Email Marketing Benchmarks for Tourism Brands Between Feb. ‘21 - Jan. ‘23

‍Purpose of This Research

To identify the top performing email marketing strategies and metrics in the Tourism industry:

• Benchmark against Tourism competitors’ email marketing metrics
• Identify top performing competitors
• Analyze top performing creatives and isolate actionable tactics

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Competitors Analyzed

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Key Takeaways

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Visit California’s email list size is 3X larger compared to Tour Texas, which has the second highest list size. 

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I Love New York and Palm Beaches email lists saw the most significant growth with an increase of 24% between Feb ‘21 - Jan ‘23.

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Email list size for Visit California and Tour Texas remained relatively stable between Feb ‘21 - Jan ‘23.

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Tourism Australia was the only brand to see a decline (-28%) during this time period.

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Tour Texas is the most effective competitor by far at generating traffic from their email campaigns with a 35% email traffic to list size ratio.

*Percentages are derived from email traffic to list size ratio.

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I Love New York is moderately effective at generating traffic from their list.

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Palm Beaches, Visit California, and Tourism Australia are the least effective email traffic generators.

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Competitors most commonly send emails on Tuesday & Thursday....

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...However read rates are stable between Monday to Saturday

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Competitors most commonly send between 09:00-10:00 PST…

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...However read rates are highest between 12:00-18:00 PST

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Palm Beaches’ email list has grown +24% between Feb ‘21 - Jan ‘23.

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Palm Beaches’ largest email traffic spikes came from their email campaigns that ran from Oct. ‘22 to Jan. ‘23.

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Palm Beaches’ Creatives

Often Include...

• ‍Translate to Spanish option to accommodate travellers from Spanish speaking countries. 
• ‍Scenic photos aid in the text description of the peaceful outdoor settings at the Palm Beaches.
• ‍Sponsored sections from Hotels.
• ‍A list of things to do at the Palm Beaches during that time of year. 
• ‍Promoting cultural influences on the Palm Beaches by sharing a list of Hispanic-owned eateries to visit.

Top Performing Creatives

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Palm Beaches’ Landing Pages & Offers

Often Include...

• ‍Video montage as a header block for the homepage of their website. Allowing for a story to be told instantaneously without requiring the viewer to read. 
• ‍A list of things to do at the Palm Beaches with the hours, location, and a brief description.
• ‍Live beach camera to help vacationers better plan their relaxing beach day. 
• ‍Events of the month are showcased on the homepage.

Top Landing Pages

*Traffic is an approximation using data available from Mar. ‘22 - Feb. ‘23. Traffic volumes represent total traffic to the landing page as we cannot isolate to email traffic only.

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Actionable Insights From Palm Beaches

• ‍Provide a translation option to other languages that are widely spoken by incoming tourists.
• ‍Drive followers to social media by linking your company’s social media platforms at the end.
• ‍Get sponsorships from hotels to open up another income stream. 
• ‍Promote cultures that have influenced the location by sharing restaurants or businesses owned by people from those countries, such as when Palm Beaches shared a list of the best Hispanic-owned eateries.
• ‍Curate a list of things to do & promote events of the month to help tourists easily discover new and unique places.

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Of the 5 competitors, Visit California has the largest email list size.

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Visit California’s largest traffic spikes came from their “Curated List” and “Destination Spotlight” campaigns which ran during the summer season.

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Visit California’s Creatives

Often Include...

• ‍Highlighting a city by dedicating an entire email to showcasing the places to visit, eat, and stay in one city. 
• ‍Vacation contests for their audience to get the chance to win a free getaway.
• ‍Celebrity partnership with Ayesha Curry to get a list of her favourite places to eat, shop, and road trip.
• ‍Free guides filled with insider tips on the best places to visit in California. 
• ‍Call-to-action buttons at every new section of the email.
• ‍Curated lists of things to do while on vacation in California.

Top Performing Creatives

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Visit California’s Landing Pages & Offers

Often Include...

• ‍Blog posts that refer to other pages on their website. Such as this blog post, where each location suggestion contains a “more” button that redirects to another blog post.
• ‍Multiple categorizations on the homepage allow viewers to browse between different cities, regions, and types of things to do.
• ‍Bookmarking on the website that categorizes viewers’ favourite blog posts into one list, simply by viewers clicking the ‘heart’ icon in the top right corner. 
• ‍Localhood platform which allows Visit California to create travel stories that look similar to Instagram stories, with a swipe up option to learn more. 

Top Landing Pages

*Traffic is an approximation using data available from Mar. ‘22 - Feb. ‘23. Traffic volumes represent total traffic to the landing page as we cannot isolate to email traffic only.

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Actionable Insights From Visit California

• ‍Highlight a specific city by dedicating an entire email to showcasing the things to do there.
• ‍Host a free vacation contest to boost reader engagement and email list sign ups. 
• ‍Partner with celebrities or influencers to get their insights on places to eat, shop, and road trip.
• ‍Create free guides to incentivize visitors to sign up for your email list. 
• ‍Drive readers to blog posts to provide value to your readers, drive traffic to the site and build relationships with your subscribers. 
• ‍Mimic social media platforms such as Instagram by creating travel stories using Localhood and the ability to “heart” blog posts. 

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Of the 5 competitors, Tour Texas drives the most email traffic per subscriber on their list.

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Tour Texas’ largest traffic spikes came from their summer Jul - Sept ‘21 campaigns.

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Tour Texas’ Creatives

Often Include...

• ‍Memorable catchphrase such as “hot & happening” for their recurring emails, such as their event promotion emails.
• ‍One main theme where the email will focus on one topic, such as road trips, and give a detailed list of places to visit. 
• ‍Multiple call-to-action buttons throughout the email, usually one within each new section. 
• ‍Creative naming conventions for their call-to-action buttons. Rather than only using “view now” or “explore more”, Tour Texas uses words like “be surprised” or “get outside” for their buttons. 
• ‍Utilize the date in their email subject line, such as “September’s Top Road Trips”.

Top Performing Creatives

*Top creatives were determined based on the emails with the lowest delete rates. Data unavailable for read rates.

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Tour Texas’ Landing Pages & Offers

Often Include...

• ‍Curated lists where Tour Texas makes it easier for viewers to find things to do, such as their blog post “50 Free Things to Do in Dallas”.
• ‍Events around the state that are categorized by the date of the event. 
• ‍Brochures for each city that require the viewer to provide their email and personal information to get the download. 
• ‍Interactive map of texas by clicking on the “plan visit” texas sticker on the bottom left corner, where the viewer can explore events, places to stay, and plan their visit.

Top Landing Pages

*Traffic is an approximation using data available from Mar. ‘22 - Feb. ‘23. Traffic volumes represent total traffic to the landing page as we cannot isolate to email traffic only.

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Actionable Insights From Tour Texas

• ‍Make a memorable catchphrase for emails topics that are recurring, such as “hot & happening”.
• ‍Try out creative naming conventions for call-to-action buttons such as “get outside” or “be surprised”.
• ‍Create curated lists that make it easier for viewers to find things to do, such as “50 Free Things to Do in Dallas”.
• ‍Utilize dates in your email subject line to showcase relevance to the viewer.
• ‍Create free brochures about each city to incentivize viewers to sign up for your email list.
• ‍Create an interactive map that allows visitors to explore events, places to stay, and plan their visit. 

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References:

1. 10 Things to Do in West Palm Beach

2. Highway One’s Most Scenic Stops

3. 50 Free Things to Do in Dallas