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Travel Industry TV Advertising Takes Off In 2022

Consumers have been eager to vacation in 2022, and Travel brands have adjusted TV advertising accordingly. Over the first seven months of 2022, Travel industry est. national TV ad spend was up 130% year-over-year, while TV ad impressions jumped 61% according to our new Travel industry TV ad report.

But which brands and individual travel categories are driving these increases? Which networks and programs are delivering the most Travel TV ad impressions? And which Travel brands had the most likable creatives?

Our latest report hits the road with all things travel-related. Here’s a more detailed view of what’s included:

Brands Back In Action

The pandemic had many Travel brands hibernating on TV, but the first half of 2022 saw dormant brands come back to TV advertising in a big way. For example, Choice Hotels didn’t air a national linear TV ad from Jan. 1, 2021 through April 19, 2022. Yet, wound up as the most-seen travel TV advertiser of all during the first seven months of this year.

Ex-Site-Ing Travel Plans

For many consumers, vacation planning starts with a search for flight and lodging prices on a third-party travel website. To meet the moment as consumers ramped up interest in travel this year, these sites spent the early part of 2022 aggressively advertising on TV. 

Over the first seven months of the year, six of the top 10 Travel brands by TV ad impressions were Travel Websites. TV ad impressions for Travel Websites climbed nearly 40% year-over-year.

Likeable With Lizzo

Royal Caribbean’s “Rise to the Vacation: The Year of Yes” spot is the 12th most-seen Travel TV ad of the year through July, and the most-seen Cruiseline TV ad. The spot’s high exposure also corresponds with high Likeability among audiences, too. iSpot’s Creative Assessment survey data reveals the ad – which features Lizzo’s song “Worship” – was No. 2 among all Travel TV ads by Likeability, scoring 11% above the Travel industry norm.

Survey respondents found the ad to be Exciting, and 38% found the visual scenes (shots of the boat, people vacationing) from the creative to be the Single Best Thing about it.

Want a better map of how travel brands have approached TV advertising so far this year? Download iSpot’s new report, Travel Industry TV Advertising Takes Off in 2022, and schedule a demo today.