Digital Marketing in 2025: Tackling the Top Challenges

What’s most effective in travel experiences marketing is changing rapidly as AI search and new social channels turn traditional marketing on its head

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Digital marketing is an essential part of reaching travelers in 2025, as travelers increasingly discover, plan and book their travel online. 

However, we’ve come a long way from the days of travel brochures and printed travel guides, and the travel experiences landscape is only becoming more competitive. In fact, in 2025, even paying for online ads or appearing on the first page of search engine results is no guarantee. Effective digital marketing is far from simple, and it only grows increasingly complex as generative AI, new social channels and other emerging trends and technologies turn traditional marketing on its head.

In our latest survey of tour, activity and attraction operators, Arival’s Global Operator Landscape (3rd. Edition), we take a close look at some of the top marketing challenges operators themselves report, and find a common theme is the growing complexity of digital marketing itself.

While we’ve packed the report itself with practical tips and actionable takeaways, we’re not stopping there. We’re planning a series of Insider Pro Access online events to help you get on top of tackling these challenges in 2025. 

The Top Marketing Challenges for Operators

In Arival’s Global Operator Landscape (3rd. Edition): The State of Digital Marketing, operators reported their biggest challenges are all related to the growing complexity and competitiveness of direct digital marketing. 

Improving SEO (search engine optimization) and managing multiple marketing channels (i.e. search, social media, other advertising channels, etc.) were the two most common challenges. The cost and time of marketing are high on the list as well, along with keeping up with changing trends. 

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Tackling Digital Marketing in 2025

In order to help operators get a handle on all of this in 2025, we’re putting together an online series featuring some of the travel experiences sector’s top marketing experts. Here are some of the topics we have planned:

  • The Future of Search: Nate Andrew from Blend Travel Marketing will offer some insights on how to spend your marketing time, energy and budget in 2025, from Google to TikTok, and give an overview of the marketing strategies that will help you get found by travelers searching in 2025.
  • Working with Influencers & UGC: Sally Bunnell, CEO of NaviSavi, will offer insights on how to harness influencer partnerships and user-generated content to amplify your tour, activity, or attraction brand.
  • AI Marketing: Kelsey Tonner from Guest Focus will offer a two part series on marketing with AI, what’s changing as AI becomes a greater part of the travel search and discovery process, and how operators can utilize AI in their marketing strategy.
  • From SEO to Social Video: Brennen Bliss from Propellic will lead a session exploring how SEO is evolving, and the growing role social video is playing in the discovery phase at the top of the marketing funnel. 

These sessions will be offered to Arival Insider Pro Access members during upcoming Arival Insider Pro Meetup and Elevate sessions, starting with the next session on 23 January 2025. Register for that below, and stay tuned to register for the following sessions! 

Learn More with Arival Research

Learn more about digital marketing and experience operators in the latest report from Arival’s Global Operator Landscape (3rd Ed.) study. Exclusively available to Insider Pro Access members, access the in-depth report on The State of Digital Marketing here.

The Global Operator Landscape (3rd Ed.) Research Series

Arival’s annual survey of the global operator industry is the most comprehensive and in-depth study on travel’s third-largest sector: experiences. Based on a survey of more than 7,000 operators worldwide, the third edition of Arival’s Global Operator Landscape research study  informs a series of reports on different sub-segments and geographic regions within the tours, activities and attractions sector.

  1. Global Operator Landscape: The State of Experiences
  2. Getting Direct: The State of Digital Marketing
  3. Global Operator Landscape: The State of Visitor Attractions (coming soon!)
  4. Global Operator Landscape: The Profitable Operator
  5. Global Operator Landscape: The State of OTAs & Operators (coming soon!)
  6. Global Operator Landscape: Culinary Experiences (coming soon!)
  7. Global Operator Landscape: The State of Booking Tech (coming soon!)
  8. More reports to come: stay tuned!

Arival thanks our study sponsors: Launch Partner GetYourGuide, and Strategic Insights Partners Catalunya, Expian, Rezgo, Tripworks and Viator, as well as the many Fielding Partners that helped distribute the survey — see the full list here

Get the full Arival experience by joining us at an upcoming Arival event, and hear the latest research insights and tips on digital marketing for the experiences sector directly from tours, activities and attractions industry leaders and experts. 

Become an Insider Pro Access member today and get access to the full library of Arival research, plus many other benefits such as free consulting sessions, special discounts and 20% off in-person events, starting from $179 per year.

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