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How much do travel and tourism companies spend on marketing?

Around 44% of travel companies spend between $1,000 and $10,000+ per month on marketing.

Below, we will show you how to plan your 2025 travel marketing budget:

If you want to jump into planning your marketing budget, check out our free budget template below!

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Download Now: Free Travel & Tourism Budget Planner

How much do travel and tourism companies spend on marketing?

Around 44% of travel companies spend between $1,000 and $10,000+ per month on marketing.

Here’s a better look at how companies responded when asked how much they invest in digital marketing:

1 Hospitality Tourism

Travel and tourism marketing budget breakdown

So, what should you spend your marketing budget on? To answer that question, we must look at the top channels within your industry.

Here are the strategies that other travel and tourism companies are investing in:

The average price of digital marketing can give you an idea of what people are paying per month in your industry for these services.

Let’s look at what other travel and tourism companies are paying on average for top digital marketing services below:

2025 Travel & Tourism Marketing Spend

Channel Monthly Spend
Paid advertising:
*Includes Google Ads, YouTube Ads, display ads, programmatic advertising, etc.
$100-$10,000
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) $2,500-$7,500
Social Media
*Includes user-generated content (UGC), influencer collaborations, social ads, etc.
$100-$5,000
Email Marketing & SMS $50-$100
Content Marketing $5,000-$10,000
Reputation Management $5,000-$10,000

Factors that impact travel and tourism marketing budgets

Your industry challenges will impact how you allocate and decide your budget. Here are just a few examples:

  • Competition: Many companies in this sector (hotels and restaurants, especially) face strong competition and market saturation. Your budget is key to helping your company stand out from others.
  • Shifting consumer behaviors: Consumer behaviors and preferences shift constantly, which can make it hard to adapt. Having a solid marketing budget will help you plan for these shifts and stay ahead.
  • Seasonality and demand: Travel destinations and demands change depending on the season. Your marketing budget will help you maximize an inconsistent revenue stream.

If you want to know more, you can look at how travel and tourism companies outlined the factors affecting their digital marketing investment:

3 Hospitality Tourism

How to create a travel and tourism marketing budget

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How To Create Your 2025 Travel & Tourism Marketing Budget

  • Allocate 10% of your total revenue for marketing
  • Reserve between 5-10% of your marketing budget to invest in new marketing strategies

Once you have a rough idea of how much you should spend and the factors contributing to your budget, you can start planning for 2025. Below are the steps for making your budget:

  1. Set your travel company’s marketing goals
  2. Evaluate your customers and current strategy
  3. Determine what you’ll spend throughout the travel seasons
  4. Track and review regularly

Learn more below!

1. Set your travel company’s marketing goals

The first step to creating a marketing budget is setting goals.

Creating SMART goals — specific, measurable, actionable, relevant, and time-bound goals — is essential to your marketing budget. Setting goals will help you allocate your budget to the most productive strategies.

One example of a SMART goal for travel and tourism budgets could be: “We want to increase sales by X percent over the next three months.”

2. Evaluate your customers and current strategy

Your existing marketing strategy will tell you what channels serve your business. Invest in the strategies that have driven proven results for your business already.

You can also look at companies in your market to see what strategies they are using to reach their goals. For example, if a lot of businesses in your area are using TikTok, you could launch a TikTok campaign to reach the same audience.

3. Determine what you’ll spend throughout the travel seasons

The next step, and maybe the most important, is to define your budget and decide what you should spend on marketing. This figure should allow you to invest in strategies to stay competitive without going over budget.

When calculating costs, be sure to account for the following:

  • Marketing channels
  • Your digital marketing provider
  • Any marketing technology

Explore: Top Travel Marketing Trends for 2025

4. Track and review regularly

The final step to creating a marketing budget is evaluating it over time. Track, measure, and change your budget as needed to make sure you’re investing in strategies that drive sales and revenue.

FAQ on travel and tourism marketing budgets

Learn more about tourism marketing budgets with our FAQ!

What is a marketing budget in tourism?

A marketing budget in tourism is the financial plan for your marketing strategy that ensures you allocate the right resources to promote your business. Your marketing budget will account for all aspects of your marketing and assign a dollar amount to spend from your revenue.

How much do travel and tourism companies spend on marketing?

On average, travel and tourism companies spend around 10% of their revenue on marketing.

Marketing spend in the tourism and hospitality industry reached $6.79 billion in 2023, and it’s expected to reach over $8 million by the end of 2024.

How much do hotels spend on marketing?

In 2023, U.S. hotels and motels spent just over $3 million on advertising.

How much do airlines spend on marketing?

In 2023, the U.S. scheduled air transportation industry spent about $1.18 billion on advertising.

How much do travel agencies spend on marketing?

Travel companies will spend an estimated $7.24 billion in 2024 on marketing and advertising.

Want to get even more out of your marketing budget?

Even with the right resources, you might not have the time to sit down, plan, and monitor your marketing budget. That’s where WebFX can help.

We will take your budget and find the best services and tactics to earn more revenue for your business. With 38,900+ hours of experience in tourism and hospitality, our team can give you industry-backed results that distinguish you from competitors.

Contact us online or call 888-601-5359 to speak with a strategist about getting more from your marketing budget!

We Drive Results for Tourism Agencies

  • Dedicated account manager backed by 500+ digital experts
  • Renowned for our communication and transparency

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