Digital travel ad spend slows after several years of rapid growth

Key stat: US travel industry digital ad spend will grow by 8.9% this year and 7.9% next year, per our forecast, representing a slow down after years of double-digit growth.

Beyond the chart:

• Digital travel ad spend will account for just 2.6% of overall US digital ad spend this year, or $7.73 billion, our forecast shows.
• 61.1% of US travel digital ad spend will go to search, making travel more skewed toward search than the industry average of 41.2%.

Use this chart: Marketers can use this chart to assess partnerships and collaborations with travel organizations and benchmark their own digital ad spend against the overall travel industry.

Related EMARKETER reports:

• US Travel Industry Ad Spending 2024
• The Travel Media Network Explainer 2024

Note: Historical digital ad spending data up to 2015 is derived from Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PwC data. Travel includes airlines, cruises, accommodations, tourism boards, destination marketing organizations, travel bureaus, country clubs, online travel agencies (OTAs), travel agents, travel websites, visitor centers, car rental companies, and leisure and unmanaged business travel.

Methodology: Estimates are based on the analysis of various elements related to the ad spending market, including macro-level economic conditions, historical trends of the advertising market, historical trends of each medium in relation to other media, reported revenues of major ad publishers, estimates from other research firms, data from benchmark sources, consumer media consumption trends, consumer device usage trends, and EMARKETER interviews with executives at ad agencies, brands, media publishers, and other industry leaders.