The 2019 Report on Facebook and Instagram Advertising for Travel State of the Industry Perspectives from600+ Travel Marketers Around the WorldWith close to three billion monthly users across Facebook and Instagramand the ability for travel marketers to offer visually engaging adsit is fair to say there is a massive opportunity for travel marketers to reach and influence their target audiences. In fact, travelers spend 5X more time on Facebook than on travel- related apps, sites, and searches and 96 percent of travelers go to Instagram as they imagine all of the destinations they could visit.1To understand how and why Facebook and Instagram are used to engage travelers, we surveyed more than 600 marketers in travel, across 46 countriesresulting in the most comprehensive research project of travel marketers ever completed. In Sojerns 2019 Report on Facebook and Instagram Advertising for Travel, you will learn: How much budget travel marketers are allocating to Facebook and Instagram compared to other channels Which ad formats are the most effective for which marketing objectives How Facebooks ad products are solving for key challenges faced by travel marketers across the path to purchase Introduction1 Facebook IQ, 20163The 2019 Report on Facebook and Instagram Advertising for Travel How Travel Marketers Allocate Spend Across DigitalThe State of Travel Advertising Spend Across Facebook and InstagramFacebook and Instagram Are Essential for Travel MarketersThe Facebook and Instagram Ad Formats Winning in 2019Key Challenges for Travel MarketersGetting the Most Out of Facebook Across the Path to PurchaseExecutive SummaryAbout SojernMethodology4612202531414445The 2019 Report on Facebook and Instagram Advertising for Travel4The 2019 Report on Facebook and Instagram Advertising for Travel How Travel Marketers Allocate Spend Across DigitalChapter 15The 2019 Report on Facebook and Instagram Advertising for Travel Globally, marketers allocated nearly half (47%) of their ad budgets to digital in 2018. But we wanted to dig deeper, to see how travel marketers spend their digital budgets. The results from our survey revealed that the largest piece of digital budgets are dedicated to Facebook and Instagram, with an additional 7 percent going towards other social platforms (such as Pinterest, Snapchat, and WhatsApp to name a few).*2018 Digital Ad Spend by Digital ChannelMetasearchOTAOther SocialMobileVideoProgrammatic DisplayPrivate MarketplacePaid SearchFacebook and Instagram23%19%12%10%9%9%7%6%5%Approximately what percentage of your digital or your travel client's digital advertisingspend was spent across the following types of advertising in 2018?Source: Sojern, 2019*All respondents were asked the same questions and given the option of “other social” to describe all social platforms excluding Facebook and Instagram. We did not specify which social platforms “other social” included. Nor did we ask questions about specific social platforms, channels, or apps that may have higher regional relevance and adoption, like WhatsApp.6The 2019 Report on Facebook and Instagram Advertising for Travel The State of Travel Advertising Spend Across Facebook and InstagramChapter 2To understand more about the impact of Facebook and Instagram in 2019, and see the nuances of how each region uses these social platforms, we asked respondents to share how they allocated spend.7The 2019 Report on Facebook and Instagram Advertising for Travel Social media advertising represents the largest portion of digital ad spend for all global marketers in 2018 at 30 percent (with 23 percent coming from Facebook and Instagram)and that number will continue to grow.Marina Suberlyak Head of Marketing, North America, Norwegian Airlines“We have definitely put more resources and funds into social mediaFacebook and Instagram specifically, and we intend to use it even more in 2019. People travel because they want to have experiences. It is a social, visual, experiential undertaking, and social media really fits that.”8The 2019 Report on Facebook and Instagram Advertising for Travel 63% of European travel marketers will increase the share of their spend on Facebook and Instagram in 2019making EU the region with the highest anticipated growth.2019 Share of Social Ad Spend, by RegionEU LATAM APAC ME USHow do you anticipate your ad dollars will be allocated in 2019 across the following types of advertising? (Plan on spending more)Source: Sojern, 2019Other SocialFacebook and Instagram80%60%40%20%0%9The 2019 Report on Facebook and Instagram Advertising for Travel In 2019, more than half of all travel marketers will spend more on Facebook, regardless of vertical. Airline and Cruise verticals (60%) represent the highest percentage of marketers who plan to spend more this year.2019 Share of Social Ad Spend, by VerticalHow do you anticipate your ad dollars will be allocated in 2019 across the following types of advertising? (Plan on spending more)Source: Sojern, 2019Other SocialFacebook and Instagram60%40%20%0%Airline Cruise Attraction DMO Hotel Car Rental10The 2019 Report on Facebook and Instagram Advertising for Travel 2019 Percentage Who Plan on Increasing Ad Spend Across Facebook and Instagram, by Size of Advertising BudgetSmall Advertisers 44%Mid-Size Advertisers 54%Large Advertisers 64%Share of Digital Ad Spend for 2018 Across Facebook and Instagram, by Size of Advertising Budget*31%Small Advertisers23%Mid-Size Advertisers18%Large AdvertizersShare of Social Ad Spend, by Size of Advertising Budget*Small Advertisers - Annual advertising budget of less than $50,000Mid-Size Advertisers - Annual advertising budget between $50,000 to $1 millionLarge Advertisers - Annual advertising budget of more than $1 million