Public relations is a vital asset, and in an industry as competitive as travel, it can make all the difference. In a sector where customer reviews and word-of-mouth carry enormous weight, maintaining a positive image through the good times and bad is essential.
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Travel brands must stand out in a crowded marketplace. Whether you’re a destination, accommodation provider, or an experience-based company, your image needs to be desirable, inspiring, and worth travelling for.
But like any industry, travel faces its challenges, many of which are completely out of your control. From natural disasters to political unrest or worldwide pandemics - unexpected events can strike at any time. PR doesn’t just build and strengthen your reputation in good times; it protects and manages it when crises emerge, ensuring public perception remains intact.
In this blog, we’ll explore what PR really means for travel brands, why it matters more than ever, and what goes into building a successful travel PR campaign.
What’s in this article:
- What is travel PR?
- Why is travel PR Important?
- Key elements of travel PR strategies
- How can PR work For travel brands
- Key takeaways
What is travel PR?
Global tourism is booming, with people travelling further and more frequently than ever before. After a global shutdown just five years ago, international visitor spending is forecast to hit a record $2.1 trillion in 2025, surpassing the previous high of $1.9 trillion in 2019.
At its core, PR is about managing reputation and building credibility. In the travel industry, this means using strategic communications to promote destinations, experiences, and brands. The aim is to earn trust from your target audience and inspire travellers to choose you over the competition.
With so many options available, capturing attention and sparking desire has never been more important. The buzz around a must-visit destination, a luxurious hotel, or a once-in-a-lifetime adventure often starts with a well-executed PR campaign that carefully shapes the story being told.
A strong travel PR strategy brings together several essential elements. These include compelling storytelling, targeted media coverage, strong press relations, social media engagement, and positioning your brand as a trusted voice through thought leadership. Together, these components create a consistent narrative that inspires action and builds long-term reputation.
When all of these elements work in sync, they help keep the conversation around your brand positive. And in a sector that thrives on word-of-mouth, it’s crucial that people are talking about you for all the right reasons.
Why is travel PR important?
A good reputation is a powerful, competitive advantage, and strong PR positions your brand as a leader in the travel industry. Consistent coverage in high-authority and relevant publications helps boost your visibility, builds credibility, and keeps your brand at the front of potential travellers minds.
Good PR is also vital during times of change - something the travel industry experienced not so long ago after the COVID-19 pandemic. For years, travel habits followed familiar trends, but post-pandemic shifts in consumer behaviour have made trust more important than ever.
As Everything PR News writes, “Where once travel PR campaigns were focused on glossy images of luxury resorts or exotic destinations, today’s PR professionals must focus on rebuilding consumer trust, emphasising safety, and portraying destinations as dynamic, responsible, and sustainable.”
So PR doesn’t just maintain a positive brand image during good times, it’s crucial during seismic changes too, helping brands stay ahead of trends and adapt to new traveller expectations.
And while good PR is important for brands, beyond that, it’s also important for local economies and employment. We’ve already mentioned just how competitive the industry is, but to paint a clearer picture, the travel and tourism industry represents 10% of the global economy.
It’s also a hugely important source of employment, with the sector supporting a total of 357 million jobs globally in 2024 - approximately one in ten jobs. There are 44 countries worldwide that rely on the travel and tourism industry for more than 15% of their total share of employment, many of which are island nations.
With so much global reliance on travel, an effective PR strategy is essential not just for businesses, but for entire countries working to shape a positive image and build trust with future visitors.
Key elements of travel PR strategies
For a travel PR strategy to truly succeed, all of its elements must work together seamlessly. From media coverage to influencer campaigns and crisis management, each component plays a role in shaping public perception and building trust. Here are the key elements of effective travel PR:
Storytelling and media coverage
Travel decisions are rarely spontaneous. For many, a holiday is a once-a-year (or even once-in-a-lifetime) experience, planned and saved for over months or even years. For a destination to earn a spot on someone's bucket list, it must feel irresistible and stand out. Great PR crafts stories that capture the imagination, while coverage in trusted travel, lifestyle, and national media helps build credibility and visibility in audiences where it matters most.
Media relations
Strong relationships with travel editors, journalists and bloggers are crucial. Even the most compelling story needs the right person to tell it. A solid media network means your pitches are more likely to be opened, trusted, and published - whether that’s a full-page feature in Conde Nast Traveller, a spotlight in The Times, or a digital piece in Lonely Planet. No matter how incredible your destination or experience is, if no one is talking about it, no one will know about it.
Press and fam trips
Press and familiarisation (fam) trips give journalists, bloggers, and influencers the opportunity to experience your offering firsthand. While offering a free trip might seem like a big ask, the authentic, firsthand content it generates can be invaluable. The coverage earned often outweighs the cost, delivering greater visibility and long-term value.
Digital PR and social media campaigns
Gone are the days when holiday planning meant browsing through brochures or chatting to travel agents. Today, travellers find their inspiration through Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and even asking Reddit for recommendations. Digital PR and social media campaigns are no longer an option for travel brands - they’re essential. Digital PR helps travel brands earn attention organically, with content that is shareable, interactive, and measurable. Whether it's a data-driven story that lands national press or a viral TikTok trend, digital PR and social media work hand-in-hand to build credibility and drive visibility.
Influencer collaborations
1 in 3 Brits get their travel inspiration from social media, and influencers play a big role in that. Collaborating with the right influencers lets you tap into highly engaged audiences and create authentic, shareable content. When done well, influencer campaigns can raise awareness, build trust, and even drive direct bookings.
