Tourism often brings in millions of dollars in revenue for some countries, but many of them don’t have advertising dollars to support that. As an advertiser, it feels like an overwhelming task to secure bookings and results with so few resources and minimal budget. However, a little bit of imagination can make the magic happen. Small budgets can still result in a successful campaign with precise targeting, efficient media mix, and a little creativity.

Precise audience targeting allows you to be where your audience is. This type of targeting is based on data and audience insights. Visualize serving ads for a travel destination as your potential traveler does research on “relaxing beaches”. There is no better way to influence someone than to plant the seed that you are the destination they need to be while they’re researching. The same user can be served another ad for your destination when visiting other travel sites to reinforce your message and encourage an action. Precise audience targeting helps to eliminate wasted impressions.

Finding the right media mix with a small budget can be daunting. With precise targeting also comes a premium cost. However, using the right channels with great targeting segments can go a long way. Search and social media are powerful tools for advertisers. With the right strategy, search lets your message appear at the right time, in the right place. It’s important to define your key performance indicators whether it be traffic to a website, visibility, or conversions. Be clear on what you want to accomplish and set realistic expectations based on the budget available. This will help you measure your performance against your goals. Setting the right target and choosing the right keywords that are in line with your campaign will also help drive a successful campaign. Social media has a huge impact on tourism when travelers research before going on a trip. It has changed the way people make travel decisions. People are encouraged to share their travel experiences to attract new travelers. Social media platforms have a wealth of targeting segments to reach any kind of traveler. Many of these platforms also run campaigns based on cost per click models making it more efficient for smaller budgets.

Often, tourism clients have beautiful imagery of their destinations to attract travelers. Videos and images convey a huge amount of information in very little time, so it’s a great way to showcase your destination and draw interest. The right creatives can connect emotions and drive an action to be taken–hopefully to book a trip to your destination.

Tourism campaigns can still be effective without enormous budgets. As an advertiser, it may feel like you’re tasked to drive impressive results with very few resources but with the right strategies in place, a successful campaign can be achieved.