Travel bounced back in a big way in 2023. With the pandemic a long distant memory, holiday hungry Brits have been determined to get away from it all despite the cost of living crisis. The travel industry has been buoyant this year and this rude health is set to continue in 2024 with almost two thirds of Brits saying they plan to go away between now and next August, according to ABTA.

Helping guide Brits with their holiday research – from inspiration into the desirable destinations to visit to specialist knowledge of sustainable travel trends all the way to booking the best in accommodation and know-how into the must see sights and hidden beaches – our premium publishers offer a huge range of travel content and editorial.

This makes the Ozone platform a significant destination for travel and we’ve seen huge reader interest in the category 2023. In the 12 months to the end of October, 1.2bn Travel page views is up by almost a fifth year on year. This huge reader engagement translates into a big audience for the category. Each month, 17.8m readers visit Ozone publisher’s for travel advice and recommendations.

While the beginning of the year remains a key period to reach Brits as they seek inspiration to fuel their travel plans for the year ahead, Q3 has emerged as the principal period for travel consideration. In 2023, engagement with the category grew by +38% annually, with the quarter now accounting for almost a third of annual page views.

While Q3 has grown as an influential quarter in which we see the majority of travel engagement, we’ve also found there are three key consideration periods each year:

Early Birds

With the end of the summer and the return to school in September, in-market indicators begin to fall again. However, there is a rise in month-on-month publisher engagement as the early-birds begin preparing ahead of the all-important January sales. In the past three years, reader engagement with Travel has increased by more than a quarter in January compared to December as the Early Birds get to work.

Consideration Building

February to April is a key period for travel research, as interest in Ozone’s travel content begins to grow and Google’s in-market indicators decline; this is therefore a critical time for building brand awareness and consideration. The long Easter weekend and school holidays always offer more travel-starved Brits the first opportunity to get away with family and friends. Engagement typically increases by almost a fifth in April.

Late Bookers

In-market travel indicators begin to rise from May inline with monthly page views. May is one of the largest months for engagement with travel content as late bookers look for last minute trips. This year, as a consequence of volatile weather conditions – with a  particularly sunny June and an exceptionally wet July – late-bookers delayed their holiday researching until the change in weather. A key characteristic of late-bookers is their flexibility.

What’s happening right now?

Right now, thinking about winter sport thrill seekers is prudent as the signals we see suggest they’re already starting to plan their ski trips for next year. Page views for Ski Resorts more than doubled in October and will continue to climb throughout the winter months. January is the biggest month for both consideration and in-market signals.

With conditions at their best and January sales in full swing, savvy skiers look for last-minute deals before the end of the season. Unlike other travel subcategories, we see close alignment between publisher engagement and in-market signals, indicating a considerably shorter consideration cycle.

Reach the most relevant audiences with Ozone

We have identified a selection of key travel audiences of interest for brands and agencies to consider when planning campaigns throughout next year across the Ozone platform. From Families, who show a much stronger preference for short haul destinations, to Wellness Travellers, for whom distance or duration isn’t a concern when planning trips, get to know these audiences in more detail by downloading the report below.

Want to know more?

If you want access to MORE unique insight like this at your fingertips, sign up to Ozone Ad Manager FOR FREE to explore the content consumption habits of our nationwide audience of 43m internet users.

Ozone Ad Manager is exclusively available to our agency and advertiser partners. First-time users of the platform can sign up to register to use it here oam.ozoneproject.com.

For more information, contact your Ozone agency sales representative to find out more or email [email protected].

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