Booking.com, an online travel planning platform, conducted an extensive survey of more than 24,000 travelers from 32 countries in the second half of 2022 to discover the most important trends related to the travel industry. Our task was to achieve a minimum of 40 announcements in a period of two months through a PR campaign focused on relations with the media.
Although “classic” PR tools sometimes seem like a “dying part” of communication strategies, the campaign we conducted for Booking.com proved exactly the opposite. In the first phase, we sent a press release to a broad list of media in which we communicated seven predictions for travel in 2023. The list included virtual trips, enjoyment outside the comfort zone, pleasant and peaceful trips, escape from the daily routine, a combination of private and business, a touch of nostalgia and smart and economical trips.
The second phase was marked by a press release on the most popular destinations for 2023 according to the Booking.com list. From spiritual cities to artistic capitals and historical hidden gems, we discovered nine of the most desirable destinations, experiences and accommodations in the text. In the last phase, we worked out in more detail some of the most interesting trends that were on the Booking.com list for 2023. We placed three different topics on lifestyle and travel media – Enjoying outside the comfort zone and returning to nature, How to “disconnect from everything” while traveling and How to travel smart in 2023.
The campaign started on October 17 and ended on December 14 with the last press release. By the end of 2022, we have achieved the set goal and shown how interesting content, careful planning and good selection of media can still successfully reach the target group, inform the general public and increase brand visibility.