especially well for historical trails, museums, and outdoor spaces where visitors benefit from detailed context and background information.
4. Develop an Email Marketing Funnel
Email marketing is a powerful way to build and keep connections with potential visitors as they plan their trips.
On average, email campaigns convert about 15% of recipients, and since 77% of marketers have seen more engagement recently, many destinations are likely getting even better results.
To begin, offer helpful resources such as downloadable guides, trip planners, or exclusive content that answers common travel questions. This encourages visitors to share their email addresses so you can stay in touch.
Once you have their contact, send emails that match each traveler’s interests.
For example, someone who downloads a family guide will get different messages than a solo traveler. This makes sure your emails feel personal and don’t get ignored or sent to spam.
Use email to promote tours, events, and special deals at the right times. A good email series might first introduce your destination, then share seasonal highlights, offer useful travel tips, and finally send strong booking offers when travelers seem ready to book.
5. Help Travelers Find You Through SEO
Search engine optimization (SEO) helps your website show up higher in search results when people look online for destinations, things to do, or travel tips. It makes it easier for travelers to find you while planning their trip.
Some people claim SEO is outdated, but the data tells a different story. Over 90% of travelers research trips online, and 82% go on to book online as well.
Your audience is searching—and if your destination doesn’t appear in those results, you’re missing valuable opportunities.
To show up where it matters, use keywords that match how people search. Phrases like “things to do in [city]” or “best restaurants near [landmark]” attract travelers who are ready to plan and book.
These location-based terms bring high-intent traffic to your website and increase your chances of converting visitors into bookings.
6. Incorporate AI-Powered Chatbots
AI-powered chatbots give travelers instant help at any time of day. They can answer common questions, provide directions, and assist with basic requests without needing staff support.
As these tools learn from interactions, they become better at offering personalized assistance. Chatbots can suggest tours, help with bookings, and respond to frequently asked questions with more accuracy and relevance.
When integrated across your website, kiosks, and mobile apps, they provide a consistent support experience. This omnichannel approach ensures help is always available when needed.
7. Engage with Influencer and UGC Campaigns
Partnering with travel influencers helps you reach new audiences who already trust the content they follow. Nearly one in three consumers worldwide have booked vacations inspired by influencer content.
To make the most of this opportunity, choose influencers whose followers match your ideal visitors and whose style fits your brand. This way, you create authentic partnerships that lead to stronger engagement.
Another effective strategy is encouraging travelers to share their own stories. By launching hashtag campaigns, you can easily gather user-generated content (UGC) that promotes your destination through real experiences.
To keep the momentum going, showcase this content across your kiosks, email newsletters, and social media channels.
Doing so encourages more visitors to share their experiences and gives future travelers a genuine glimpse of what to expect.
8. Create and Promote Digital Collections
Digitizing and sharing cultural or historical archives online serves multiple strategic purposes for museums, galleries, and tourism boards.
These online collections spark curiosity by providing virtual visitors with valuable content and enticing them to learn more through carefully curated previews.
As a result, digital archives extend your destination’s reach beyond geographic boundaries, attracting international attention and building your reputation as an expert in specific cultural or historical areas.
This wider exposure often leads to increased visitation from people who first discovered your destination through these online collections.
9. Invest in Search Engine Marketing (SEM)
Google Ads targeting destination-based searches capture high-intent traffic from travelers actively researching museums and cultural attractions. These campaigns reach potential visitors at crucial moments when well-crafted ads can influence their decision to visit.
To maximize budget efficiency, focus your campaigns on timely promotions tied to seasons and events
For example, advertising a summer exhibit during the winter months wastes resources, while promoting special exhibitions, holiday events, or temporary collections during their run delivers stronger returns.
Additionally, retargeting visitors who have explored self-guided tour pages or exhibit itineraries helps keep your museum top-of-mind during the extended planning period typical of cultural travelers.
10. Use Data-Driven Personalization
Using data is key to personalization. By gathering and analyzing information about visitors’ behavior and interests, you can deliver messages that truly resonate.
This means moving away from treating everyone the same and instead grouping travelers based on their preferences and how they engage with your site.
For example, new visitors might receive helpful guides, while returning guests get updates on new events. This kind of personalized marketing builds trust and encourages visitors to return.
However, effective personalization depends on visitor trust and responsible data use. Research shows that 69% of customers appreciate personalization when it is based on data they have explicitly shared.
This emphasizes the importance of being transparent and getting consent when collecting data.
When visitors trust that their information is handled responsibly, they are more willing to accept tailored recommendations.
11. Take Advantage of Voice Search Optimization
With the rise of voice assistants like Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant, optimizing for voice search has become essential. It is estimated that about 20.5% of people worldwide use voice search to find information, especially when they need quick answers.
Phrases like "What to do near me this weekend?" represent conversational search patterns that require different optimization strategies than traditional typed searches.
To make sure your destination appears in these results, using structured data and detailed FAQs on your website helps search engines understand your content better and serve it for voice queries.
Voice search particularly benefits travelers using assistants on the go by making it easy to find your destination when they need quick recommendations or directions.
12. Encourage and Leverage Visitor Reviews
Requesting reviews through follow-up emails or kiosk check-outs creates a way to collect valuable feedback and generate social proof for future visitors.
When these requests are timed while experiences are fresh in visitors’ minds, response rates and review quality improve.
Once collected, showcasing positive reviews on tour pages and kiosks builds credibility and highlights the aspects of your destination that resonate most with visitors. This social proof influences booking decisions and helps set clear expectations for new guests.
Responding to feedback publicly shows your commitment to visitor satisfaction. It also signals to potential customers that you value their input and are dedicated to improving their experience.
Unlock New Travel Possibilities with STQRY
At STQRY, we connect people, places, and stories through technology that transforms how destinations engage with travelers.
With STQRY Apps, you can create immersive self-guided tours without any coding experience! These tours work offline and deliver personalized content that keeps visitors engaged and exploring at their own pace.
Complementing this, STQRY Kiosk serves as 24/7 interactive information hubs with real-time updates and multilingual support.
We also help destinations digitize and share cultural archives through STQRY Collect, attracting online visitors and encouraging them to visit in person.
Together, these tools create seamless, engaging experiences that boost visitor satisfaction and support data-driven marketing strategies.
Ready to supercharge your tourism marketing?