Content creation
Quality content supports all areas of PR - from blog posts and destination guides to videos and behind-the-scenes social content. When someone sees your brand in the media, they often search for more, and having informative, inspiring content ready to meet that interest is key. Content also supports SEO, helping attract organic traffic and building long-term digital visibility.
Event and launch management
Events generate buzz and help to bring your brand to life in an immersive way. Whether it’s the launch of a new hotel, a seasonal travel package, or a new airline route, PR-led events can attract media attention, strengthen influencer relationships, and generate shareable content. Having clear goals and inviting the right mix of media, influencers, and industry contacts is the key to success.
Crisis communications
The travel industry can be vulnerable to sudden disruption. From weather events and political unrest to global pandemics. Having a crisis comms plan in place is essential. Communicating quickly, clearly, and with empathy can protect your brand's reputation and maintain traveller confidence. In fact, 81% of consumers say that trust is a deal breaker or deciding factor in their purchase.
How can PR work for travel brands?
PR helps travel brands cut through a crowded, competitive market. When all elements of travel PR work together - from media coverage to influencer collaborations and content creation - they shape public perception and drive brand preference. But how exactly does that translate in the real world? Below are some standout examples of PR in action within the travel industry and if you’d like six free PR tips for businesses in the travel industry, click here.
In times of crisis
As previously mentioned, the travel industry is extremely vulnerable to crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. But good PR is there to support brands and destinations through tough times, and one of the leading examples of PR turning a crisis into an opportunity is Iceland’s Looks Like You Need To Let It Out campaign.
When the world went into collective lockdown and halted global travel, Iceland’s tourism board invited users to record their screams and pent-up frustrations, and released them via loudspeakers placed in the country's remote landscapes.
The results were remarkable. 725,000 people used the site, over 800 global media outlets covered the experience, and it created 2.67 billion media impressions. Iceland became the number one preferred post-COVID travel destination among their target group, and it led to a 48.5% increase in booking searches and a 5.7x increase in booking intent.
“Dupe Destinations”
The rise of destination dupes - affordable alternatives to popular holiday spots - has been fuelled by TikTok, with influencers playing a huge role in amplifying the trend. A standout example is Albania, now dubbed the “Maldives of Europe”. Thanks to influencer-generated content showcasing its picture-perfect beaches and hidden gems, Albania has seen a dramatic rise in interest. Search demand for ‘Albania holidays’ has soared in the past five years (as the Google Trends graph depicts below), and the country now enjoys regular coverage in national UK media such as The Mirror, The Sun, and The Daily Mail. This is a clear example of how social media buzz and earned media coverage can transform a destination’s reputation almost overnight.
Jumping into trends and conversations
Social media trends can sometimes offer travel brands powerful opportunities to jump into the conversation, but it’s important to do so strategically and authentically. When done right, engagement can skyrocket. But when done wrong, you can quickly look like this meme.
In summer 2025, On The Beach and easyJet tapped into the viral “Ibiza Final Boss” trend - a meme inspired by partygoer Jack Kay’s distinctive look. On The Beach quickly launched ads inviting travellers to “face the final boss”, while easyJet promoted ‘Boss holidays to Ibiza’. Both brands saw viral engagement, showing that quick thinking and creative execution on real-time trends can lead to big brand wins.
Nothing beats a viral social media trend
And right now, that’s exactly what’s happening for Jet2holidays. One of the most talked about campaigns of the summer has been their viral ad - featuring Jess Glynne’s Hold My Hand and a cheerful voiceover by actress Zoe Lister.
With over 16,000 TikTok posts and counting, the 12-second clip has gone viral all over the world. Zoe has even made appearances in Australian and US media - not to mention the countless UK media appearances - and even popped up during a live DJ set at Newmarket Racecourse.
But with the airline’s joyful advert being played over clips of rowdy plane fights, drunken disasters, and general holiday chaos, it begs the question: Is this a PR dream or a PR disaster for Jet2holidays?
Well, according to its half-year results, Jet2 reported an 11 per cent profit rise to £577.7 million and record revenues of £7.2 billion, partly credited to increased online visibility. And according to a Google trend report, search interest in Jet2holidays is at an all-time high.
Instead of distancing themselves from the meme, Jet2 have leaned into it. They launched a TikTok competition with £1,000 holiday vouchers for the funniest user-generated content, and even created their own self-aware posts.
This is a great example of reactive PR - knowing when to embrace virality and turning unpredictable buzz into brand advantage. At the end of the day, no matter how good your travel PR campaign is, sometimes, you’ve just got to sit back, relax, and let social media do its thing.
Key takeaways
- Travel PR is about trust and inspiration. Travel PR builds credibility and shapes desire - helping destinations and brands stand out by earning the trust of travellers through compelling storytelling and strategic communication.
- A strong PR strategy is essential. From driving buzz and visibility in competitive markets to managing reputation during crises, PR helps travel brands stay resilient, relevant, and respected.
- Integrated PR elements work best together. Media relations, influencer collaborations, content creation, and social media campaigns must work in sync to deliver consistent, effective messaging that resonates with target audiences.
- PR drives real-world results. From Iceland’s post-pandemic scream campaign to Jet2’s viral TikTok success, the blog shows how well-executed PR can lead to increased bookings, visibility, and brand preference.
- In a fast-moving industry, adaptability is everything. Successful travel PR means staying culturally tuned-in, reacting quickly to trends, and maintaining a human, authentic tone - especially in the age of memes, virality, and shifting consumer behaviour.
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