Lonely Planet, Culture Trip pool ad resources around travel-hungry consumers

Brief:

Travel guides Lonely Planet and Culture Trip are working together to sell advertising across their platforms as the tourism industry recovers from the coronavirus pandemic. Their Travel Reborn marketing partnership will give advertisers access to a combined audience of more than 100 million unique users and 20 million social media followers, according to an announcement.
Travel Reborn will provide marketers with a range of brand-safe advertising options that include mobile app integration, display ads, customized campaigns, branded content, social media, video, email and experiential activations. The service will provide metrics to help advertisers adjust their campaigns based on shifts in travel planning, social media interactions and engagement with travel-related content.
Lonely Planet and Culture Trip plan to promote sustainable travel options, respectful interactions with other cultures, responsible wildlife and outdoor experiences and support for local businesses and communities as part of their partnership, per the announcement.

Insight:

By pooling their resources in Travel Reborn, Lonely Planet and Culture Trip aim to develop greater scale that's appealing to mobile marketers seeking to reach a combined audience of 100 million people who consume travel-related content. Their advertising solutions include integration with their mobile apps, helping to reach tech-savvy younger adults who are more likely than older generations to own a smartphone and to use social media. Culture Trip and Lonely Planet seek to complement each other with content that appeals to people seeking authentic travel experiences they can share on social media.

The travel industry still faces enormous challenges, with 30% of U.S. consumers saying they expect to reduce domestic travel even after the COVID-19 pandemic subsides, while 38% will cut back on international travel, per a survey last month by consulting firm McKinsey. However, about half (48%) of people plan to travel domestically as much as they did before the crisis, and 22% said they'll increase travel. Forty-two percent of respondents will maintain global travel, while 20% will increase it, the survey found. Lonely Planet and Culture Trip have an opportunity to connect advertisers with those travel-hungry consumers.

The key marketing goal for travel-related industries will be to educate people on safety precautions while informing them that they're open for business as the summer travel season gets under way. Anecdotal reports indicate that Americans are itching to get out after weeks and months spent indoors, even though travel volume is a fraction of what it was a year ago.

Travelers are getting back on planes at higher levels, with data from the Transportation Security Administration showing the volume of people screened at airports jumping as much as 400% to about 441,000 people on June 7 from a low of about 87,000 on April 14. The trend is positive, even though volume is less than 20% of what it was in 2019. As people resume travel, ad revenue is likely to pick up for brands like Lonely Planet and Culture Trip.